VietNamNet Bridge - "Brides War 2," "The Hobbit 2" or "Tarzan 3D" are the special movies that will be screened at local cinemas during the lunar New Year.

1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 3D

Release date: 3/1

The blockbuster of the director of "The Lord of the Ring" Peter Jackson will open Vietnam cinemas in the new year. Following the story in the first part, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which was released last year, the film tells of the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and the journey with witch Gandalf and 13 dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield. They have to perform the historical mission of reclaiming the Lonely Mountain and the lost Dwarven kingdom of Erebor.

After successfully crossing over (and under) the Misty Mountains, Thorin and Company must seek aid from a powerful stranger before taking on the dangers of Mirkwood Forest - without their Wizard. If they reach the human settlement of Lake-town it will be time for the hobbit Bilbo Baggins to fulfill his contract with the dwarves. The party must complete the journey to Lonely Mountain and burglar Baggins must seek out the Secret Door that will give them access to the hoard of the dragon Smaug. And, where has Gandalf got off to? And what is his secret business to the south?

2. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Release date: 3/1

Ben Stiller directs and stars in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, James Thurber's classic story of a day-dreamer who escapes his anonymous life by disappearing into a world of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. When his job along with that of his co-worker (Kristen Wiig) are threatened, Walter takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.

3. Tarzan 3D

Release date: 3/1

Tarzan and Jane Porter face a mercenary army dispatched by the evil CEO of Greystoke Energies, a man who took over the company from Tarzan's parents, after they died in a plane crash.

4. Legend Makers

Release date: 10/1

After a drawn out struggle to find a film distributor, the award-winning Vietnamese movie Nhung Nguoi Viet Huyen Thoai (The Legend Makers) will come to cinemas beginning January 10.

Despite winning the Golden Lotus Award for the Best Feature Film at the National Film Festival in October, the movie, which praises heroic soldiers who built petrol pipelines running from northern areas to southern battlefields during the war for national reunification, earlier faced many difficulties when it came to distribution.

From January 10, the movie-goers can enjoy The Legend Makers at BHD cinema network in HCM City, including the BHD Star Cineplex 3/2, and the BHD Star Cineplex Icon 68. The movie can also be seen at other cinemas in the HCM City: Galaxy Kinh Duong Vuong, MegaStar Hung Vuong, MegaStar Pandora, MegaStar Crescent Mall and MegaStar Sai Gon Paragon.

Sponsored mostly by international cinema development funds, including the France’s Fond Francophonie and the Swiss Vision Sud Est, the independent movie received the silver award at the 2013 Golden Kite Awards, which are referred to as “Vietnamese Oscars”.

The movie is about a love story triangle involving a rustic husband-and-wife village couple which makes their living by doing simple jobs in the city, and the wife’s lover, a dancer living in the city. Through the complicated relationship among these three people, the movie unveils the reality of modern society with many upside-down moral values. It also presents the conflicts between tradition and innovation, animosity and altruism.

5. Walking with Dinosaurs 3D

Release date: 10/1

For the first time in movie history, audiences will truly see and feel what it was like when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. "Walking with Dinosaurs" is the ultimate immersive experience, utilizing state-of-the-art 3D to put audiences in the middle of a thrilling and epic prehistoric world, where an underdog dino triumphs to become a hero for the ages.

6. Lone Survivor

Release date: 10/1

Based on the failed mission "Operation Red Wings" which tasked four members of SEAL Team 10 on June 28, 2005, to kill Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. They were quickly compromised and were under attack.

7. Bride War 2

Release date: 17/1

The movie by director Victor Vu is the most awaited Vietnamese movie of the Lunar New Year. In this episode, female doctor Mai Chau (Van Trang) and Chef Quyen (Le Khanh) form the Black Widows group to investigate philandering men to reclaim the rights of women.

Joining this group are sexy female doctor Huyen (Maya) and IT expert Quynh Vy (Yu Duong). The target of this group is Mr. Perfect named Viet (Binh Minh) - fiancé of Ngoc (Lan Phuong).

Bride War 1 was released during the 2011 lunar New Year, earning VND40 billion (over $2 million) and has been one of the best-selling movies of Vietnam.

8. Devil's Due

Release date: 17/1

After a mysterious, lost night on their honeymoon, a newlywed couple finds themselves dealing with an earlier-than-planned pregnancy. While recording everything for posterity, the husband begins to notice odd behavior in his wife that they initially write off to nerves, but, as the months pass, it becomes evident that the dark changes to her body and mind have a much more sinister origin.

9. 11 A.M.

Release date: 17/1

In the not-so distant future, researchers at a deep-sea laboratory have finally succeeded in inventing a time machine. Heavily burdened by financial stress, head researcher Woo-seok is promised more funding from a mega-corporation, but only if he can successfully complete a test flight. Ji-wan tries to stop his colleague and lover, Young-eun, from going on the dangerous flight, but Woo-seok and Young-eun carry out the mission and travel to 11 A.M. the following day. They arrive to find their deep-sea laboratory on the verge of collapse. All the researchers have gone and somebody is out to kill them.

10. I, Frankenstein 3D

Release date: 24/1

Frankenstein's creature finds himself caught in an all-out, centuries old war between two immortal clans.

11. The Monkey King

Release date: 30/1

Sun Wukong, (The Monkey King) is a monkey born from a heavenly stone who acquires supernatural powers. After rebelling against heaven and being imprisoned under a mountain for 500 years, he later accompanies the monk Xuanzang on a journey to India. Thus, according to legend, Buddhism is brought to ancient China. This much beloved story is as much a part of Asian culture as The Iliad and The Odyssey or The Wizard of Oz are to the West. This first installment in a trilogy of live action 3-D movies is actually a prequel to The Journey to the West, the much told story of the Monkey King's adventures on the road to India. The Monkey King: Havoc In The Heavenly Palace will be released in the U.S. as The Monkey King. The first movie is the origins story - beginning with the birth of Sun Wukong and ending with his imprisonment for his crimes under the Five-Peaked Mountain. Along the way he acquires incredible powers, battling the armies of the gods and the armies of the demons to find his...