The nationwide expansion of Harmony Korine‘s Spring Breakers meant that I had the opportunity to catch the film last night at my local theater. We’ll talk a more specifically about our coverage of the film after the jump. For now, I’d like to make a futile attempt at encapsulating my feelings on the pic in the next few sentences. There’s a lot to like about Breakers whether it be the performances (James Franco‘s especially), the music, the slick editing and use of foreshadowing, etc. Nevertheless, for me this isn’t a movie that I “liked” as much as it’s one I respect. It’s beautiful, surreal, challenging, abhorrent, and vapid all at the same time. In other words, it’s art.

I could go on for days about the pic but that’s not why we’re here. In this week’s Top 5 we’ll take a look at our Breakers coverage, some Transformers 4 plot details, Olympus Has Fallen interviews with Gerard Butler and Antoine Fuqua just to name a few, a new trailer and poster for Star Trek Into Darkness, and The Croods interviews with Nicolas Cage and more. As is standard, a brief recap and link to each awaits after the jump.

“It’s Die Hard in the White House” is the high-concept pitch for Olympus Has Fallen.  It’s a good pitch, but it’s only a pitch.  The movie doesn’t understand what makes Die Hard compelling beyond “a hero trapped and alone has to take out bad guys and save hostages”.  It’s about well-written characters and a confident tone, and Olympus Has Fallen has neither.  Director Antoine Fuqua may have his movie paced like a tight action flick, but it’s a confused picture in terms of mood and plot.  Furthermore, it misses the obvious aspect of giving us a hero worth rooting for and a villain worth rooting against.  Olympus Has Fallen sticks us in the crossfire and no one knows how to shoot.

Opening this weekend is director Antoine Fuqua’s (Training Day) White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen.  The film stars Gerard Butler as a disgraced Secret Service agent called back to duty when terrorists take over the White House and capture the President (Aaron Eckhart).  The film also stars Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, and Rick Yune.  If you’ve been waiting for Butler to return to action, you’re going to be very happy watching Olympus Has Fallen.  Not only is the film a hard R for graphic violence, it features Butler kicking ass in some great action set pieces.  Watch some clips here.

During the recent New York City press junket, I got to speak with McDermott and Yune.  We talked about how the film is a hard R realistic take on what could actually happen to the White House, the way they prepared for their roles, the action scenes, how Olympus Has Fallen is a hard R with blood and guts, script changes, and future projects.  Hit the jump to watch.

FilmDistrict has released ten new clips from director Antoine Fuqua’s (Shooter) upcoming White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen.  The film stars Gerard Butler as a disgraced Secret Service agent called back to duty when terrorists take over the White House and capture the President (Aaron Eckhart).

Hit the jump to check out the clips, and click here for over 25 high-resolution images from the pic.  The film also stars Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, and Rick Yune.  Olympus Has Fallen opens on March 22nd.

FilmDistrict has released a batch of new high-resolution images from director Antoine Fuqua’s (Training Day) White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen.  The film stars Gerard Butler as a disgraced Secret Service agent called back to duty when terrorists take over the White House and capture the President (Aaron Eckhart).  The pic is one of two similarly-plotted action films that take place in and around the White House that will hit theaters this year, with the other being Roland Emmerich’s White House Down.  Thus far, this film looks like it has a slightly larger scope than Down, but we’ve yet to see a full trailer for the latter.

Hit the jump to take a look at the images.  The film also stars Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, and Rick Yune.  Olympus Has Fallen opens on March 22nd.

Three new posters have been released for Antoine Fuqua’s action film Olympus Has Fallen.  The film stars Gerard Butler, who plays a disgraced Secret Service agent called back to duty when terrorists take over the White House and capture the President (Aaron Eckhart).  Olympus Has Fallen will be the first of two “agent-saves-captured-White-House” action flicks this year, and I’m putting my money on Roland Emmerich‘s movie, White House Down because Emmerich knows you have to go big, go dumb, and go fun, or go home.  Then again, last year I bet on Snow White and the Huntsman over Mirror Mirror for the Snow White movies, and the latter turned out to be the better film.

Hit the jump to check out posters for supporting cast members Angela Bassett, Dylan McDermott, and Rick Yune.  Click on the respective links for the character posters for Butler, Eckhart, and Morgan Freeman.  Olympus Has Fallen opens March 22nd.

After years of work, Wu-Tang Clan member Rza’s writing and directorial debut, The Man with the Iron Fists is finally hitting screens on November 2nd. The film, co-written by Eli Roth and presented by Quentin Tarantino is a cross-cultural mashup of 70s Kung Fu, 90s gangsta rap and 00s comic book logic. Some of the coolest elements of the film come from Rick Yune’s knife-wielding Zen-Yi and the villainous duo of Byron Mann and Cung Le, playing the power hungry Silver Lion and Bronze Lion.

Last weekend Collider sat down with Yune, Le and Mann back stage at the House of Blues Sunset to discuss the film. During the interview we talked about character histories, sibling rivalries and get a few hints at how three-and-a-half weeks of shooting turned into a two-minute montage.  Hit the jump to watch.

It looks like Antoine Fuqua’s Olympus Has Fallen will get a chance to take down the White House before Roland Emmerich’s White House Down as it is now slated to open first by about three months.  Starring Gerard Butler as a disgraced Secret Service agent called back to duty when terrorists take over the White House, Olympus Has Fallen will star Aaron Eckhart as the President in Peril. (Emmerich’s film stars Channing Tatum as the heroic Secret Service agent with Jamie Foxx playing the President.)

