While the three Rush Hour films were very popular at the box office, they ultimately lacked a little something we'll call "good." The first wasn't bad, but the next two felt like someone made a list of stereotypical black and Asian jokes, threw in a few fancy martial arts moves, borrowed a line or two from a previous installment , then topped it with a Polanski and sent it out to the masses. Well, the good news here is that it doesn't look like we'll be getting a Rush Hour 4 anytime soon. However, according to MTV Movies Blog, Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker do want to reunite once again on the big screen ... though they're not saying what that potential film will be about. Let's take a guess: One black guy and one Asian guy meet up .... stuff happens .... hilarity ensues??? (Why am I so angry and bitter on Mondays?)

Chan told MTV, "We sat down and decided we want to do another movie. Not a Rush Hour -- something new ... I said yes, and after I shook [Tucker's] hand, I said: 'Look, we need a middleman. I don't want to shake hands, then I go back to Hong Kong and you stay here, I get busy and you get busy.' You have to have somebody in the middle to follow up, otherwise it will never happen." Chan went on to add, "We've just agreed to do it ... Now we're looking for the writer."

So what do you think about all this? Could Chan and Tucker team up on a movie that doesn't have the words 'Rush Hour' in the title ... and still succeed? What would this film be about? What would you want it to be about?

Though he's already interested in directing a Hugh Hefner biopic, Brett Ratner has set his sights on another famous playboy -- Frank Sinatra. But before you go crazy, thinking Ratner wants to somehow get Chris Tucker to play Sinatra a la Todd Haynes' Dylan flick I'm Not There, you might feel better knowing that's not the plan. According to Variety, New Line has optioned the rights to Mr. S: My Life With Frank Sinatra, a book written by Sinatra's long-time valet George Jacobs and William Stadiem. And yes, Tucker is eying the part of the valet. Rat Entertainment's Jay Stern will produce, alongside Adam Fields (Donnie Darko). No word yet on whether this is a pre-strike rush flick, but since Tucker is currently prepping a standup comedy tour, I imagine we'll have to wait a bit before Rush Hour 4: Driving Mr. Sinatra hits theaters.

The book, says Variety, "weaves in celebrity anecdotes involving Marilyn Monroe, Peter Lawford, the Kennedys, Ava Gardner, Humphrey Bogart, Mia Farrow, Elvis Presley, Swifty Lazar and Marlene Dietrich, among others," which means there will be plenty of juicy roles for the taking. Jackie Chan as Sinatra? I'd see it. Ratner has always been obsessed with the Rat Pack, and the playboy lifestyle, so if anything we know he's very passionate about the material. Stadiem, who co-wrote the book, even goes so far as to say "I think he's channeling Frank sometimes." Really? But would Sinatra pimp himself out on eBay and stalk the Playboy Mansion as if he were a lion hunting its prey? Ah, but we love Brett -- and between his Hefner flick and his Sinatra flick, we hope he finds love at least 357 times.

Prior to watching Rush Hour 3, I sat real low in my seat and took a look around the theater. This particular screening had a section roped off for critics, and everyone around us were, for lack of a better description, your average urban moviegoer. Essentially, the target audience for a film like this. My row, the one in front and one in back, consisted of white, middle-aged (or older) film critics; some of whom spoke about their tickets to an upcoming opera. And that's when it dawned on me -- these people are going to hate Rush Hour 3. Say what you want about film critics, but a 60 year-old guy in a sports jacket with tickets to the opera is not going to dig Chris Tucker making bootie jokes while trying not to direct traffic. The rest of the audience, however, devoured the Tucker/Chan shtick as if it were the best all-you-can-eat buffet in town. Sadly, I wasn't as hungry.

It took six years and millions of dollars to convince Chris Tucker to return to his most lucrative role, and fans of the actor will be happy to see him back doing what he does best: shouting ... loudly. The story is exactly the kind you'd expect from a third installment; Jeff Nathanson (Rush Hour 2) returns with a script that felt as if it were ripped out of a Food Network recipe book: 1) Take the African-American male and the Asian male, then combine using a mixture of ethnic jokes, wild stunts and predictable villains. 2) Microwave on high for 90 minutes. 3) Plate your dish, and garnish with something pretty so that the audience is convinced what they're watching is something fresh and original, instead of old, stale and repetitive. 4) Serve your meal with a smile, and cross those fingers -- $25 million is a lot of money for a piece of meat that's been sitting in the freezer for six years. Enjoy!

