The recent trend of Fairy Tale re-imaginings is going to be around for at least a few more years as Disney announced today that one if its most intriguing in-development projects is moving full steam ahead.

Maleficent is a live action re-telling of the Sleeping Beauty story, but from the perspective of Maleficent herself, played very appropriately by Angelina Jolie. Originally the movie was being developed by Brad Bird and there was even a time when Tim Burton was attached to direct, but recently the project had been rather dormant.

That was until today’s announcement of course. Disney has confirmed that Robert Stromberg will be making his feature debut with this film, which is now set for an March 14th, 2014 release date. Stromberg is a production designer that was a major contributor on Avatar and has worked with Tim Burton and Sam Raimi in the past. With a resume like that it is a safe bet that the film will look stunning, and with Angelina Jolie still perfectly cast in the title role this film has much going for it.

There was a time when this project looked dead in the water, but this new niche sub-genre has been gaining a ton of momentum as of late. Even the poorly marketed Mirror Mirror ended up gaining some admirers. Hopefully re-done fairy tales has some more creative heft to it now that the Twlight aesthetic has grown so stale.

We know you’re excited about all the cool E3 and Apple news this week and don’t worry, there’s more to come. Let’s pause, however, and take a look at some news from Hollywood, shall we?

According to reports, Sony is moving forward with a sequel to the Angelena Jolie action vehicle Salt which came out last year. Writer Kurt Wimmer has begun working on a script and Jolie is reportedly hot to reprise her role as Evelyn Salt, a CIA agent who is accused of being a Russian spy but eventually ends up saving the day.

For those of you who missed Salt the first time around it’s a solid action thriller with some good twists and competent direction from veteran Phillip Noyce, whose previous film include Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger and The Bone Collector. You can check it out on Netflix Instant if you’re curious.

Sony could do worse making a sequel to Salt. I’m sure they would love to continue the series of films and establish a solid franchise. The company could probably use some good news these days.

Just when you thought both Tomb Raider films couldn’t get any better, it looks like GK studios has now obtained the rights and are planning to go back to the drawing board with the entire franchise, and a complete reboot starting in 2013.

The rights were purchased last week from GK. Here’s the official press release.

In a pre-emptive strike, GK Films has come on board to acquire the feature film rights to TOMB RAIDER and will reboot the successful action-adventure franchise aiming for a 2013 release for the first film.

Produced by Graham King and Tim Headington, the films will create daring new adventures for the young and dynamic Lara Croft.

GK Films acquired the film rights from interactive entertainment company, Square Enix Ltd. In Dec 2010, Square Enix subsidiary, Crystal Dynamics, revealed a new game for TOMB RAIDER based around the origins of the Lara Croft story.

“We are very excited to be rebooting what is already a hugely successful film franchise and continuing the TOMB RAIDER phenomenon,” said King.

Though the original films were considered blasphemous to most legitimate gamers, they did pretty well financially. The first films, both in 2001 and 2003, grossed over $430 million worldwide. We’re sure GK is hoping to capitalize on that with a brand new face and brand.

The Tourist really wants to be the perfect Saturday night date movie. It is the kind of film that could be described entirely in clichéd one-liners, but that’s okay because it embraces this and wants to be entertaining nonetheless. Full of intrigue, romance, espionage and glamour, what it is lacking is nothing on the surface.

The problem is that there is nothing more to the film than its exterior. It is stylish, chic and not difficult to watch, but there really isn’t any more substance to it than an unsigned “Wish You Were Here” postcard of Venice.

Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, whose film The Lives of Others won the 2007 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, The Tourist should be in good hands. It was written by Donnersmarck, as well as two other very capable writers: Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) and Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park).

These are people that know how to make a good movie. Add stars like Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie and something delicious should be boiling at the surface, instead it felt more like a bowl of microwaved condensed soup.

A loose remake of the 2005 French film Anthony Zimmer directed by Jérôme Salle, the film is a giant nod to the great romantic crime capers of the 50s and 60s, most obviously Charade and To Catch a Thief. It is about a tourist, Frank Tupelo (Johnny Depp), a math teacher from Wisconsin who meets a striking, mysterious woman called Elise, played by Angelina Jolie.

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As summer dies down with explosive fire power and spiritual journeys to other lands, I recall the glorious action fest that was The Expendables. In turns out Julia Roberts has nothing on protein packed men with a mission on their minds. My female counterparts have voiced their love of meaty men in droves and unexpectedly taken away business from Julia’s love fest. Nearly 40 percent of The Expendables‘ audience was women. X-Men Origins: Wolverine‘s audience raked them in as nearly 50 percent of the audience was female. It seems women have tired of the boys akin to Michael Cera and instead jones for something with a little more muscle. Stallone should have learned the key to Hugh Jackman’s success to driving women in throngs- taking off his shirt.

I hear Hugh gave up his lead in Avon Man to start his insane work-out to become the ferocious mutant once again. If you take months upon months to beef up like these 80‘s action legends did, you’d think they’d want to show it off. Plus, wasn’t it super hot in Louisiana and Brazil where The Expendables shot? It was like 100 degrees with 100 percent humidity. Stallone couldn’t have been the only one who was feeling the heat.  Take off those shirts and up your female movie-going audience to 51 percent.

