Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy comes to an end, the “Twilight” saga reaches its conclusion and “The Avengers” finally assemble… those are just a few of the monumental events hitting the big screen in 2012, easily one of the biggest years for movies in recent memory for those reasons and more. In fact, it’s virtually impossible to decide which film is the one we’re most eagerly awaiting, which is why we’re turning to you: which movie are you most excited about in 2012?

We’ll get to the bottom of that question in MTV’s Movie Smackdown 2012, a new tournament pitting 32 of the most anticipated movies of the coming year against each other, “Hunger Games” style!

Starting on Tuesday (January 3), we’re asking you to vote for the movie you’re most excited to see in 2012 based on our list of 32 titles. The following week, our list will pare down to a sweet 16 based on your votes. Those remaining movies will be pitted against each other in a series of single-elimination battles until only one film is left standing—the film that you’re most excited about in 2012.

Can the growing buzz on “The Hunger Games” outmatch the anticipated “Breaking Dawn” finale? Will a comic book movie flick like “The Dark Knight Rises” or “The Amazing Spider-Man” take the top prize? Which upcoming Snow White movie – “SWATH” or “Mirror Mirror” – is truly the fairest of them all?

We’ll find out what you think when the Smackdown begins. Tune into MTV Movies on January 3 for the first round of voting!

Which movie are you most excited about in 2012? Let us know in the comments section and on Twitter!

While the majors seemed content to contribute little more than remakes, sequels and knockoffs to the genre scene this past year, there was lots of exciting stuff going on in the independent/foreign-film realm. The wealth of fine features from outside the studio system made it tough to narrow down a top-10 selection.

The lists below are composed of movies that received some kind of commercial U.S. release in 2011 (a couple of worthy flicks seen at festivals will have to wait till next year). The titles are arranged in alphabetical order, though the film that ranks first that way was also my very favorite among this crop:

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN: PART 1

Just for the record, I don’t have anything categorically against mixing vampires and werewolves with teen themes and romance; TV’s BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER did it memorably, and sometimes brilliantly, for seven seasons. And this particular franchise was incrementally getting better with each film. But BREAKING DAWN puts it on my worst list for the first time by stretching about 20 minutes of plot into two tedious hours (in the course of making a shameless cash grab by dividing one book into two movies) and, even with all that screen time, never giving us one scene reasonably explaining why heroine Bella (Kristen Stewart) insists on carrying to term a hybrid baby whose birth is likely to kill her.

The Oscars won’t be here for a couple more months, but you guys have already made your choices for the best movies of the year. From breakout comedies like Bridesmaids to one very epic sequel, see which movies smoked the competition in all of our Best of 2011 polls.

Breaking Dawn: Part 1

The first Breaking Dawn installment didn’t get tons of love across the board, but it did win one very big category: Bella and Edward are your favorite movie couple of 2011.

Sixty-four celebs, five weeks of voting, four fiercely contested brackets and a surprising wild card round later, Robert Pattinson comes out on top.

The great-haired hunk has won the E! Celeb of the Year honor—for the second year in a row!

Team Jacob and Twilight haters can get to steppin’ because the evidence is crystal clear: You guys love R.Pattz. And what’s even better? Pattinson’s competitor for the final round of 2011′s tournament was his “sexy goddess” Kristen Stewart. Again.

Here’s how it went down:

More than a month ago, we introduced the 64 big-name contenders—Kate Middleton, Charlie Sheen, Justin Bieber and Britney Spears, to name a few—who all had a lot going on this year. (For the record, the new Duchess of Cambridge came super close to grabbing this title.)

So what made Rob stand out above all the pop stars, royals, Oscar winners and warlocks who dominated 2011?

Was it all about the jaw-dropping Breaking Dawn: Part 1, the sparkly vamp’s latest blockbuster, which hit theaters last month and is still making bank?

Or was it his bold steps to more challenging roles like Cosmopolis?

Or maybe it was that mind-of-its-own hair?

Or was it just the smooch?

Whatever the case may be, we clearly can’t escape the power of Pattinson. Congrats, Rob!