I know you have just been itching to see more Rush Hour 3 footage after Erik led us to a leaked teaser on YouTube that has Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan sitting in the back of the French taxicab singing Lady Marmalade. Now we've got a whole scene to direct your attention to -- and by George, it actually has a little action. And by little, I mean that both figuratively and literally. It's not a big action scene, although there are a few mini stunts, but a goofy scene that has Tucker and Chan facing the monstrously tall Chinese basketball player Sun Ming Ming.

And Sun is about all that the clip has going for it. I mean Jackie Chan is teeny already, but pit him against a man who is 7'9", and he seems like an ant. Beyond that, we've got Tucker skillfully emoting surprise and spastically trying to smack the giant while Sun holds his head away, like a kid. Oh yes, and there's a bunch of giggling young tykes around them. As for action, there's Chan doing an interesting escape from his jacket, and that's pretty much it. I know that Chan said Brett Ratner couldn't direct action, but I hope there's still more to it then a little coat fumbling and the two getting lightly flung through the air. Tucker asks his buddy: "How do you say surrender in Chinese?" and I wonder if someone should have thought of surrendering the idea before this was made.

Sort of like Boyz N The Hood played for laughs, Friday was one of the few drug comedies that really made me laugh. It had a warm, laid-back feel to it, some laugh-out-loud lines, and a hilarious supporting cast. It starred Ice Cube when he still had some fire in his eyes, and is notable for being one of the only times Chris Tucker was anything but grating onscreen (Jackie Brown would be another - love him in that movie). Tucker was so funny in Friday, and his chemistry with Cube so perfect, that it was a little surprising to learn he wouldn't be back for the sequel. According to IMDb, the motormouthed comedian became a born-again Christian after his role in Money Talks (that movie would have made me take a hard look at my life and career, too), and chose to do the more family-friendly Rush Hour series instead.

Now it seems he may be changing his tune, and might be open to returning to the role that made him famous. Over at AICN, there's a link to an interview with Ice Cube where Iceman discusses the possibility of Tucker's return for a fourth Friday film. Cube understands that the only way to make the series vibrant again would be the return of Tucker as Smokey, and is determined to get New Line to cough up Tucker's outrageous price tag. I thought Next Friday was pretty weak, and I didn't see Friday After Next because the titles were just getting too ridiculous. I might check out a fourth with Tucker, but I pity the fool who has to try to come up with a name for that one. Friday After Friday After Next? Three Fridays From Now? I Still Know What You Did Next Friday?

Still wondering why X-Men: The Last Stand sucked so much? It could be because Brett Ratner can't direct action scenes. You may already have come to that conclusion on your own, but now it has been confirmed by Jackie Chan, who is currently working with Ratner on Rush Hour 3. He was quoted by The Canadian Press as saying, "Even though Brett doesn't know much about directing action, he does notice details that help us improve the scene. I appreciate his attentiveness when we shoot action scenes and his feedback."

Of course, Chan's statement could be lost in translation, and I don't mean that the quote was translated from the Chinese. What the martial arts-trained actor probably meant is that Ratner doesn't know about choreographing action, especially the kind of playful fight sequences Chan is famous for. I figure most of the directors Chan has worked with have had difficulty directing Chan in these types of scenes and probably just let him do his thing, just as most directors couldn't direct Chaplin, Keaton or many of the other great silent comedians or great martial arts action stars -- at least, not when their main talents were being filmed.

I don't mean to defend Ratner, who I think is in fact awful at directing action scenes, as well as all other types of scenes for that matter. But Chan could not have meant to put down the talents of a filmmaker he's working with for a third time. Still, in the same article Chan is quoted as praising the directing talents of Ang Lee and Zhang Yimou, two directors he didn't expect would be so great at shooting action scenes but who, in his opinion, are. Since Chan has never worked with either of these filmmakers and since both employed choreographers for their fight scenes, it could be that Chan did literally mean what he said.

Chris Tucker was really freakin' hilarious in the original Friday. I sure think so, anyway. I open this piece with that admission because, well, that flick was the last time I ever actively enjoyed a Chris Tucker performance. His subsequent work (in The Fifth Element, Money Talks and both Rush Hour movies) left me irritated, unamused and suffering from a semi-large migraine. So when the guy turned down a $20 million paycheck for Rush Hour 3 (despite the fact that he hadn't worked since 2001's Rush Hour 2), I pretty much gave up on the Eddie Murphy clone and pointed my attentions elsewhere.

