With its Greco-Roman setting, computer-generated backdrops and endless scenes of ridiculously ripped warriors engaging in ultra-stylized, ultra-bloody ultraviolence, Immortals is obviously positioning itself to be the next 300. In fact, the film's advertising materials proudly trumpet the connection between Zack Snyder's surprise 2006 smash hit based on Frank Miller's graphic novel -- which chronicled the tale of the Spartan king Leonidas' (Gerard Butler) last stand at Thermopylae -- and this spin on the myth of Theseus (played by Henry Cavill, who is currently playing the Man of Steel in a new Superman flick directed by... Zack Snyder). Since Snyder is busy trying to make audiences believe a man can fly, 300 producers Mark Canton and Gianni Nunnari turned to Tarsem Singh, director of cult oddities The Cell and The Fall, to produce a movie in its predecessor's image, albeit with some of his own distinct visual flourishes. So how do 300 and Immortals match up? Quien es mas macho? We pit them head to head in a few key creative areas. (Except for the screenplay, because, really -- who's watching either of these movies for the dialogue?)

Time actually equals money in Andrew Niccol's (Gattaca, The Truman Show) latest adventure, starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried. That analogy is about as heavy-handed as you can possibly imagine and even if you can get past the social commentary, you'll still have to sit through nearly two hours' worth of enormous plot holes, uninteresting mysterious backstories and what is essentially a shoddy mash-up of Logan's Run and Bonnie and Clyde.

Although he's only wielded James Bond's license to kill in two movies -- with a third on the way sometime next year -- Daniel Craig is wasting little time preparing for life after 007. Since the release of Quantum of Solace in 2008, the British actor has shot five non-Bond features, including this summer's Cowboys & Aliens and two highly-anticipated fall films, Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn and David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. He's also headlining the new horror movie Dream House, which isn't being screened for critics in advance of its opening this Friday... a move that doesn't inspire much confidence in its quality. Still, you can't blame Craig for booking so many gigs in between Bond movies; he's undoubtedly noticed how his predecessors in the role of the world's most famous secret agent have occasionally struggled to move on once their days ordering shaken, not stirred martinis are done. Here's a look back at how the other Men That Have Been Bond have fared once the mantle was passed to someone else.

Like most movie critics, I've been looking forward to this fall's onslaught of prestige pictures after the summer blockbuster season. From Moneyball and The Ides of March to Melancholia and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the next three months are packed with hugely promising, very serious titles from directors, writers and actors I respect a great deal. But amidst all the high drama, there's always room for a 'splodey, ass-kicking action picture, which is why I've been anticipating Killer Elite since I first caught wind of it in late July.

Did I want to be the person who hated the movie that was based on the true story of Sam Childers, a former drug-addicted criminal who turned from bad-ass "hillbilly" (his word, not mine) to African child-saving martyr? No. Was I that jerk who left the theater groaning instead of giving a standing ovation? You betcha. I want to be clear that every awful thing I'm going to say about this movie has nothing to do with Childers as a person, because I'm certainly not writing this from my self-built orphanage in Africa. I'm not really here to criticize the man's Machiavellian philosophy about whether or not extreme violence is ever justified -- not today, anyways. So when I say Childers from now on, it will be referring to the actor who portrayed him in Machine Gun Preacher, Gerard Butler, who, given the role of playing an extremely angry man with a questionable sense of right and wrong, did a fine job. The movie's content, however, made me feel compelled to write a big WARNING label for anyone interested in this film who fits into the following categories:

In the John Singleton-directed thriller Abduction, Twilight heartthrob Taylor Lautner plays a seemingly ordinary teenager who discovers that the life he's been leading for some 18 years is one giant lie. Instead of a popular high-schooler living in suburban bliss with parents Maria Bello and Jason Isaacs, he's actually a kick-ass action hero that's been targeted by a high-level government agency eager to get more intel on him and his real mom and dad. Talk about a buzz-kill. Although on the upside, going on the run to uncover his actual identity does get him out of having to take his final exams. And maybe while he's searching for his elusive origins, he'll cross paths with some of these other men and women who discovered that their memories of their pasts aren't exactly on the up-and-up. [Warning: Spoilers ahead.]

The first fifteen minutes of Drive may be the best movie I've seen this year. In an ordinary hotel room with a window that peers out on a neon-colored Los Angeles cityscape, a movie stuntman who enjoys a second career as a getaway driver (Ryan Gosling, in a commanding performance) is talking into his cell phone, tersely explaining his way of doing business to a prospective client on the other end. You have me for five minutes, he says, if you aren't back in the car by then, I'm gone. Hanging up, he heads to the garage, fires up his vehicle of choice and pulls out into the street.

There are dumb action movies and then there's Colombiana, a revenge flick so relentlessly ridiculous and blatantly brain-damaged that you've got to wonder if the filmmakers are just messing with us from behind the camera. It would be one thing if the film were a broadly cartoonish romp like the 2007 spoof Shoot 'Em Up or a beautifully executed bit of absurdity such as John Woo's lone Hollywood masterpiece, Face/Off. But Colombiana is neither witty enough nor stylish enough to qualify as an "accidentally on purpose" guilty pleasure. Mainly it's just a waste of time, talent and resources on a movie that would feel more at home in the direct-to-DVD aisle of your local big box store than on a multiplex marquee.

The movies have given us a lot of great male actor pairings: Newman and Redford, Pesci and De Niro, Gibson and Glover. And while nobody in Fast Five has the talent or charisma of any of those actors (okay, maybe Glover), I think it's time we officially add Diesel and Walker to that list. Just because this is the third time they've partnered up, on and off the racetrack, and you can't help but smile when you see them bro out. Also, they spend a lot of time in cars, and when a car has personality it helps make up for a lack of personality in the actor. But really, there are a ton of pairings in this movie that pop, mostly among the ragtag band of racers that assembles to rip off a Brazilian criminal, and seeing the relationships develop, even in a limited way, definitely adds to the otherwise adrenaline-fueled thrill ride. Here are some of my favorites:

After watching Hanna, the pulse-pounding story of a teenage assassin on the run from government agents (read our review here), we were keen to sit in on a roundtable with one of the film's stars, Eric Bana. The Australian actor has a history of violence in films like The Hulk and Troy, but the relentless fight scenes in Hanna left us with a lot of questions. Read on for some answers, as well as how he survived the cold-weather shoot and what he thinks of the booming score by the Chemical Brothers. But first, beards!