As The Bourne Legacy races into theaters, it is a fantastic time to assess where the series from the mind of author Robert Ludlum ranks amongst the action films of the past. Hint: Quite high.

Achieving success in an action film is one difficult task, much less finding success with a series. Hollywood has long gone to the genre as a way to corral audiences into theaters and keep them there for subsequent installments. As quickly as Jason Bourne would get out of a jam, we jet through the Top 10 action series of all-time.

10. Lethal Weapon
We adored following Riggs and Murtaugh through the first three Lethal Weapon films and tolerated the fourth. It is hard to argue that Lethal Weapon is not one of the great action series of all-time. It also establishes some benchmarks for what makes a good action franchise.

The camaraderie between its two leads is priceless. The action sequences thrill and always lead up to a confrontation between our evildoer and our hero… in this case more often than not, it’s Mel Gibson’s character. Many have copied the franchise's formula, but few succeeded.

9. Dirty Harry
Before Clint Eastwood wielded his camera with precision, his character “Dirty” Harry Callahan wielded his .45 with extreme exactitude. Through Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, The Enforcer, Sudden Impact and The Dead Pool, audiences followed the San Francisco cop as he was often judge, jury and executioner.

8. The Fast and the Furious
Few action series are as successful as The Fast and the Furious and it’s easy to see why: Fast cars, great villains and a hero or two willing to put their passion for racing to use to make the world a slightly better place. The fact that the fifth in the series, Fast Five, was the finest is a sign that the best is yet to come from this action franchise.

7. Mad Max
Mel Gibson scores another great action franchise on our list with his work on the Mad Max series. The first film broke barriers and made an international superstar out of its lead. Subsequent chapters took the action to new levels and a post-apocalyptic world never was so compelling.

6. Mission Impossible
Like Fast Five, the last chapter in the Mission Impossible series is by far its best. Tom Cruise was born to play Ethan Hunt and with each passing chapter in the series that began in 1996, audiences yearn for more envelope-pushing action.

They certainly got it with Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol during that segment featuring Cruise dangling from the world’s highest building!

5. Die Hard
There is something about John McClane that has us yearning for more action from the stud who saved Nakatomi Towers in 1988. Over two decades later and with a few less hairs on his head, Bruce Willis still has us interested in his butt-kicking character as A Good Day to Die Hard hits theaters next year.

4. Jack Ryan Movies
Whether it’s Harrison Ford or even Ben Affleck, Tom Clancy’s supreme creation -- Jack Ryan -- puts the spy business in the spotlight and achieves a level of action heaven that pulsates by challenging the mind and the body. As much as the action sequences rivet, the Jack Ryan movies also thrill with their cerebral challenges as well. 

3. The Bourne Series
Matt Damon and directors Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, 2002) and Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, 2004, and The Bourne Ultimatum, 2007) redefined the action genre with their trilogy and even gave us some terrific Jason Bourne quotes.

Audiences had never seen action sequences executed in such an, for lack of a better word, actiony way as we cheered Damon’s Jason Bourne when he fought off those that wished him ill as he tried to figure out his identity.

2. Indiana Jones
George Lucas and Steven Spielberg combined forces and gave us the iconic character of Indiana Jones. The archeology professor, whose passion for putting priceless artifacts “in a museum,” progressively enthralled us more with each passing chapter. We can forgive the fourth installment in hopes that a fifth will make up for it.

But those first three films, Raiders of the Lost Ark, its prequel Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and sequel Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, remain about as perfect of an action series as a fan of the genre could ask for.

1. James Bond
The fact that James Bond is number one should not surprise. For the last five decades the man with a license to kill has done his part and kept up the brilliance of Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Whether it Sean Connery or those that followed, after 23 films it is impossible for any other film on this list to come close.

Continually pushing the boundaries of an action franchise, the Bond series will go down in history as one of the great, if not the greatest, movie series of all-time. Period. By all indications, Skyfall should continue this stellar legacy.

Oh, those crazy Brits.

They drive on the left side of the road, they drink A LOT of tea and they prefer foul-mouthed stuffed animals to soul-searching superheros.

Indeed, in its first weekend of release in Great Britain, Ted actually out-earned The Dark Knight Rises... but a wide margin!

The Seth MacFarlane-penned comedy more than doubled the haul of Christopher Nolan's final Batman installment, raking in £9.3 million to 4.3 million for The Dark Knight Rises. (Please don't ask us to convert those pounds to dollars.)