But when New Line ponied up a full $25 million for Tucker to star with Jackie Chan in Brett Ratner's second sequel, I knew I was in trouble. Chris Tucker was coming back, and I'd have no choice but to deal with the shrill-voiced shrieker. Now get this: According to The New York Post, Mr. Tucker has taken to (allegedly) locking himself in his trailer while demanding last-minute script changes. Yes, a man earning $25 million for a half-year's work is (allegedly) pouting in his trailer while screenwriter Jeff Nathanson churns out extra pages. As if something like Rush Hour 3 actually needs a screenplay. No offense to Mr. Nathanson (who also penned Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal and the underrated The Last Shot), but a flick like this doesn't even require a screenwriter -- just a few pre-planned action scenes and a big platform for Tucker to do his patented high-pitch squeal routine. Rush Hour 3 hits screens on August 10, and if it's anything like the first two.....I'll hate it.

... and I, unfortunately, had nothing to throw at my computer. I apologize if I am out of line here, but how many movie trailers am I going to have to watch that feature two characters in the backseat of a car singing along to a song, karaoke-style, while a third person sits confused and baffled? How many, I ask? And how is this not classified as some form of torture, especially when you have Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker screaming the words to Lady Marmalade? God, I feel dirty.

With that said, the first teaser trailer for Rush Hour 3 has officially landed online (or, shall I say, on YouTube), and the thing smells worse than Chris Tucker's ridiculous pay check. Not much to it really -- there's a short intro that features a montage of old war footage explaining how France has basically been pissed on over the years, and then we cut to the aforementioned sing-a-long scene in the back of a car. Yup. Rush Hour 3. Directed by Brett Ratner. And, sadly, the thing will probably make a killing at the box office, prompting Chris Tucker to become the highest paid actor in the history of film. And you thought the end of the world was a long ways off ...

In the pic, which blasts its way into theaters this August 10, our two lovable misfits arrive in Paris where they inadvertently wind up clashing with a Chinese Triad crew. Counting down the seconds, folks ...

What was only a possibility before has now been confirmed, god help us. Fugitive from the law and sometime film director Roman Polanski will play a bit part in Brett Ratner's upcoming Rush Hour 3, starring alongside Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. Polanski will play the part of a French policeman who gives the two stars some trouble during whatever errand they are on in this film. Then hilarity and hijinx ensue, we're sure.

This has to be one of the strangest pieces of casting I've ever heard about since Nicolas Cage was hired to play Superman. Is the Rush Hour franchise so stale after two installments that they need to resort to stunt casting? There are a billion talented French actors who could play a disgruntled cop so much better, and they probably aren't wanted by the authorities back here in the States. What about Jean Reno, Gerard Depardieu, or Lambert Wilson? Well, at least Polanski certainly looks the part, and he'll be joined by Max von Sydow.

Regardless, this has dropped the film off my "Movies To Eventually Put On Netflix To See When Everything Else Is Checked Out, Including Ernest Goes to Camp" list.

Okay, before everyone starts attacking me, I should note this is probably old news. However, for one reason or the other, this old news has been given new life across the web today. According to a few different sources (mainly IMDB), veteran action star Jean-Claude Van Damme is rumored to be starring opposite Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in Rush Hour 3. Supposedly, Van Damme admitted to a British TV show he was involved in a film along with Jackie Chan, though he did not say which one. This led everyone and their mother to assume it was the next Rush Hour film seeing as the Brett Ratner-helmed flick is Chan's next project.

If the rumor turns out true, Van Damme will most likely play the main villain in the film, a character by the name of Bruno Cavalier. Wait, let me get this straight: The boys will be off in France, fighting a Chinese Triad crew and the main bad guy has an Italian name? And that's not even the confusing part -- what I don't get is why someone who is not under the influence of drugs would give Chris Tucker $20 million to make this film when the guy has not acted in six years. What the hell is going on here? If anything, I'd be interested to see what a fight sequence between Jackie Chan and Jean-Claude Van Damme looks like. Sure, Van Damme may be a bit, um, old, but I'm certain he can still pack at least one good punch. Right?