Olympus Has Fallen also stars Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Cole Hauser, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell and Rick Yune and will open April 5th, 2013. Hit the jump to read the press release.

Just yesterday we saw a new trailer for director RZA’s crazy-lookin’ kung fu film The Man with the Iron Fists by way of a character trailer for Cung Le’s Bronze Lion, and today it’s Lucy Liu’s turn.  The story follows a group of warriors, assassins, heroes, and villains who unite to take down a clan traitor in order to prevent their own destruction.  This trailer centers on Liu’s Madame Blossom character, showing off some impressive fight sequences and a fun tease of the relationship she has with Russell Crowe’s character. The first featurette for the film has also been released, in which RZA talks about his lifelong love of martial arts movies and the impact of producer Quentin Tarantino.

Hit the jump to check out the new trailer and featurette.  The film also stars RZA, Byron Mann, Rick Yune, David Bautista, Pam Grier and Jamie Chung.  The Man with the Iron Fists opens on November 2nd.

A new trailer from writer/director/star RZA’s kung-fu action flick The Man with the Iron Fists has dropped and it features UFC fighter Cung Le in character as the Bronze Lion.  The story follows a group of warriors, assassins, heroes and villains who unite to take down a clan traitor in order to prevent their own destruction. RZA’s directorial debut made my most anticipated list and I’m encouraged by the crazier and crazier footage being released.  If you missed the previous red-band trailers, you can get caught up here and here.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.  The film also stars Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu, Byron Mann, Rick Yune, David Bautista, Pam Grier and Jamie Chung.  The Man with the Iron Fists opens on November 2nd.

A batch of new images from director RZA’s The Man with the Iron Fists has landed online.  Produced by Quentin Tarantino and written by RZA and Eli Roth, the film takes place in feudal China and centers on a small village’s weapon-maker who must defend its peoples.  We’ve already seen two trailers that promise some crazy violence, and these images don’t disappoint.  I’m eager to see this fairy tale-like genre mash-up not only because of the caliber of talent behind the scenes, but also because of the eclectic cast RZA has gathered onscreen: Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu, Pam Grier, David Bautista, and Rick Yune.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  The film also stars Jamie Chung, Cung Le, Daniel Wu, and Byron Mann.  The Man with the Iron Fists opens on November 2nd.

A new red-band trailer for RZA’s The Man with the Iron Fists has landed online.  Though it’s not wildly different from the film’s first red-band trailer, this one does show a bit more of the supporting cast of characters and some other scenes of stylishly impressive violence.  Most importantly, though, The Man with the Iron Fists still looks absolutely batshit crazy.  The film was directed by RZA based on a script he wrote with Eli Roth, with Quentin Tarantino onboard as the film’s producer.  The story takes place in feudal China and centers on a small village’s weapon-maker who must defend its peoples.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.  The film also stars Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu, Cung Le, Byron Mann, Rick Yune, David Bautista, Pam Grier and Jamie Chung.  The Man with the Iron Fists opens on November 2nd.

Hey, everyone: remember that trailer for The Man with the Iron Fists? The one with all the gory Kung Fu hijinks, murderous sex workers and other EYE-popping spectacle? Of course you do. Most of us pledged to lay EYEs on the film as soon as Russell Crowe inexplicably (but quite awesomely) appeared as a cowboy. Well, get out your date-circling Sharpie, because we’ve gotten word that Universal is EYEing a November 2, 2012 release date for its grindhousey martial arts epic. The directorial debut of The Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA, Fists sees a clan dispute in feudal China erupting into an all-out melee between some truly badass warriors. Co-written by Eli Roth (Hostel) and produced by Quentin Tarantino, it’s graced with an eclectic international cast led by RZA himself in the title role, as well as Lucy Liu, Jamie Chung, Pam Grier, Rick Yune, Cung Le, Daniel Wu, Byron Mann and former WWE wrestler Dave Bautista.

While the promising flick is currently slated for early November, do keep an EYE on local listings in case it’s violently dislodged and sent careening across the schedule.  Hit the jump to watch the film’s trailer.

We’ve got a couple of casting stories to share this afternoon.  First up, Oscar winner Melissa Leo and Rick Yune (Die Another Day) have been added to the cast of the White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen.  Not to be confused with the similarly plotted White House Down, which has Roland Emmerich directing and Channing Tatum starring, Olympus Has Fallen has Gerard Butler playing a secret service agent who becomes the country’s only hope when the White House is overrun by terrorists.  Antoine Fuqua directs, and Heat Vision reports that Leo will be playing a tough Secretary of State while Yune has landed the film’s villain role.  In addition to Die Another Day, Yune played an antagonist in the original The Fast and the Furious.  No other details are known regarding his nefarious plot or why he feels the need to break into the President’s home.

Hit the jump for details on a number of additions to the cast of the biopic Jobs. 

Opening on November 25^th is director James McTeigue’s Ninja Assassin.  The film stars Asian superstar Rain in the title role and as you can easily put together from the title, it’s about Ninja’s.  And assassin’s.  Also, the film is loaded with action and blood so if you’re into either of those things, this is pretty much a must see movie.  Finally, it’s produced by the Wachowski Brothers and Joel Silver (The Matrix Trilogy, V for Vendetta), and they’ve done a few things you might have liked….

Anyway, if you’d like a taste of the movie, after the jump you can watch six clips.  In the coming weeks check back for interviews with the cast and filmmakers.  Until then….