The question remains: What charity will he choose to have E! donate the $25,000 prize? We’ll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, what do you think of your choice for Celeb of the Year? Sound off in comments!

We won’t care if the world implodes in 2012, as long as said implosion happens after November 16. Why? That’s when “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2″ finally hits theaters. The penultimate chapter of the saga took MTV News’ fan-voted honors for best ensemble, best couple, best dressed and, obviously, best sex scene. It’s no surprise, then, that “Breaking Dawn – Part 2″ is Hollywood Crush’s second most anticipated movie in 2012.

During our last visit to Forks, we saw Bella’s stunning vampire transformation, and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg recently told us that she’s most looking forward to seeing Kristen Stewart portray Bella as an immortal (we definitely agree). Plus, after her scarily gaunt pregnancy look in “Part 1,” it will be a welcome change to see Bella live up to her name, which means “beautiful” in Italian.

Of course, one of the most exciting parts of the “Breaking Dawn” story is the vampire gathering at the Cullen home, culminating in the final Volturi face-off. We know that the final showdown took a whole month to film, and we’re sure the results will be epic. Also, it’ll be really cool to see all the international immortals showing off their special abilities. Electric shocks, anyone?

But if we’re being honest, the action we’re most looking forward to in “Part 2″ is between Edward and Bella. We’ve got no objection to the fact that this indestructible couple likes to frequently get it on in the final installment. Considering how awesome their nookie was in the last flick, we can’t even fathom the sexy times to come now that Edward doesn’t need to, er, control himself.

Which scene are you most psyched for in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2″? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!

8. Rob & Kristen Kiss in Real Life

Minus all the sex ‘n’ stuff in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, this was as good as it got for fans of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. The real-life, just-how-serious-are-they couple shared a smooch on their way out of an afterparty following the NYC premiere of Rob’s Water for Elephants.

Source

Everyone’s thought about it. Plus, they make it look so easy in the movies. So if you had one chance to kiss one celeb when the clock strikes midnight on Saturday, who would you choose? According to a poll on Zillow.com, Tim Tebow or J. Lo make the best celebrity next-door neighbors. So we’re wondering if you’d go a step further and plant one on the QB or scoop the Idol judge up on New Year’s Eve, too.

I have to go with Ryan Gosling this time around. The chance to hear him say “Hey girl, have a great 2012″ would just be too good to pass up.

Pick your favorite below or add someone to the list in the comments.

Which celeb would you want to kiss on New Year’s Eve?

• Ryan Gosling
• George Clooney
• Tim Tebow
• Brad Pitt
• Will Smith
• Jennifer Lopez
• Paula Patton
• Kim Kardashian
• Angelina Jolie
• Jennifer Aniston
• None, I’d never choose any celeb over my sweetheart (we believe you…sure)
• None of these celebs, I’m adding my pick below!

I think I can speak for all of us when I say we would add Rob to that list

Rare is the moviegoing experience after which you leave the theater having loved each and every frame that flashed onscreen. Even when talking about our 10 favorite films of the year, we didn’t love everything about them, just most everything. More often than not, however, a film’s success and sustainability can be attributed to a few brilliantly crafted key scenes or sequences. They are the moments that make us ooh and aah, laugh out loud, cringe or cover our eyes.

In the spirit of the movie moments that have stuck with us and will continue to do so, here’s our list of the 10 best scenes from 2011′s new releases. SPOILERS ahead.

6. Birth Scene in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″

The penultimate “Twilight” flick may not have made our list of the best movies of 2011, but it’s hard to argue there was a more memorable scene — by which we mean totally goddamn bonkers — than the sequence when pregnant Bella Swan goes into labor and Edward Cullen, after realizing that a mere scalpel can’t free their vampire/human spawn, goes to work on his wife’s womb with his fangs. Blood is spilled, gasps and/or guffaws are unleashed by moviegoers (depending on each one’s relative level of Twi-hardness), and cinematic history is made.” — E.D.

To see more non-Rob related images, visit Robward and Krisella!