MADAGASKAR 3 : EUROPE'S MOST WANTED (2012)

 
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family
MPAA Rating: PG (for some mild action and rude humor)
Official Website: Madagascarmovie.com
Release Date: June 8, 2012 (2D and 3D theaters)
Studio: DreamWorks Animation

CAST/CREW:
Director: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, Conrad Vernon
Screenwriter: Noah Baumbach
Starring: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric The Entertainer, Andy Richter, Frances McDormand, Jessica Chastain, Martin Short, Bryan Cranston

REVIEW:
Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe are still fighting to get home to their beloved Big Apple and of course, King Julien, Maurice and the Penguins are all along for the comedic adventure. Their journey takes them through Europe where they find the perfect cover: a traveling circus, which they reinvent – Madagascar style.

THE WATCH (2012)

 
Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: R (for some strong sexual content including references, pervasive language and violent images)
Official Website: JoinTheWatch.com
Release Date: July 27, 2012
Studio: 20th Century Fox

CAST/CREW:
Director: Akiva Schaffer
Screenwriter: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Jared Stern
Starring: Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade, Will Forte, Billy Crudup

REVIEW:
"The Watch" is a sci-fi comedy about a suburban "neighborhood watch" group that serves as a front for dads to get some male-bonding time away from their families. The group finds itself in over its head when it uncovers a plot to destroy the world.

THE MAN WITH THE IRON FIST (2012)

 

 
Genre: Action, Adventure
MPAA Rating: Not Available
Official Website: Facebook | Twitter
Release Date: TBA
Studio: Univeral Pictures
 
CAST/CREW:
Director: RZA
Screenwriter: RZA, Eli Roth
Starring: Russell Crowe, RZA, Lucy Liu, Rick Yune, Jamie Chung, Cung Le, Dave Bautista, Byron Mann, Daniel Wu, Pam Grier

REVIEW:
Quentin Tarantino presents "The Man With the Iron Fists," an action-adventure inspired by kung-fu classics as interpreted by his longtime collaborators RZA and Eli Roth. Making his debut as a big-screen director and leading man, RZA-alongside a stellar international cast led by Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu-tells the epic story of warriors, assassins and a lone outsider hero in nineteenth-century China who must unite to destroy the clan traitor who would destroy them all.

Since his arrival in China's Jungle Village, the town's blacksmith (RZA) has been forced by radical tribal factions to create elaborate tools of destruction. When the clans' brewing war boils over, the stranger channels an ancient energy to transform himself into a human weapon. As he fights alongside iconic heroes and against soulless villains, one man must harness this power to become savior of his adopted people.

Blending astonishing martial-arts sequences from some of the masters of this world with the signature vision he brings as the leader of the Wu-Tang Clan and as one of hip-hop's most dominant figures of the past two decades, RZA embarks upon his most ambitious, stylized and thrilling project to date.

DREDD (2012)

 
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: R (for strong bloody violence, language, drug use and some sexual content)
Release Date: September 21, 2012 (3D/2D theaters)
Studio: Lionsgate
 
CAST/CREW:
Director: Pete Travis
Screenwriter: Alex Garland
Starring: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey

REVIEW:
The future America is an irradiated waste land. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One- a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called "Judges" who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd (Karl Urban) is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge - a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of "Slo-Mo" experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed.

During a routine day on the job, Dredd is assigned to train and evaluate Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a rookie with powerful psychic abilities thanks to a genetic mutation. A heinous crime calls them to a neighborhood where fellow Judges rarely dare to venture- a 200 story vertical slum controlled by prostitute turned drug lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) and her ruthless clan. When they capture one of the clan's inner circle, Ma-Ma overtakes the compound's control center and wages a dirty, vicious war against the Judges that proves she will stop at nothing to protect her empire. With the body count climbing and no way out, Dredd and Anderson must confront the odds and engage in the relentless battle for their survival.

TAKEN 2 (2012)

 

Genre: Action, Thriller
Release Date: October 5, 2012
Studio: 20th Century Fox

CAST/CREW:

Director: Olivier Megaton
Screenwriter: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Starring: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Rade Sherbedgia, Luke Grimes 

REVIEW:

Liam Neeson returns as Bryan Mills, the retired CIA agent with a particular set of skills who stopped at nothing to save his daughter Kim from Albanian kidnappers. When the father of one of the kidnappers swears revenge and takes Bryan and his wife hostage during their family vacation in Istanbul, Bryan enlists Kim to help them escape, and uses the same advanced level of special forces tactics to get his family to safety and systematically take out the kidnappers one by one.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER (2012)