This spring’s action movie slate deals mostly in science fiction. Two of 2012′s first blockbusters come out this month including “John Carter” and the highly anticipated adaptation of “The Hunger Games,” and dare I forget “Wrath of the Titans” at month’s end. There’s also a sci-fi prison escape film as well as Jason Statham’s latest.

The independent horror/thriller scene delivers a number of options in smaller theaters these next couple months, but there are a few mainstream films to note, namely Joss Whedon’s much-delayed “The Cabin in the Woods” and John Cusack as Edgar Allen Poe in “The Raven.”

For the first time since last fall, contemporary comedies are finally ratcheting it up. If this is your genre, you should have a busy spring. March features a few, with “21 Jump Street” the most notable, but April has a different comedy (and truthfully a different style of comedy) opening every weekend.

The spring usually brings us one or two great family movies every year. Last March, “Rango” premiered; a few days ago, it won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Will “The Lorax” or “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” from stop-motion masters Aardman Animation be in for a year-long Oscar campaign? Also, a fairy tale [...]