This Means War

Release Date: February 14, 2012

Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Director: McG

Screenwriter: Timothy Dowling, Simon Kinberg

Movie Website: ThisMeansWarmovie.com

Actors/Actresses: Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Tom Hardy, Chelsea Handler, Til Schweiger, Abigail Spencer

Plot Summary: The world’s deadliest CIA operatives are inseparable partners and best friends until they fall for the same woman. Having once helped bring down entire enemy nations, they are now employing their incomparable skills and an endless array of high-tech gadgetry against their greatest nemesis ever – each other.

The Vow

Release Date: February 10, 2012

Genre: Drama

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Studio: Screen Gems (Sony)

Director: Michael Sucsy

Screenwriter: Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein, Jason Katims

Movie Website: TheVow-movie.com

Actors/Actresses: Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum, Sam Neill, Scott Speedman, Jessica Lange

Plot Summary: Paige and Leo (Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum) are a happy newlywed couple whose lives are changed by a car accident that puts Paige in a coma. Waking up with severe memory loss, Paige has no memory of Leo, a confusing relationship with her parents (Sam Neill and Jessica Lange), and an ex-fiancé (Scott Speedman) she may still have feelings for. Despite these complications, Leo endeavors to win her heart again and rebuild their marriage.

Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace 3D

Release Date: February 10, 2012 (3D theaters)

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

MPAA Rating: PG

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Director: George Lucas

Screenwriter: George Lucas

Movie Website: StarWars.com

Actors/Actresses: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid, Pernilla August, Ahmed Best, Anthony Daniels, Ray Park, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz

Plot Summary: Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox have announced that the 3D theatrical launch of “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace” has an official release date – February 10, 2012! Set against the thrilling and exotic backdrop of a “galaxy far, far away,” “Star Wars” is perfectly suited to the immersive 3D theatrical experience, and “Episode I” delivers some of the Saga’s most stunning and spectacular sequences – from the Naboo invasion to the Tatooine Podraces to the climactic lightsaber battle between Darth Maul and the Jedi. Supervised by Industrial Light & Magic, the meticulous conversion is being done with utmost respect for the source material, and with a keen eye for both technological considerations and artistic intentions.

Naboo, a peaceful planet governed by the young, elusive, but wise Queen Amidala (Portman), is being threatened by the corrupt Trade Federation, puppets of an evil Sith lord and his terrifying apprentice, Darth Maul (Park). The seemingly benevolent Senator Palpatine (McDiarmid) is chief advisor to the queen, though there are suspicions surrounding him. Jedi knights Qui-Gon Jinn (Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (McGregor) are called on to intervene in the trade disputes. Along the way, they acquire an apprentice of their own in the form of young prodigal Anakin Skywalker (Lloyd). They also encounter Jar Jar Binks (Best), a goofy, lizardlike creature who has been banished from his underwater world for his clumsiness. When the Trade Federation launches an attack on Naboo, the queen and her allies must battle hordes of robot troopers while Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan face off against the sinister Darth Maul.

Safe House

Release Date: February 10, 2012

Genre: Action, Thriller

MPAA Rating: R

Studio: Universal Pictures

Director: Daniel Espinosa

Screenwriter: David Guggenheim

Movie Website: NoOneisSafe.com

Actors/Actresses: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard, Vera Farmiga, Fares Fares, Robert Patrick, Nora Arnezeder, Liam Cunningham, Joel Kinnaman, Ruben Blades

Plot Summary: Oscar winner Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds star in the action-thriller “Safe House.” Washington plays the most dangerous renegade from the CIA, who comes back onto the grid after a decade on the run. When the South African safe house he’s remanded to is attacked by mercenaries, a rookie operative (Reynolds) escapes with him. Now, the unlikely allies must stay alive long enough to uncover who wants them dead.

For the past year, Matt Weston has been frustrated by his inactive, backwater post in Cape Town. A “housekeeper” who aspires to be a full-fledged agent, the loyal company man has been waiting for an opportunity to prove himself. When the first and only occupant he’s had proves to be the most dangerous man he’s ever met, Weston readies for duty.

Tobin Frost has eluded capture for almost a decade. One of the best ops men that the CIA’s known, the ex-intelligence officer has given up assets and sold military intel to anyone with cash since he turned. From trading secrets to North Korea to aiding splinter cells, the damage he’s done to the U.S. is immeasurable. And he’s now back on the reservation with a secret.

As soon as Frost is brought in for debriefing, mercenaries come and tear apart Weston’s safe house. Barely escaping, the unlikely partners must discover if their attackers have been sent by terrorists or someone on the inside who will kill anyone standing in the way. Now it’s up to Weston to figure out who he can trust before they’re both eliminated from the game.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

Release Date: February 10, 2012 (3D/2D theaters and IMAX)

Genre: Adventure, Family

MPAA Rating: PG

Studio: New Line Cinema (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Director: Brad Peyton

Screenwriter: Brian Gunn, Mark Gunn

Movie Website: TheMysteriousIsland.com

Actors/Actresses: Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens, Luis Guzman, Kristen Davis

Plot Summary: In this follow-up to the 2008 worldwide hit “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” the new 3D family adventure “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” begins when 17-year-old Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson receives a coded distress signal from a mysterious island where no island should exist. It’s a place of strange life forms, mountains of gold, deadly volcanoes, and more than one astonishing secret. Unable to stop him from going, Sean’s new stepfather, Hank (Dwayne Johnson), joins the quest. Together with a helicopter pilot (Luis Guzman) and his beautiful, strong-willed daughter (Vanessa Hudgens), they set out to find the island, rescue its lone inhabitant and escape before seismic shockwaves force the island under the sea and bury its treasures forever.

