Jason Bourne

Los Angeles County prosecutors filed additional counterfeiting and weapons charges Thursday against a man who spent six weeks on the run from authorities after making a dramatic escape from his downtown loft overlooking the Federal Reserve building. Brian Alexik, who authorities likened to Jason Bourne, the fictional secret agent known for his daring getaways and high-tech gadgetry, was charged with seven new felony counts — including forgery and drug charges — under an amended criminal complaint filed by prosecutors in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Actor Matt Damon may have been a neighbor to "Good Will Hunting" pal Ben Affleck for several months now, but his purchase of an estate in Pacific Palisades for $15 million just appeared on the Multiple Listing Service after the first of the year. Damon's contemporary three-level house features 35-foot vaulted mahogany ceilings, an atrium, a floating stairway, an office and a gym. Including staff quarters, there are seven bedrooms, 10 bathrooms and 13,508 square feet of living space.

"There was never just one. " That advertising tag line for "The Bourne Legacy"has an almost apologetic ring to it, as if making a Bourne film without Matt Damon - the star of the first three and the epitome of the empathetic killing machine that is Jason Bourne - was a brash and risky move. As it turns out, no one needed to worry, because few films have less to apologize for than this one. Complex, unexpected and dazzling, alternating relentless tension with resonant emotional moments, this is an exemplary espionage thriller that has a strong sense of what it wants to accomplish and how best to get there.

The filmmakers behind James Bond invented (and then reinvented) the spy movie -- then watched as a generation of action directors, er, borrowed from the movies about the resourceful secret agent. We'll have plenty from the principals on the new movie, titled “Skyfall” and set for a Nov. 9 opening in the U.S., in the weeks ahead. But with the Daniel Craig movie premiering in London Tuesday night, we thought it worth posing one of the big questions asked about Bond circa 2012: How much does 007 have in common with other action heroes currently on the big screen?

Actor Matt Damon may have been a neighbor to "Good Will Hunting" pal Ben Affleck for several months now, but his purchase of an estate in Pacific Palisades for $15 million just appeared on the Multiple Listing Service after the first of the year. Damon's contemporary three-level house features 35-foot vaulted mahogany ceilings, an atrium, a floating stairway, an office and a gym. Including staff quarters, there are seven bedrooms, 10 bathrooms and 13,508 square feet of living space.

Over the years, Hollywood has come up with a number of ways to continue and revive lucrative movie franchises. The James Bond films, for example, have swapped in new actors to play the lead role, while wholesale reboots like"Batman Begins"and"The Amazing Spider-Man"have started over from Square One. "The Bourne Legacy,"the fourth film in the popular spy series, takes yet another approach, spinning off a parallel story that features a different protagonist...

CAST: Matt Damon, Amy Ryan and Greg Kinnear. Directed by Paul Greengrass. BACK STORY: Greengrass has taken the seemingly unfilmable -- the Sept. 11 attacks, in particular, with his "United 93" -- and made movies that are critical and commercial successes. He faces one of his toughest challenges yet with "Green Zone," a big-budget drama set in post-invasion Iraq. You need only a passing familiarity with Hollywood economics to know movies about Middle East conflict have not fared well at the box office.

We are in serious danger of running out of Bournes. According to the ad campaign, "The Bourne Supremacy" may be "the start of a powerful adult franchise" (David Poland, Movie City News). But Robert Ludlum wrote only "The Bourne Identity," "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum." True, after Ludlum's death, the saga has continued, with author Eric Van Lustbader's "The Bourne Legacy" (St. Martin's Press, 2004).

In the raging pop culture battle between James Bond and Jason Bourne, I'm going to have to side with the latter. Not because Bond is "an imperialist and a misogynist"-- as "Bourne" actor Matt Damon has charged -- but because, debonair as he is, Bond is a hero of a different era, one in which we believed in the power of technology to do good.

Shortly after she received an Oscar nomination at the tender age of 13, "Atonement" star Saoirse Ronan needed a new movie. Despite a drama background, she was intrigued by the title character in "Hanna," an ethereally beautiful teen who also happens to be a ruthless assassin. But the project was stuck in development at Focus Features; filmmakers like Danny Boyle had come and gone. Ronan had a simple solution: "They said they didn't have a director," the Irish actress (first name SER-sha)

After the coffee. Before going through week-old emails. The Skinny: A week spent visiting family in hot and humid Washington, D.C., is not a vacation. It's more of an oblication. That needs to become a word. Anyway, thanks for the fine folks who filled in while I was off. I'm a little disappointed I won't be the next Wally Pipp (look it up). Monday's headlines include a recap of the weekend box office, a look at who is eyeing Dick Clark Productions, the launch of Mundo Fox and analysis of NBC's Olympic coverage.

