You want to see "Ninja Assassin." You may not know it yet, but that title should be enough to sell you. A sure-footed nod to the hundreds of campy martial arts flicks that came before it, in actuality director James McTeigue's ("V for Vendetta") latest is a stylish, digital effects-laden adrenaline blast. Then again, I would expect nothing less from a movie produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowski Brothers, a group previously responsible for "Speed Racer" and the "Matrix" trilogy.

The story follows a young man named Raizo (Rain), kidnapped as a child by the shadowy Ozunu Clan. Trained to kill with blinding speed and no hesitation, Raizo grows up to be the world's deadliest assassin. And to think I wanted to be an astronaut! As is always the danger with shadowy ninja clans, Raizo is eventually betrayed by those who trained him. After spending a few years in hiding, he emerges to exact his bloody revenge. Oh yes, bloody revenge. Hit the jump to check out our EXCLUSIVE poster debut. Read more...

"Ninja Assassin" is just about everything I want in a movie. The title makes it sound like a 70s martial arts throwback, the sort that Wu-Tang Clan's RZA is likely to lift samples from. It is in fact a slick-looking action flick produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowski Brothers, and directed by "V for Vendetta" helmer James McTeigue. It stars Rain ("Speed Racer") as Raizo, the world's deadliest assassin, and this exclusive debut trailer shows us why.

You've got swordplay, superhuman acrobatics, a whizzing kusarigama (ie a sickle on a chain), casual blood-letting and many, many, many flying shurikens. The ninja-loving child inside me is screaming for more. Sadly, he -- and the rest of you -- will have to sit tight until "Ninja Assassin"'s November 25 release.

After the announcement that J. Michael Straczynski had been tapped to write the on again/off again remake of "Forbidden Planet," geeks across the globe pretty much said the same thing: "Well, duh!" Given his resume -- which includes creating the sci-fi cult hit "Babylon 5” as well as fanboy-acclaimed runs on such Marvel comics as "Fantastic Four" and "Spider-Man" -- Straczynski's pen and the remake of the 1956 sci-fi classic seemingly go together like unconscious damsels in distress and hulking, terrifying robots. And judging by the writer's excitement for the project, he apparently agree.

"I’ve always wanted to do something involving 'Forbidden Planet,'" Straczynski told MTV News. "It’s my favorite science-fiction film of all time. I’ve watched the rights go from one company to the next. I heard that the rights at Dreamworks were about to expire and I went to Joel Silver and said I think if you move quickly you can grab it and I can write it. And he did. It’s the dream of a lifetime to play in that universe." Read more...

Here's one franchise that, thankfully, won't be making a return long past its welcome. The Internet has been buzzing for weeks over a fifth installment of "Lethal Weapon," most of the excitement centered on the fact that Shane Black had penned the script. Black wrote the first two installments, which are generally agreed to be the best of the four, and was producer Joel Silver's pick to direct a fifth film. All was dependent on Mel Gibson's approval.

And he won't be giving it. Geoff Boucher caught up with Richard Donner, who reports that Gibson has refused to return for a fifth installment. Read more...