Big Miracle

Release Date: February 3, 2012

Genre: Adventure, Family

MPAA Rating: PG

Studio: Universal Pictures

Director: Ken Kwapis

Screenwriter: Jack Amiel, Michael Begler

Movie Website: EverybodyLovesWhales.com

Actors/Actresses: Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Kristen Bell, Dermot Mulroney, Tim Blake Nelson, Ted Danson

Plot Summary: Inspired by the true story that captured the hearts of people across the world, the rescue adventure “Big Miracle” tells the amazing tale of a small town news reporter (John Krasinski) and a Greenpeace volunteer (Drew Barrymore) who are joined by rival world superpowers to save a family of majestic gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle.

Local newsman Adam Carlson (Krasinski) can’t wait to escape the northern tip of Alaska for a bigger market. But just when the story of his career breaks, the world comes chasing it, too. With an oil tycoon, heads of state and hungry journalists descending upon the frigid outpost, the one who worries Adam the most is Rachel Kramer (Barrymore). Not only is she an outspoken environmentalist, she’s also his ex-girlfriend.

With time running out, Rachel and Adam must rally an unlikely coalition of Inuit natives, oil companies and Russian and American military to set aside their differences and free the whales. As the world’s attention turns to the top of the globe, saving these endangered animals becomes a shared cause for nations entrenched against one another and leads to a momentary thaw in the Cold War.

Chronicle

Release Date: February 3, 2012

Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Director: Joshua Trank

Screenwriter: Max Landis, Joshua Trank

Movie Website: Facebook.com/Chronicle

Actors/Actresses: Dane DeHaan, Michael B. Jordan, Alex Russell, Michael Kelly

Plot Summary: Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to them developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities, and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over.

The Woman in Black

Release Date: February 3, 2012

Genre: Horror

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Studio: CBS Films

Director: James Watkins

Screenwriter: Jane Goldman

Movie Website: WomaninBlack.com

Actors/Actresses: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciaran Hinds, Liz White, Janet McTeer, Alisa Khazanova, Tim McMullan, Roger Allam, Daniel Cerqueira, Shaun Dooley, Mary Stockley, Cathy Sara, David Burke, Victor McGuire, Lucy May Barker

Plot Summary: The story follows a young lawyer, Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe), who is ordered to travel to a remote village and sort out a recently deceased client’s papers. As he works alone in the client’s isolated house, Kipps begins to uncover tragic secrets, his unease growing when he glimpses a mysterious woman dressed only in black. Receiving only silence from the locals, Kipps is forced to uncover the true identity of the Woman in Black on his own, leading to a desperate race against time when he discovers her true intent.

W.E.

Release Date: February 3, 2012

Genre: Drama, Romance

MPAA Rating: R

Studio: The Weinstein Company

Director: Madonna

Screenwriter: Madonna, Alex Keshishian

Movie Website: WE-movie.com

Actors/Actresses: Abbie Cornish, Oscar Isaac, James D’Arcy, Andrea Riseborough, Natalie Dormer, Richard Coyle, James Fox, Laurence Fox

Plot Summary: “W.E.” tells the story of two fragile but determined women – Wally Winthrop and Wallis Simpson – separated by more than six decades. In 1998, lonely New Yorker Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish) is obsessed with what she perceives as the ultimate love story: King Edward’s VIII’s abdication of the British throne for the woman he loved, American divorcée Wallis Simpson. But Wally’s research, including several visits to the Sotheby’s auction of the Windsor Estate, reveals that the couple’s life together was not as perfect as she thought. Weaving back and forth in time, “W.E.” intertwines Wally’s journey of discovery in New York with the story of Wallis (Andrea Riseborough) and Edward (James D’Arcy), from the glamorous early days of their romance to the slow unraveling of their lives in the decades that followed.

One For The Money

Release Date: January 27, 2012

Genre: Action, Comedy

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Studio: Lionsgate

Director: Julie Ann Robinson

Screenwriter: Stacy Sherman, Karen Ray, Liz Brixius

Movie Website: Facebook.com/OneForTheMoneyMovie

Actors/Actresses: Katherine Heigl, Jason O’Mara, Daniel Sunjata, John Leguiziamo, Debbie Reynolds, Debra Monk

Plot Summary: Katherine Heigl brings Stephanie Plum – the popular heroine of Janet Evanovich’s worldwide best-selling sixteen-book mystery series – to vibrant life in Lionsgate and Lakeshore Entertainment’s “One for the Money.”

A proud, born-and-bred Jersey girl, Stephanie Plum’s got plenty of attitude, even if she’s been out of work for the last six months and just lost her car to a debt collector. Desperate for some fast cash, Stephanie turns to her last resort: convincing her sleazy cousin to give her a job at his bail bonding company… as a recovery agent. True, she doesn’t even own a pair of handcuffs and her weapon of choice is pepper spray, but that doesn’t stop Stephanie from taking on Vinny’s biggest bail-jumper: former vice cop and murder suspect Joe Morelli – yup, the same sexy, irresistible Joe Morelli who seduced and dumped her back in high school.

Nabbing Morelli would be satisfying payback – and a hefty payday – but as Stephanie learns the ins and outs of becoming a recovery agent from Ranger, a hunky colleague who’s the best in the business, she also realizes the case against Morelli isn’t airtight. Add to the mix her meddling family, a potentially homicidal boxer, witnesses who keep dying and the problem of all those flying sparks when she finds Morelli himself… well, suddenly Stephanie’s new job isn’t nearly as easy as she thought.