In the Caped Crusader's defense, of course, it had already been open in England for two weeks and has still brought in over £40 million in just 17 days. In the U.S. meanwhile, The Dark Knight Rises remains number-one.

Let's take a look at the top five box office hits in Great Britain from this past weekend:

1. Ted: £9.3m
2. The Dark Knight Rises: £4.3m
3. Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days: £1.5m
4. Ice Age: Continental Drift: £1.2m
5. Dr Seuss' The Lorax: £856,003

Formerly titled Ten, Breacher is adding some exciting cast. The latest addition could be Malin Akerman, who is currently negotiating a role in the film.

Akerman would join Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sam Worthington, Terrence Howard, Dan Olivieri, and Joe Manganiello (Magic Mike). The film follows a group of elite DEA agents who carry out an elaborate heist under the guise of a sting operation. The team believes their secret is safe until they start to get killed off, one by one.

Akerman starred earlier this year in Rock of Ages and Wanderlust (check out some Wanderlust quotes). She is set to play Debbie Harry in the upcoming film CBGB.

Breacher will be released some time in 2013.

Handling therapy as a plot-moving device can be a real challenge on film. Not so with Hope Springs, as Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep -- along with their onscreen therapist Steve Carell -- manage to bring brilliance to the effort and make the film a pure joy.

Two of the best actors of our time, Streep and Jones, portray Kay and Arnold. The couple have been married for decades and Kay’s dissatisfaction can no longer be ignored. They are on autopilot and although she cannot imagine life without Arnold, Kay believes she’s close to not being able to continue.

Visiting a bookstore, she finds a self-help book by Carell’s Dr. Feld. It speaks to her. Upon further research, she learns that the good doctor offers an intense retreat for couples seeking to save their marriage. Faced with the possibility of losing the woman he has come to depend on, Arnold reluctantly agrees to go on the retreat.

This is when Hope Springs truly takes off and becomes a marvel of drama and comedy.

Carell is magnificent as the architect of Jones and Streep’s road to marriage recovery. The Office veteran is still funny, yet it’s a performance from him unlike any we’ve seen. He lets the comedy come to him and rightfully so.

As adept as Jones and Streep are at drama with their Oscar pedigree to prove it, the duo also possess killer comic chops. Carell clearly knows this and his scenes with the couple show that he can play third rung in the comedy ladder and still hit it out of the park.

Then there are the two leads. Streep brings out layers to the normally taciturn actor that we haven’t seen before in Jones. The pair put on an acting clinic that is not to be missed. Amongst the explosions and superhero takeover of summer, the biggest eruptions onscreen this hotter season have to be the fire-cracking chemistry of Streep and Jones in Hope Springs.

Director David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada) weaves a web from Vanessa Taylor’s script that is pitch perfect. The helmer clearly has a winning working relationship with Streep, but the performance he elicits from Jones is one of his most surprising and resonant.

The film clocks in at just over two hours, and amazingly, it does not feel it. In the hands of the filmmakers, the stars, and right on down to the film’s composers, Hope Springs is a summer film that should warm hearts throughout the seasons well into the future.

Ever need to take down a helicopter but you left your rocket launcher in your other pants? No probs, just launch a motorcycle up there. That's what Sylvester Stallone does in this new clip from The Expendables 2. Check it out:

 

The Expendables 2 Helicopter Clip

The Expendables 2 stars Stallone (who also wrote the script), along with Jason Statham, Jet Li, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis (Looper), and Liam Hemsworth (Hunger Games), among others.

The sequel to 2010's The Expendables sees the gang team up again to exact revenge on an adversary, played by Jean-Claude Van Damme, who killed one of their own.

Fans can catch the film in theaters beginning August 17. Check out this Expendables 2 featurette to hear what Stallone has to say about the production.

Warner Bros. is eying Ben Affleck as a possible director for The Justice League, according to Variety. The screenplay by Will Beall (Gangster Squad) was reportedly passed along to Affleck today.

The Argo director is expected to meet with Warner execs in the next few days to discuss the position. With The Dark Knight Rises director Christopher Nolan firmly out of the running, could the man who himself once played the Marvel superhero Daredevil go DC?

While there is no official word on who will be included in the superhero team, expectations are for Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and The Flash to take part.

What do you think? Is Affleck a good choice to direct DC and Warner Bros.' answer to The Avengers? Let us know in the comments section!

Apple has released the first trailer for the indie comedy 3, 2, 1... Frankie Go Boom. Check it out:

 

3, 2, 1... Frankie Go Boom Trailer

The film stars Chris O'Dowd (Bridesmaids) as a man named Bruce who likes to torture his younger brother Frank, played by Charlie Hunnam. After Frank finally lets his guard down as an adult, Bruce secretly video tapes Frank's sexual encounter with a woman played by Lizzy Caplan.

Trailer-watchers will notice that the film also stars a cross-dressing Ron Perlman. Perlman, typically known for grittier roles, will star in next year's Guillermo Del Toro monsters v. robots movie Pacific Rim.

Caplan is quickly becoming indie comedy's break-out star. She will appear later this year in the female-driven comedy Bachelorette. Check out the Bachelorette red band trailer for a look.

3, 2, 1... Frankie Go Boom is written and directed by Jordan Roberts. It will hit theaters on October 12.

The latest national TV ad for The Campaign has appeared during Big Brother, America's Got Talent and various other network hits. In The Campaign spot, Movie Fanatic is quoted as saying the latest Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis movie is "an instant comedy classic."

 

Movie Fanatic in The Campaign TV Ad

Sony Pictures Animation has released seven new character posters for their upcoming 3D computer-animated feature Hotel Transylvania. Check them out (click the thumbnails to enlarge):

Hotel Transylvania is about a hotel for monsters, run by Dracula (Adam Sandler). When he invites some of the most famous monsters to celebrate his daughter's birthday, they receive an unexpected human visitor named Jonathan (Andy Samberg).

Selena Gomez voices Dracula's daughter Mavis, with Fran Drescher, Steve Buschemi, Kevin James, David Spade, Jon Lovitz, Molly Shannon, and Cee Lo Green also lending voices

Sandler and Samberg starred in another movie together earlier this year, the raunchy comedy That's My Boy. Check out some That's My Boy quotes for a look.

Hotel Transylvania is directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, and will come out September 28. For more, watch the Hotel Transylvania trailer.

Late 80's/early '90s comedy franchises are getting threequels of late. Ghostbusters 3 has found a suitable screenwriter and is moving forward (albeit without Bill Muray), and now Bill and Ted 3 seems to be a go.

Dean Parisot has signed on to direct the time-traveling stoner comedy, with Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter set to reprise their title roles. While Reeves became a bona fide movie star after Bill and Ted (though he hasn't had a hit in a few years), Winter has not appeared in a film since 1997.

The film will reportedly catch us up on what the two men have been doing in the decades since the last film, before embarking on another journey. There is no word yet on a shooting or release schedule. In the meantime, check out some Bill and Ted quotes.

Russell Crowe has totally transformed into Russell Crowe with a bit of a beard in this new still from Darren Aronofsky's Noah.

Noah tells the story of the biblical figure tasked with building an arc and gathering the Earth's animals on it. Jennifer Connolley will play Noah's wife Naameh, with Anthony Hopkins, Emma Watson (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), and Kevin Durand (Resident Evil: Retribution) also star.

Aronofsky's last two films, Black Swan and The Wrestler have received numerous award nominations and wins. Noah will be the first film he's written since 2007's The Fountain.

Filming is currently underway in Iceland. Noah is set to be released March 28, 2014.

As the 2012 Olympics close, The Expendables 2 star Jason Statham could be nostalgic for his time as an Olympic diver for Team Great Britain… but he’s not.

“I love the Olympics. I have some good memories,” Statham told Movie Fanatic recently. “But it sucked up a lot of my life where I could have been doing something more productive for what I’m doing now maybe. Who knows?”

Statham has done plenty with his post-diving career. He’s become the action star for the new millennium. His latest brings him back with Sylvester Stallone, largely the reason why Statham adores the entire franchise. That joy is clear as the actor appears to be in brotherly love heaven alongside the action legend in The Expendables 2 trailer. 

“I just wanted to have some of those funny scenes with Sly. They are my favorite things! I could spend my whole two hours doing that with him,” he said. “The chemistry is the fun stuff, the dialogue and the banter that I and he share. That’s my favorite stuff to do.”

Being a veteran of over two dozen films, Statham also appreciated Stallone’s vision on the first film and how he conducted himself on the sequel with a new director brought in, Simon West.

