Joel Silver

Changeling screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski heads up the Forbidden Planet remake for Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures. The 1956 original followed a space expedition's trek to Altair-4, a remote planet where an Earth scientist has progressed his intellect far beyond that of normal human capability with the help of a long-lost race and his helping robot, Robby. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous super-sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, gets an update with this adaptation of Lionel Wigram's comic book series by writer/director Guy Ritchie (RocknRolla) starring Robert Downey Jr. as the titular detective, with Jude Law stepping into the shoes of his sidekick, Dr. Watson. Heading up the rest of the cast are RocknRolla's Mark Strong as the film's villain, Blackwood, and Rachel McAdams portraying the love interest, Irene Adler. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Dark Castle Entertainment presents the story of a couple (Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farmiga) that seeks adoption after losing their own child, only to welcome into their house a young girl who has a hidden evil streak underneath her sweet demeanor in the Warner Bros. picture Orphan. House of Wax's Jaume Collet-Serra directs from a script by David Leslie Johnson. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

V for Vendetta director James McTeigue re-teams with that film's producers Larry and Andy Wachowski for this action-packed tale of a skilled assassin who was trained by a mythical secret society, and patiently awaits the day he will avenge the death of his best friend. Swept off the streets as a young boy, Raizo (Korean pop star Rain) is transformed into an unstoppable killing machine by a secret society known as the Ozunu Clan. The Ozunu Clan is so proficient at keeping their existence a secret that most people think they are only a myth, but the moment Ozuno assassins kill Raizo's friend, their days in the shadows are numbered. In the aftermath of that killing, Raizo manages to break free from the gang, subsequently biding his time until the day he can take the entire Ozunu Clan down.

Later, in Berlin, Europol agent Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris) discovers a money trail connecting multiple political murders to a mysterious network of elusive assassins from the Far East. While her superior Ryan Maslow (Ben Miles) orders Mika to back down and stop asking questions, she stealthily begins searching through classified agency files on a relentless mission to discover the truth about the murders. Singled out as a target as a direct result of her investigation, Mika is marked for death by lethal Ozunu assassin Takeshi (Rick Yune). Just as Mika is about to be silenced forever, Raizo saves her from certain death. But Raizo knows that Takeshi and the rest of the Ozuno Clan won't stop until he and Mika are both dead. Now, as Raizo and Mika are hunted through the winding streets of Europe, their only hope for survival is to trust one another and stay alive long enough to bring the Ozunu empire crumbling to the ground. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

John Cusack stars as cop whose obsession for catching a serial killer is pushed over the edge when his daughter goes missing in the Dark Castle picture The Factory for Warner Bros. Pictures. Australia's Project Greenlight winner Morgan O'Neill helms the production from a script he co-wrote with Paul Leyden. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

The Matrix masterminds Andy and Larry Wachowski usher anime icon Tatsuo Yoshida's classic 1960s-era hit into the new millennium with this family-friendly story of a young racecar driver who takes on the mysterious Racer X in a custom-made, gadget-loaded speed machine named the Mach 5. Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is the kind of driver that every wheelman wishes he could be: a born winner whose unbeatable combination of aggression, instinct, and fearlessness always finds him crossing the checkered flag with a comfortable lead. In Speed Racer's mind, the only driver who could present him with any real challenge is his late brother -- the legendary Rex Racer. Rex died in a heated cross-country rally known as The Crucible many years ago, and now his younger sibling is driven to fulfill the legacy that Rex left behind. To this day, Speed Racer is fiercely loyal to family. It was Speed Racer's father, Pops Racer (John Goodman), who designed the unbeatable Mach 5, and even a lucrative offer from racing giants Royalton Industries isn't enough to get the young ace to break his family ties.

