1. ‘The Grey’
Liam Neeson has been killing it with the action movies in the last few years, and his latest — a thriller about a group of unfortunate plane crash survivors stranded in rural Alaskan territory — promises to be as fittingly chilling
2. ‘Man on a Ledge’
An ex-con (Sam Worthington) takes to the ledge of a Manhattan high-rise, claiming he was framed for a diamond heist. While a hostage negotiator (Elizabeth Banks) tries to talk him down, it becomes clear that ulterior motives are at work.
3. ‘One for the Money’
The only thing funnier than Katherine Heigl starring in a new rom-com as an unlikely bounty hunter is the fact that she wants back in on “Grey’s Anatomy.”
4. ‘Haywire’
Though he’s known for occasionally producing headier fare, Steven Soderbergh knocks out one heck of an action film when he wants to. This time, he places mixed-martial arts fighter Gina Carano in the center of an international assassination plot in which she, the contract killer, becomes the scapegoat for the crime.
5. ‘Extremely Loud &?Incredibly Close’
This 9/11 weeper won’t leave many an eye dry, especially with Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock playing the parents of a precocious pre-teen, searching through the whole of New York City for a solution to a riddle.
6. ‘Red Tails’
The Tuskegee Airmen — the first African American troop of fighter pilots in World War II — haven’t had their due feature film treatment until now, with George Lucas at the helm and Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard and Ne-Yo starring.
7. ‘Underworld:?Awakening’
Kate Beckinsale reprises her role as lethal vampire queen Selene, hell-bent on fighting off the mortals that wage war on the vampire and lycan clans.
8. ‘Contraband’
A reformed bad boy (Mark Wahlberg) gets pulled back into the world of international cargo ship smuggling after his brother-in-law gets caught up with a sinister drug dealer (Giovanni Ribisi).
9. ‘The Iron Lady’
Meryl Streep is flawless at everything she does, and her turn as one of Britain’s most controversial prime ministers, Margaret Thatcher, is predictably admirable. Told in flashbacks over the course of three days in Thatcher’s later years, the film touches on the highs and lows of her reign in the 1980s.
10. ‘Beauty and the Beast’ 3-D
After the successful conversion of “The Lion King” to 3-D, another animated classic from Disney is getting refreshed for 2012.