“Sly’s the conductor. He likes to be that. No disrespect to Simon West because he’s the director of this film. Sly creates these characters and he writes them so he knows them inside out. If you’re not hitting the right note, he’s the first person to tell ya,” he said and laughed.

If it sounds as if Statham looks up to the action legend on the set, he has treasured the time with the man off set that he comfortably calls “friend.”

“I spent a lot of time with him. We made a movie and then we did a big press tour and we went to many places, so I’ve shared a lot of stories and a lot of time with him,” Statham said.

“He’s a good friend. I’m not going to try and spill any secrets because he doesn’t have any. He’s just a regular guy who happens to be a great filmmaker and a brilliant actor. It’s nice to know someone like that.”

A joy for the audience in The Expendables 2 is the pumped up roles for Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis. They reprise their cameos from the first film that are now fully drawn-out roles. There’s even a priceless shot of Stallone, Willis and Schwarzenegger shooting off their machine guns as they mow down baddies at the same time.

“This time they had some good innings,” Statham said of the Planet Hollywood trio. “Arnold gets to come in and say, ‘I’ll be back.’ There are all these sort of homage moments that come in this film.”

A newbie to the franchise, Statham wishes he had more time with Scott Adkins (The Bourne Ultimatum, the upcoming Mortal Kombat remake). The martial arts expert plays Jean-Claude Van Damme’s second in command, mirroring Statham’s back-up to Stallone’s leader.

“Normally you get three or four days of rehearsals and then three or four days to shoot. We had no rehearsal. We had a day to shoot,” Statham recalled.

“It’s quite frustrating because Scott Adkins to me is one of the greatest onscreen martial artists there is. I wanted a little bit more -- because I think we could have done a bit more. You never know when I’m going to fight Scott Adkins again.”

Even though filming The Expendables 2 may seem like a situation ripe for an army of comments on and off the set of “I’m too old for this (expletive),” Statham reported that was furthest from the truth, well except for one. “I think I’m the only one who says that,” he said and laughed.

“You never see any signs of pain. If someone has got a twisted whatever, no one is going to show that. A lot of the stuff that we do, the ego gets thrown out of the window,” Statham said.

“Everyone has made their stamp in some way, so there is nothing to prove. There is a good feeling about it.  No one is trying to fight for the camera here. The better everyone else looks the better we look.”

Before Statham is pulled from the room, he teases about his upcoming Parker. “Taylor Hackford (director)… I’m lucky to work with somebody like him and Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte. It’s a good cast,” he admitted.

“This is the first movie that the character has even been called Parker, because Point Blank and Payback -- the other Westlake films that were made -- he isn't.”

Parker could be Statham’s next franchise after The Expendables, Crank and Transporter.

“Who knows? A sequel or franchise is what every filmmaker wants,” he said. “It keeps your bread buttered.”

As someone who doesn't really care a lick about the personal lives of celebrities, it's still frankly a little bit awky-sauce looking at these photos of Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson hugging it out (that's how they made Renesmee right?) for Breaking Dawn Part 2.

Check out the splintered couple on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, along with a slew of other images from the issue (click thumbnails to enlarge):

Stewart and Pattinson once again star as Bella and Edward in the final installment of the Twilight series. Now, Bella's a vampire and the couple have a young daughter, Renesmee, played by Mackenzie Foy.

Taylor Lautner, Peter Facinelli, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, and Dakota Fanning also star.

Breaking Dawn Part 2 is directed by Bill Condon and hits theaters November 16. Check out our account of the Breaking Dawn Part 2 first 7 minutes that aired at Comic-Con for a preview of the action.

The trailer for Red Dawn has come online courtesy of Yahoo! Movies. Check it out:

 

Red Dawn Trailer

The remake of the 1980's cult classic stars Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Josh Peck, Adrianne Palicki, and Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games). It centers on a group of teenagers who form a band of guerilla vigilantes who try to take their town back from an invading foreign army.

Red Dawn hits theaters November 21. Check out the Red Dawn poster that debuted yesterday if you didn't get enough of Hemsworth, Peck, and Hutcherson wielding guns from the trailer.

Arnold Schwarzenegger claims that his shoe is bigger than this smart car. And since Schwarzenegger is incapable of levity, dude must have some huge shoes. Check this clip, which we've seen parts of from the The Expendables 2 trailer:

 

The Expendables 2 Smart Car Clip

The Expendables 2 stars Schwarzenegger along with Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Bruce Willis (Looper), Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games), among many others. It follows the gang as they reunite to seek revenge on a villain who killed one of their own.

