List of Top 10 Must Watch Hollywood Movies in 2012

1. THE AVENGERS (APRIL 27)

At the time of this writing, Marvel's THE AVENGERS has pulled off an amazing estimate of $80.5 million on the Friday opening day at U.S. box-office, making it the second-biggest opening day for a movie ever (last year's HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS - PART 2 still hold the record with $91 million). This well-received superhero movie has already grossed $415 million in worldwide box-office.

Nonetheless, THE AVENGERS is a great summer popcorn movie extravaganza.

2. PROMETHEUS (JUNE 7)

Fanboys will be rejoiced that veteran director Ridley Scott has made a timely comeback into science fiction genre after previously helmed timeless classics including 1979's ALIEN and 1982's BLADE RUNNER. What's more, PROMETHEUS is actually a prequel to that groundbreaking ALIEN. Judging by the numerous trailers so far, this highly-anticipated sci-fi adventure shows a lot of promise. A classic-in-the-making? Probably.

3. BRAVE (JUNE 21)

Last year, Pixar suffered a (minor) setback in the heavily-criticized CARS 2. But this year, the animation studio is set to bounce back into top form with a Scotland-set medieval action-adventure BRAVE.

4. G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (JUNE 21)

Forget about the fact that Jon M. Chu is an odd choice to direct this kind of summer movie blockbuster (yup, he's the guy who helmed STEP UP 2: THE STREETS). Subsequent trailers so far has indicated that G.I. JOE: RETALIATION has plenty of stylish action and explosive entertainment to boot. After all, it's especially hard to ignore that more new iconic characters appear in this much-anticipated sequel. Case in point: Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock, Adrianne Palicki as Lady Jaye, Elodie Yung as Jinx and of course -- Cobra Commander!

5. ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER (JUNE 28)

The title itself is more than enough to warrant this as one of the most conceptual summer movie extravaganzas of the year. Cool premise, with plenty of stylish action set-piece. Simply love all the slow-mo glory, since this is helmed by none others than WANTED director Timur Bekmambetov and produced by Tim Burton himself.

6. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (JULY 5)

When Sony announced that they are rebooting SPIDER-MAN franchise, following from Sam Raimi's heavily-criticized SPIDER-MAN 3 back in 2007, I was shell-shocked. But subsequent trailers (especially the new one, where you can check it out below) has indicated that director Marc Webb shows a lot of promises in rebooting this much-beloved franchise with a different light. Among the most interesting factor about this reboot is the "untold story" of Peter Parker's (Andrew Garfield) parents, which is yet to be explored in any previous SPIDER-MAN movies. Plus, the acrobatic action sequence and the special effects are simply eye-catching.

7. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (JULY 19)

To me, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES is the most anticipated summer movies of the year. After making such worldwide impact in 2008's THE DARK KNIGHT, I'm sure (everybody) are all hyped up to see how Christopher Nolan can bring his highly-praised Batman trilogy to an epic conclusion. The late Heath Ledger's iconic performance as The Joker in THE DARK KNIGHT aside, I'm eager to see how Tom Hardy can pull off a would-be amazing performance as Bane. After all, Bane isn't much a popular character in Batman universe especially for mainstream audience.

8. TOTAL RECALL (AUGUST 2)

Paul Verhoeven's TOTAL RECALL (1990) was one of the most iconic sci-fi movies of the '90s. Not only that, it's also one of the most popular movies Arnold Schwarzenegger has ever made. So a reported $200 million budget reboot sounds like a (terribly) risky choice. I mean, Colin Farrell stepping in as Douglas Quaid? But when the first full trailer arrived, I'm convinced that UNDERWORLD and DIE HARD 4.0 director Len Wiseman knows what he's doing. The new TOTAL RECALL is devoid of Mars setting, and the special effects shown in the trailer is top-notch and more high-tech. Plus, it's hard to ignore that Kate Beckinsale plays a bad-ass villain and Jessica Biel as the good side.

9. THE BOURNE LEGACY (AUGUST 9)

Let's get one thing straight -- Matt Damon is simply irreplaceable as the iconic Jason Bourne. So when Damon and director Paul Greengrass decided not to continue with the lucrative BOURNE franchise, all hopes are gone. But still, Universal takes a huge gamble by expanding the BOURNE universe by introducing new character. Then again, they made a right choice anyway by casting the currently on-demand actor Jeremy Renner as the lead. So far, the teaser has indicated that THE BOURNE LEGACY does evokes that familiar sense of sheer urgency previously seen in the BOURNE trilogy.

10. THE EXPENDABLES 2 (AUGUST 17)

More action, more iconic stars, and more of "everything". And the new trailer has clearly shown just that in THE EXPENDABLES 2. This is definitely a heaven-sent for all action fans out there. I mean, how often you get all those familiar iconic faces from the '80s and '90s action genre (Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many others) appear in one movie?