John Woo is currently focussing on Flying Tigers, his 1940 aerial epic about fighter pilot Claire Le Chennault, who taught the Chinese to fly before they took on the Japanese in WWII. But while he targets Liam Neeson for the lead role in his $90m IMAX blockbuster, the director is also looking at doing something even more dramatic: remaking his own movie The Killer, and Le Samourai.

Talking to Variety, Woo detailed his plans to rework his 1989 action movie The Killer, which sees Chow Yun-Fat as an assassin who accidentally damages a female singer's eyes. Having a sudden pang of conscience, he decides to take one last job to help fund the expensive operation to save her eyesight. As the couple begin to fall in love, a police detective starts chasing down the assassin - and the two soon become friends.

Cementing Woo's status outside of his own country, The Killer not only helped the helmer make the jump to Hollywood (and, eventually, Face/Off) but influenced later action directors like Tarantino and Johnnie To. It also featured fun nicknames like "Mickey Mouse" and "Dumbo" for those of the subtitled persuasion. With its over-the-top action, use of white pigeons and wonderfully bloody violence, The Killer is pretty much perfect the way it is. Remaking it is kind of pointless.

But even worse than that is to plan a remake of Le Samourai. Jean-Pierre Melville's 1967 classic (nay, masterpiece) is a work that should never be touched by anyone, Face/Off or otherwise. The tale of solitary hitman Jef Costello has such style and beauty that to even think of remaking it is a crime against cinema. A blend of samurai, gangster and noir traditions, Melville's philosophical thriller is one of the most influential movies in the genre. The Killer was actually Woo's tribute to it in many ways. Although Le Samourai has something Woo's movie never did: Alain Delon wearing the sexiest hat in the world.

Woo also spoke to Variety about his desire to make a musical (he almost directed Phantom of the Opera), his thoughts about a Kurosawa homage, and his aim to not retire anytime soon. Given the mojo he got back from making Red Cliff, that's no bad thing.

It honestly is great that a legend such as The Woo is still making new movies. But if he goes near Le Samourai, I'll blast the guy through a wall with his own shotgun. In slow-motion. And then throw a pigeon at him. 

Doors are opening everywhere these days for Carey Mulligan - car doors, in this case. Yes, Mulligan is making a move to join Universal's upcoming action thriller, Drive.

The movie, which also stars Ryan Gosling and Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston, will mark a slight departure from drama for the actress, who made her name in An Education. Directed by Pusher's Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive will follow a stunt driver (Gosling) working on the odd bank job, who ends up on the run from hit men - with a former prisoner's girlfriend in the passenger seat.

It's got a promising cast and an interesting director, so Drive might well be something more than your average brainless actioner. It's written by Hossein Amini (who wrote the naff Killshot, but the pretty decent Wings of the Dove) so it marks a rare time when Winding Refn works from someone else's screenplay. Is he selling out? Has he spotted something special? Either way, at least we won't end up with Valhalla Rising again.

Drive starts shooting in LA next month.

Fans lined up along Leicester Square last night to greet Angelina Jolie at the premiere of her latest film, Salt. The actress, who stars in the part famously written for Tom Cruise, smiled as she signed things for the crowds gathering around London's glamourous black carpet.

Salt, an action thriller now with a female lead, sees Jolie arrested for being a Russian spy, despite years of CIA service. On the run and trying to prove her innocence, she faces a slight problem: the more stuff she blows up, the guiltier she looks.

It's a topical subject thanks to recent events, not to mention a physically demanding part, but Jolie was happy to take up the challenge:

"I've done a lot of action movies, but I hadn't done one based in reality..." she explained, as fans shrieked in the background and men threw undergarments at her. Ok, so maybe the last bit's not true.

Like your action stars female and woman-like? Then check out the photos below of Angelina strutting her stuff up and down the black carpet. And, while you're at it, read on for a sexy video of the whole thing too.

Salt is released in cinemas on Wednesday 18th August. 

Director: Sylvester Stallone
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, Steve Austin, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Arnold Schwarzenegger
Certificate: 15
Trailers/Clips

How bad can so-bad get before it stops being good? If Sylvester Stallone doesn't know the answer, no-one does. But he has a damn good shot at it with The Expendables, an action movie with a cast of manly men that most men dream of in their manly man-dreams. The Expendables are mercenaries - guns for hire with an emphasis on the guns. They have names, but they don't matter. What matters is that they have guns. Lots of guns. Dolph Lundgren's gun can literally blow a man into two halves.

