Attack of the gnarly old he-men

There's nothing like flogging an old hit franchise to revive a flagging career. That appears to be the motto of several actors whose box-office glory days seemed far behind them.

Now 60, Sylvester Stallone steps back into the ring, playing one of the oldest boxers in the world in Rocky Balboa, which opens here next month and is the first in the series since Rocky V in 1990. He will follow it with Rambo IV: In the Serpent's Eye next year. Bruce Willis is donning his dirty white vest again to play dogged detective John McClane for the fourth time in Live Free or Die Hard, to be released next summer. And Eddie Murphy will return as detective Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop IV.

There's talk of Murphy securing an Oscar nomination as best supporting actor for his performance in the musical, Dreamgirls.