Over the years, Hollywood has come up with a number of ways to continue and revive lucrative movie franchises. The James Bond films, for example, have swapped in new actors to play the lead role, while wholesale reboots like"Batman Begins"and"The Amazing Spider-Man"have started over from Square One. "The Bourne Legacy,"the fourth film in the popular spy series, takes yet another approach, spinning off a parallel story that features a different protagonist...

"There was never just one. " That advertising tag line for "The Bourne Legacy"has an almost apologetic ring to it, as if making a Bourne film without Matt Damon - the star of the first three and the epitome of the empathetic killing machine that is Jason Bourne - was a brash and risky move. As it turns out, no one needed to worry, because few films have less to apologize for than this one. Complex, unexpected and dazzling, alternating relentless tension with resonant emotional moments, this is an exemplary espionage thriller that has a strong sense of what it wants to accomplish and how best to get there.

The After Wife   Gigi Levangie Grazer Ballantine, $25 A charming tale of a grieving 40-ish widow - and the wacky friends who love her - as she attempts to regain control of her life in the sometimes-surreal L.A. landscape. (July) The Age of Doubt   Andrea Camilleri Viking, $15 In the latest in the author's series, take another journey to Sicily with Inspector Montalbano, who seeks to penetrate the mystery surrounding two yachts and the discovery of a mutilated corpse.

Shortly after she received an Oscar nomination at the tender age of 13, "Atonement" star Saoirse Ronan needed a new movie. Despite a drama background, she was intrigued by the title character in "Hanna," an ethereally beautiful teen who also happens to be a ruthless assassin. But the project was stuck in development at Focus Features; filmmakers like Danny Boyle had come and gone. Ronan had a simple solution: "They said they didn't have a director," the Irish actress (first name SER-sha)

Los Angeles County prosecutors filed additional counterfeiting and weapons charges Thursday against a man who spent six weeks on the run from authorities after making a dramatic escape from his downtown loft overlooking the Federal Reserve building. Brian Alexik, who authorities likened to Jason Bourne, the fictional secret agent known for his daring getaways and high-tech gadgetry, was charged with seven new felony counts — including forgery and drug charges — under an amended criminal complaint filed by prosecutors in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Re "Threat by Iraq Grows, U.S. Says," Sept. 9: Do we really have to barge through the front door with our military tactics blueprinted Web-wide to dispose of Saddam Hussein? If the CIA can read a license plate in real time with surveillance satellites, pray tell why can't it insert a spook in range of Hussein and kill him? One man, survival unlikely, versus countless American boys dying and billions of dollars. No United Nations approval, no congressional chitchat and leaks; just take the SOB out. Game over.

The Bourne Supremacy Matt Damon, Joan Allen Universal, $30 He may look like the boy next door, but Matt Damon proved himself a first-rate action star with the 2002 hit spy thriller, "The Bourne Identity." He's just as good in this taut sequel, which was shot in Berlin and India. Directed with savvy intelligence by Paul Greengrass ("Bloody Sunday"), this thriller finds CIA assassin Jason Bourne still stricken with amnesia and trying to unlock his past life.

CAST: Matt Damon, Amy Ryan and Greg Kinnear. Directed by Paul Greengrass. BACK STORY: Greengrass has taken the seemingly unfilmable -- the Sept. 11 attacks, in particular, with his "United 93" -- and made movies that are critical and commercial successes. He faces one of his toughest challenges yet with "Green Zone," a big-budget drama set in post-invasion Iraq. You need only a passing familiarity with Hollywood economics to know movies about Middle East conflict have not fared well at the box office.

Jason Bourne is getting historical. Matt Damon, star of the "The Bourne Identity" and its sequels, dropped by the semiannual gathering of the Television Critics Assn. on Wednesday to promote a longtime passion project, one without chases or high-tech gizmos. Damon is an executive producer of "The People Speak," an unusual History channel documentary premiering later this year that features Damon, Marisa Tomei and other celebrities performing selections from diaries, speeches and other primary sources related to American history.