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As if having six children and being one of the most famous actresses on the planet were not enough, Angelina Jolie has decided to write, produce and direct a movie. Jolie wrote the screenplay about a Serbian man and a Bosnian woman who meet just prior to the Bosnian War.

True to her nature,  Jolie will go about it in a somewhat unconventional way.  She has announced that all the actors in the movie will be from the Bosnia region.

Jolie has been a Goodwill Ambassador for the United States, and has visited the war torn country before. She has stated that the film will not be political in nature, but rather a love story set in the region.

This is not Jolie’s first time as a director.  She previously directed a documentary entitled A Place In Time in 2007, which documented simultaneous moments in time from several different locations, including Cambodia, Kosovo, and India.

Next up we will see Jolie in The Tourist, with Johnny Depp. The film is in post-production,  and is slated for release on December 10.

Congrats to all those who have made it past Comic-Con’s endless Hall H lines, sat through countless hours of the studio’s pleading with you to buy movie tickets, and made it back home in one, tired piece. What awaits you is a month filled with the studio’s last line of blockbuster attack ads until the holiday season.

Fear not, as the lines will be vastly shorter than the wait for Eclipse. Instead of emos and soccer moms in “Team Edward” T-shirts, you’ll find yourself beside teenage boys who watch Rocky V on their Evos while waiting for The Expendables.

Curiously, the generals of Universal and Lionsgate both decided to fire missiles into the 13-30 years old guys camp. With the troops dispersing, you should be able to deftly maneuver yourself to the safety of a comfy recliner at the multiplex.

My advice, do like Julia Roberts and Eat some buttery popcorn, Pray for a film worth the ticket price, and Love the below reviews. Let’s check out what’s in store for us in August.

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Let’s take care of this right away.  If you cannot move beyond a really ridiculous plot in a movie, don’t bother going to see Salt.  If you are the type of person to give such things a pass, you might have a pretty good time at Salt.

It’s common knowledge that the lead role was originally intended for Tom Cruise, but the role was then rewritten for Angelina Jolie, who plays a CIA operative who may or may not be a double agent.

The film opens with Evelyn Salt (played by Jolie) being brutally interrogated in North Korea.  Stripped to her bra and panties Evelyn lies on the ground while being beaten and keeps iterating “I am not a spy,” over and over.  The scene sets up two key points.  Evelyn demonstrates how tough she is, and how well she can lie.

She is finally released to American authorities and tearfully confesses to her boyfriend that she works for the CIA.  He doesn’t care, and the two get married.

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To all who have survived the month of June by successfully traversing lines of blood-sucking twihards, I congratulate you. You can relax now because the steaming month of July is less about men of iron and teenagers who use SPF 60 and more about whiz kids, dreamers, and spies.

Movie studios may appear to be throwing grenades into your trench, but don’t let the eye-catching blue and orange of the movie posters fool you. These grenades are merely filled with smoke and a good amount of marketing slickness. They will explode in your face only when you yank the pin by paying $12. Then, they will have truly won the battle. Instead of succumbing to the propaganda, arm yourselves wisely with the reviews below.

Those in the know will hold their breath until August when the golden generation of action heroes team up to save the world, kick some ass before kicking the bucket, and get sweaty enough to take off their shirts- giving both men and women some very good reasons for sitting in an air-conditioned multiplex.

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Director Timur Bekmambetov has found great success in both his own country and the U.S. His films, Nightwatch, Daywatch and Wanted show a decided flair for the dramatic and an aesthetic that’s both pleasing to the eye and filled with exceptional inventive style. He also knows his way around an action scene and isn’t afraid to get his characters into some tense, unusual and often deadly situations.

Recently, I had a chance to chat with Bekmambetov about several topics during Comic-Con in San Diego including the upcoming film 9, what’s going on with Wanted 2 and if he plans to bring Angelina Jolie’s character Fox back from the dead.

Check out part of that interview, where we walk Wanted 2, after the jump. Also, be sure to check back right here for the rest of the interview where we walk all about Shane Acker’s 9 and what movie Bekmambetov consider his ultimate dream project.

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Okay, raise your hand if you think Angelina Jolie is still hot. Okay, I see quite a few hands there, good. Now raise your hand if you liked Timur Bekmabetov’s adaptation of the Mark Millar and J.G. Jones comic Wanted. Great, a few more hands up. Perfect. So, it looks like we have some Angelina Jolie and Wanted fans here. If that’s you, then this news is for you.

According to Russia’s leading news site RIA Novosti (via MTV Spashpage) director Bekmabetov is preparing to shoot the sequel to last years Wanted and has a bit of surprise for fans of Jolie’s character, the deadly assassin Fox : she’s coming back for the sequel even though she died at the end of the first film. He also plans to start filming very soon.

“In July we will start preparation for the film. I think in the late autumn or winter shooting will be performed. The shooting will take place in America, India and Russia,” said the director. Besides Jolie’s character, Bekmabetov hopes to bring back the character played by Kostya Khabenskiy, who also starred in Bekmabetov’s breakout films Night Watch and Day Watch.

Well, if Jolie’s character gets to come back, what about Morgan Freeman’s character? That’s probably unlikely. Still, with characters coming back from the dead quite a bit these days, anything’s possible.