Upon turning down Royalton's (Roger Allam) astronomical offer, Speed Racer makes the shocking discovery that the outcomes of the biggest races are being predetermined by a handful of powerful moguls who pad their profits by manipulating the drivers. Realizing that his career would be ruined if word of the fix gets out, Royalton vows that the Mach 5 will never make it to another finish line. Now, the only way for Speed Racer to save the family business and beat Royalton at his own game will be to win the very same race that claimed his brother's life so many years ago. In order to accomplish that formidable feat, however, Speed Racer will not only have to rely on his family and the aid of his longtime girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), but form a tenuous alliance with his longtime rival -- the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox) -- as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When the lone survivor of the original excursion to The House on Haunted Hill dies under suspicious circumstances, her sister returns to the foreboding mansion to solve the mystery of her sibling's death in the feature directorial debut of former make-up special effects artist Victor Garcia (Hellboy). Back in 1931, malevolent doctor Richard Vannacut and his entire staff at the hilltop asylum were killed when the patients revolted and set the institution ablaze. Ever since then, rumors have persisted that the spirits of those consumed in the inferno still haunt the hospital. Those rumors seemed to be confirmed when, in 1999, billionaire Steven H. Price and his guests were viciously slaughtered in the refurbished mansion. Though the authorities officially blamed Price himself for the gruesome massacre, survivor Sarah Wolfe insists that there was indeed a supernatural element at play. Now, eight years have passed since that fateful night, and Sarah's sister Ariel - a successful editor at a popular men's fashion magazine - has just received word that Sarah has committed suicide. Immediately sensing foul play, Ariel's suspicions are confirmed when a strange book arrives in the mail shortly thereafter. Sent by Sarah just before she died, the book proves to be Vannacut's personal diary. According to the diary, which Ariel manages to translate with a little help from archeologist Richard Hammer, an ancient Baphomet idol is hidden somewhere deep within the sprawling estate. In her last days, Sarah had become convinced that the idol was the source of the house's evil. Richard, too, shares this belief, and with the help of graduate students Michelle and Kyle he is determined to find the idol. But Ariel isn't about to go on a ghost hunt in the same mansion where so may atrocities have occurred, at least not until she is kidnapped by Desmond Niles and his vicious band of mercenaries. They too seek the Baphomet idol, and they too will soon discover why few people who venture into the former asylum ever come out alive. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Neil Jordan's The Brave One stars Jodie Foster as a happy woman whose life changes irrevocably after a brutal assault leaves her partner (Naveen Andrews) dead. The woman, feeling that the police investigation will be unable to catch the perpetrators, begins to live in constant fear. This outlook results in the woman eventually dispatching vigilante justice. Terrence Howard co-stars as the officer in charge of the investigation. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Her faith shaken by a family tragedy from which she was never quite able to fully recover, a professor of theology from Louisiana State University moonlighting as a debunker of unexplained religious phenomena finds herself faced with an apocalyptic series of events that seem to reflect the ten plagues of Exodus in director Stephen Hopkins' Southern gothic chiller. The terrified citizens of Haven, LA, have been beset by swarms of locusts and watched as rivers turned to blood. As if that wasn't enough to put the fear of God into any Bible-reading Christian, ominous rumors of a local swamp cult have left many of the small-town citizens turning to prayer for fear that the end is finally nigh. Enter Katherine Winter (Hilary Swank), a skeptical myth-buster and renowned theology scholar with a special knack for spotting religious trickery. Though at first exceedingly confident that she will uncover a human component behind the otherworldly occurrences, Katherine quickly learns that just because one doesn't believe in the supernatural doesn't necessarily mean that it doesn't exist. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore, V for Vendetta takes place in an alternate vision of Britain in which a corrupt and abusive totalitarian government has risen to complete power. During a threatening run in with the secret police, an unassuming young woman named Evey (Natalie Portman) is rescued by a vigilante named V (Hugo Weaving) -- a caped figure both articulate and skilled in combat. V embodies the principles of rebellion from an authoritarian state, donning a mask of vilified would-be terrorist of British history Guy Fawkes and leading a revolution sparked by assassination and destruction. Evey becomes his unlikely ally, newly aware of the cruelty of her own society and her role in it. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

A bunch of college students are stranded in a small town where suffering for art takes on a whole new meaning in this tale of terror. Carly (Elisha Cuthbert) and her boyfriend, Wade (Jared Padalecki), have hit the road with a handful of their friends to attend a championship college football game; tagging along with them are Carly's bratty friend Paige (Paris Hilton, Carly's trouble-making twin brother Nick (Chad Michael Murray), and Blake (Robert Ri'chard), Paige's latest boy toy. While camping out for the night, the gang makes the mistake of getting on the wrong side of a mysterious local redneck, and the next morning they discover that Wade's car no longer works. As the others continue on to the big game, Carly and Wade make their way into the closest town, Ambrose, and discover it's all but deserted, except for a local tourist attraction, the House of Wax. However, it isn't long before they find out why the wax sculptures at the museum look so freakishly real, and discover a pair of murderous brothers are keen on making them part of the next exhibit. House of Wax is an in-name-only remake of the well-remembered 1953 3-D horror outing starring Vincent Price, which was in turn based on the 1933 picture Mystery of the Wax Museum. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The Next Action Star reality show winners Corinne van Ryck De Groot and Sean Carrigan star in this take on The Most Dangerous Game that finds an indebted former professional quarterback agreeing to pose as the prey in a particularly heated hunt. Sonny Briggs (Carrigan) was once the king of the gridiron, but mounting gambling debts have left him with little to show for his glory years. When Sonny is offered the opportunity to earn $2.4 million if he can stay alive for twenty-four hours while being stalked by an eccentric millionaire (Billy Zane) and a stealthy female hit-woman (van Ryck De Groot), he reluctantly agrees knowing that such a hearty paycheck will allow him to pay off both his creditors and the assassin. After narrowly escaping a bullet in Las Vegas, the hard target next makes his way to Cleveland, Ohio in hopes that the crumbling inner-city will provide just the cover needed to keep out of the crosshairs. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide