rene russo Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Chalk this one up as a rumor right now, even though Moviehole feels pretty confident that it's "going to hit the trades any second now." According to the site, Angelina Jolie has been offered a role opposite Pierce Brosnan in The Topkapi Affair, a sequel to Brosnan's Thomas Crown Affair remake from 1999. Loosely based on the 1964 crime caper Topkapi, The Topkapi Affair will once again follow Thomas Crown (Brosnan) as he attempts to steal some sort of priceless jewel from the Topkapi museum in Istanbul. From there, we're not sure what happens -- but as Brosnan told Moviehole a few months back, "This version of Topkapi will have a different part, different woman, and different affair ... and we're using wonderful locations."

And if everyone has their way, Angelina Jolie will be playing that different woman. In the first film (no, not the Steve McQueen flick), Rene Russo played Brosnan's lover; a part which had the gal don her birthday suit for the first time on the big screen. Of course, folks are already conjuring up a number of naked Jolie images in their heads; hoping she follows in Russo's footsteps. And who can blame them? Personally, if they're going to shell out the dough for Jolie, then I would assume they'll also try to find a way to make the film PG-13. Sorry, but that's the way it is these days. But also keep in mind that Jolie has said that, after filming Clint Eastwood's The Changeling, she's going to take a year off to spend time with her family. So, either the powers that be are looking for a way to convince her otherwise or they're willing to wait for the mega star to get some much-needed down time. As soon as we hear more, you'll be the first to know ...

Answer: In just about every conceivable way.

Lethal Weapon 3 was a mess, but it was a fun mess. LW4 isn't fun at all. It's downright boring. Everyone looks tired and uninspired (rhyme). The laughs aren't there. The action, aside from a great highway chase, is run-of-the-mill and confusingly shot. And there's a downright icky sentimental streak running through it -- a sappy side that is light years away from screenwriter Shane Black's original vision for these characters.

Watching Lethal Weapon 3 in the middle of this season full of big, bloated "threequels," it almost looks quaint. It's also -- and again, this might be due to the dreary current state of the summer blockbuster -- somewhat better than I remembered. Somewhat.

Don't get me wrong, it's a hot mess. They tried to cram way too much into this movie, which is why you get a lot of scenes of Riggs and Murtaugh coincidentally standing next to crimes as they break out. There's not a whole lot of police work going on here. Basically, wherever Riggs and Murtaugh are hanging out -- action will materialize. Witness the unbelievably unbelievable scene where Murtaugh takes Riggs to a hamburger stand and gets behind the counter to make him the world's best hamburger. Why is this scene in there? So our boys can "stumble" upon a crime in progress -- right in the middle of Los Angeles' notoriously dangerous "Hamburger Stand District." It's all pretty damn lazy.

Mel Gibson and Danny Glover should teach a class in chemistry. Their natural, lovable work remains the real draw of the series. These guys could play these roles in their sleep, and indeed there's a bit less spark in their performances this time around. The Riggs character continues his unfortunate watering down, but Glover is given a little more to chew on outside of running around yelling "Riggs!" The "8 days from retirement" bit is beyond played out, but having Murtaugh deal with aging works well for the film. Scenes like the one where Murtaugh accidentally fires his weapon in a locker room and Riggs covers for him are pretty touching.