"What do you want?" "Your life - I'm thinking of taking it."

Top-notch A-list acting from Jason Statham there, as always. Diving his big bald head into Sylvester Stallone's terrible screenplay, he comes up with the best bits of dialogue. But he also gets the best fight scenes. And now you can see that for yourself with this sexy new clip from The Expendables.

Butch, manly, shiny in sunlight, The Stath's hairless bonce is great in a fight. He's like a reverse Samson. No wonder that Sly picked him up as the second lead in his all guns/no brains blockbuster. The Expendables, which just scraped a 15 certificate despite its ridiculous amount of bloody violence, taps into that greatest of places in the male brain: the bit that likes people killing people. And stuff.

The Expendables is out on Wednesday 18th August. The all-action line-up also features Jet Li, Steve Austin, Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Don't believe The Stath is the best of the bunch? Read on to see him kicking serious butt on a basketball court, and then delivering two of the best one-liners in movie history. I'll give you a clue: one involves balls.

For more video goodness, check out the trailer and other clips over here.

Ok, so Tom Hardy hasn't declared war with McG. He's done something quite, quite different: he's signed up for a film called This Means War. Directed by McG.

Yes, the suave Brit who blew everyone away with his scenery-devouring Bronson performance, before going on to prove his action credentials with Christopher Nolan's mind-bending Inception, will now star in a film by McG. From James Bond contender to Charlie's Angels follow-up in the blink of an eye.

This Means War is a high-concept blend of action, romance and comedy - an action rom-com, if you allow us to coin a brand new genre. Back in 2001, Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence were attached to play two spies fighting over one woman (Reese Witherspoon). It never too off.

In recent years, it looked like Bradley Cooper and Chris Pine would be filling the manly parts. That is, until Cooper dropped out because he thought the script was a bit naff. Along came Sam Worthington - McG stalwart after Terminator Salvation - who ultimately passed as well.

And so in steps Tom Hardy to take up the battle for Reese Witherspoon, as he and Pine, two lifelong secret agent friends, declare full-on black ops warfare against each other. Then, when the film finally gets made, McG can make a sequel: This Really Means War. In which thousands of Inception and Bronson fans declare full-on black ops warfare against Tom Hardy for selling out.

Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine
Certificate: 12A
Trailers/Clips

So it's a masterpiece. Right? Right. Ok, that's the hype dealt with - the director easily meets it. It's hard to think of many film-makers who could pull off a twisting tale of dreams-within-dreams. It's even harder to name people who would think to do it in the first place. Inception is a bold concept, deftly woven into a thrilling tale, and cleverly wrapped up as a summer blockbuster. It succeeds on every one of those levels.

Pierce Brosnan has found Salvation - well, Salvation Boulevard to be exact. Based on a novel by Larry Beinhart (Wag the Dog), Salvation Boulevard is a religious comedy-thriller about American churches. It sees a gang of fundamental Christians chasing one recent convert when the reputation of their oh-so-charismatic preacher comes into question.

Director George Ratliff will start shooting from his script (co-written with Douglas Stone) in April. Satirical religious action? Yes please, Mr Brosnan. Especially if it means you won't be doing Mamma Mia 2 - which, from what you told Empire the other day, is probably true. 

Director: James Mangold
Cast: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard
Certificate: TBC
Release Date: Friday 6th August 

During this glamorous and sometimes deadly adventure, nothing and no one – even the now fugitive couple, Knight and Day – are what they seem.

Amid shifting alliances and unexpected betrayals, they race across the globe, with their survival ultimately hinging on the battle of truth vs. trust.

As far as comedies go, you can't get more chaotic than the madcap action of True Lies. But forget Cameron's crazy creation - here comes another Cameron to top it. And she's packing her own Tom Cruise to boot. Yes, Hollywood's two biggest names are reuniting for the first time since Vanilla Sky. The good news being that this looks for more promising.

It's called Knight and Day, with Cruise's secret agent constantly interrupting Cameron Diaz's everyday life. Normally by shooting some people or crashing a plane. It may seem a little cliched or forced, but it's directed by 3:10 to Yuma's James Mangold and with Tom on top twinkly-eyed charismatic form, this may well be something special. Or, at the very least, something very expensive.

Check out E! Online to see the trailer, or read on for the full video here.