海角大神

In the last News Bites of the year, it would be remiss of me not to talk about some of the most newsworthy films of the year 鈥� or, at least, films that, in my opinion, deserve a mention.

This has been a year of film farewells, and no one did it better than one of the most loved movie franchises of all time. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II was the perfect ending to this series. It had action. It had drama. It had romance. In short, it was epic. The acting was fantastic, and the moviemakers did wonderful job of bringing J.K. Rowling鈥檚 books to life. I will be the first to admit that I鈥檓 a latecomer to this series. But this is the film of the series that sealed my love for it. And if you can watch the last five minute without smiling, then I think we need to have a talk.

Another beloved film franchise, The Twilight Saga, began its final run with Breaking Dawn Part 1. It鈥檚 no secret that I鈥檓 a fan of this series but even I鈥檝e been stunned at the money it鈥檚 earned in just a few short weeks of release. I鈥檒l put it this way 鈥� every single opening night screening was sold out at all of my local theaters. That鈥檚 a whole lot of Team Edward/Team Jacob love right there.

I鈥檓 hoping that one movie that has to do with money racks up big-time during awards season. I loved Moneyball, and Brad Pitt鈥檚 performance in it deserves some recognition. Sometimes you can鈥檛 just throw money at a problem to fix it. Sometimes it takes some creative thinking. And I appreciate Pitt portraying all of the aggravation that goes along with trying to fix a problem like that and the pride when you finally get it right. I鈥檓 thinking it will be Pitt, along with Ryan Gosling for Drive and George Clooney for The Descendants in the Outstanding Actor races.

I know comedies generally don鈥檛 get their due during awards season, but my fingers are crossed for one particular comedic performance. To this day, just the thought of Melissa McCarthy鈥檚 performance in Bridesmaids can send me into giggles. I know she has an Emmy 鈥� and rightly so 鈥� but anyone who can hold her own against Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph deserves some kind of honor.

Romantic Comedies are probably my favorite movie genre. Shocking, I know! When they鈥檙e done well, they can be truly moving. None was better this past year than Crazy, Stupid, Love. It has some absolutely hilarious moments (鈥淪eriously?! It鈥檚 like you鈥檙e Photoshopped!鈥�), but it鈥檚 also about not giving up on love, even when everything around you says you should. Now that鈥檚 a message I can get behind.

Another movie that appeals to the romantic in me is Woody Allen鈥檚 Midnight in Paris. It鈥檚 not romantic in the boy-meets-girl sense, but rather in the Romantic period sense. It鈥檚 whimsical, charming and bittersweet and makes me want to hop on the next flight to Paris for a little inspiration of my own. If you haven鈥檛 seen it, I sincerely hope you do. It will make you remember what it feels like to dream big.

Of course, the year isn鈥檛 over yet. There are still films I want to see, like Mission: Impossible 鈥� Ghost Protocol and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. But I鈥檇 love to know 鈥� what do you think are 2011 most newsworthy films?

Krista Richmond blogs at Killer Film.