A look ahead to 2012 in movies

The Vow – The perfect movie for Valentine’s Day, The Vow shows that love will always prevail. When Paige (Rachel McAdams) is in a car accident and has severe memory loss, her husband (Channing Tatum) must make her fall in love with him again. (Feb.10) Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance – In yet another movie starring Nicolas Cage, Johnny Blaze (Cage) is hiding in Europe but is needed to stop the devil who is trying to disguise himself as a human. (Feb. 17) 21 Jump Street – Based on one of the most popular 80s TV shows, 21 Jump Street stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. Cops, Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum), are sent back to high school undercover to bring down a synthetic drug ring in this comedy-action flick. (March 16) The Hunger Games – One of the most popular books among almost every age group is finally being turned into a movie. For those who haven’t read it yet, the story centers on Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), a 16-year old girl, who volunteers herself in place of her sister to compete in the Hunger Games, where participants are required to kill all their competition to win the game. (March 23) The Avengers – The Hulk, Iron Man, and Thor are just a few of the many Marvel superheroes in this sci-fi thriller. The international agency S.H.I.E.L.D. bring together all these superheroes to form a team called the Avengers to help rescue the Earth from Loki and his team of villains. (May 4) Men in Black III – Will Smith is back in this summer’s major blockbuster. Agent J (Smith) must travel back in time to the 60s to save his friend Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) from an alien assassination that would change history. (May 25) Snow White and the Huntsman – The fairytale everyone knows and loves just got a new, slightly more frightening twist. When the evil Queen (Charlize Theron) wants Snow White (Kristen Stewart) dead, she sends the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) into the woods to kill her, but he winds up becoming her protector. (June 1) Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted – In this funny, family-friendly animated movie, Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, and Gloria the Hippopotamus set out to return to New York after leaving Alex’s parents in Africa, but of course they must run into trouble and they end up going to Europe to join the circus. (June 8) G.I. Joe: Retaliation – In the sequel to the 2009 movie, Cobra spy Zartan assassinates most of the Joes. The four remaining Joes seek him out to get revenge. (June 29) The Amazing Spider-Man – Spider-Man is back in this epic, action-filled thriller. Teenager Peter Parker, now played by Andrew Garfield, tries to cope with both his human and super-human problems while uncovering one of his father’s most guarded secrets. (July 3) Ice Age 4: Continental Drift – Manny, Diego, and Sid are off on another adventure after their continent starts drifting. Sailing on an iceberg, they encounter creatures living in a totally different world than their own. (July 13) The Dark Knight Rises – The long awaited conclusion to the Batman Trilogy begins eight years after the events of The Dark Knight . When Bane (Tom Hardy) terrorizes Gotham City, Batman (Christian Bale) must rise up to protect and defend his friends and the citizens of Gotham. (July 20) The Expendables 2 – In the sequel to the action-packed movie, Church (Bruce Willis) reunites the Expendables. When one of their men is killed, they seek revenge which puts them in enemy territory and up against an unexpected threat. This is sure to be a thriller with multiple fight scenes and gruesome explosions that almost every guy will love. (Aug. 17) The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 – The epic conclusion to the beloved series is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. Part 2 of Breaking Dawn continues right where the last movie left off. Bella, after giving birth to her daughter, Renesmee, must protect her family from the Volturi. (Nov. 16) The Great Gatsby – A new adaption of the famous novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the story of Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) being lured into the lavish life of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). But, it does not take long for Carraway to realize that with wealth comes misfortune, greed, and madness. (Dec. 25) Hannah McElroy is a staff writer for The Bark . Follow The Bark on Twitter @BeardenBARK, and like The Bark (Bearden High School) on Facebook.