The action sequel is directed by Simon West. Catch it in theaters August 17.

The three films that anchor our Weekend Movie Preview all have question marks attached to them.

Can The Campaign's Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis craft a political comedy that brings more laughs than groans?

Is Jeremy Renner effective in taking over the Bourne franchise from Matt Damon with the arrival of The Bourne Legacy?

And finally... they seem like an odd pairing, so how do Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep cut it as a married couple trying to rekindle the spark in Hope Springs?

The Campaign: The answer to the above question is a wholehearted yes, as we state in our The Campaign review. Ferrell and Galifianakis are a comedy dream team as opposing congressional candidates fighting for a seat from the great state of North Carolina.

Director Jay Roach (Meet the Parents, Austin Powers movies) is a perfect person to helm the comic mayhem. The film is timely with the big election year upon us, and lives up to the hype.

 

The Campaign Trailer

The Bourne Legacy: Renner is an outstanding actor to be chosen to take over the Bourne franchise started by Matt Damon. If possible, he is even more lethal and even more emotive than Damon was as Jason Bourne. Renner’s Aaron Cross, especially in scenes with Rachel Weisz, is explosive. As we state in our The Bourne Legacy review, the flick should make Renner a bonafide star.

 

Bourne Legacy Trailer

Hope Springs: Streep and Jones do seem like an odd pair. But, that is exactly why their new film works. They portray a couple who has hit cruise control after 30 years of marriage and collectively decide to head to a marriage counseling retreat, led by a stellar Steve Carell. In our Hope Springs review, we explore how, with two gifted actors at the top of their game, the film could have coasted on their talents. But, it is so much more than an acting clinic.

 

Hope Springs Trailer

Channing Tatum, Justin Long, and Chris Pratt star in the new ensemble romantic comedy 10 Years. Check out the poster for the film, featuring an old photo of Channing Tatum (Magic Mike):

The film centers around a group of old friends who meet up for their 10-year high school reunion and fall back into their old ways. Rosario Dawson, Aubrey Plaza, Ron Livingston, and Anthony Mackie (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) also star.

10 Years premiered at last year's Toronto International Film Festival and is now finally getting a full release in theaters. You can catch the film in theaters beginning September 21.

Earlier this week we reported that Kevin Costner would join Jack Ryan, and now Keira Knightley is signing on.

The film will star Chris Pine as the CIA agent created by Tom Clancy. Alec Baldwin first took on the role in 1990's The Hunt for Red October, with Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck also playing him in later films.

Kenneth Branagh will direct and co-star in the film, which will apparently focus on the character's time on Wall Street.

Knightley starred alongside Steve Carell in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World earlier this year, and will take on the title role in Anna Karenina later this year.

What's old is new again. At least that's the case with the cast of the sequel to 2010's The Expendables. Pretty much every major action hero from the 1980s is back and ready for a return to box office supremacy, as seen in this Last Supper The Expendables 2 poster.

The Expendables stars -- including Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis -- hold a special place in our movie-going hearts as they have headlined some of the biggest action blockbusters of all time. From Rambo to Die Hard and the Terminator series, these are action’s big guns. And with casting rumors swirling that The Expendables 3 wants Harrison Ford and Clint Eastwood... the time to be a classic action star appears to be now!

With The Expendables 2 hitting theaters, Movie Fanatic thought it was a good time to take the pulse out there and discover who of the old school action heroes is your favorite.

Which classic action hero is the best?

Let's play a game of "Tom Waits or Ron Perlman" in the trailer for Seven Psychopaths:

 

Seven Psychopaths Trailer

Did you guess Tom Waits? What? You didn't play? Oh :(

Seven Psychopaths stars Colin Farrell (Total Recall), Sam Rockwell, and Christopher Walken as three dog thieves who accidentally steal a Shih Tzu that belongs to a ruthless gangster, played by Woody Harrelson. Rounding out the ensemble cast is Abbie Cornish, Olga Kurylenko, Gabourey Sidibe, Kevin Corrigan (The Dictator), and yes, Tom Waits.

Harrelson is set to be a part of the Catching Fire cast, reprising his Hunger Games role as Haymitch Abernathy.

Seven Psychopaths comes from In Bruges writer/director Martin McDonagh. It hits theaters October 12.