Top 12 Must-see Movies in 2011

What flix are lighting up the big screen in the new year? We’ve rounded up the best new films coming to a theater near you.

Movies to See With Your BFF
If you want to see a sappy love story, invite your best friend -- never a boy (unless you’re trying to repel him). Alice in Wonderland’s Mia Wasikowska is starring in two upcoming romances: Restless, a film about a terminally ill girl’s crush on a quirky boy who likes to hang out at funerals, and the classic Jane Eyre, which is based on Charlotte Bronte’s novel.

If you’re looking for more of a bonding chick-flick experience, go see Cracks. It follows the friendships (and the conflicts) between a free-thinking teacher and the students at an elite British boarding school for girls.

Movies to See With a Crush
Dudes like action! Adventure! Thrills! Superheroes! The Green Hornet and Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage are two of the most highly anticipated action-adventure films of the year. Get in line early -- it will give you two a chance to chat before the lights go dim.

Movies to See With Your Fam
If your siblings are tots, you’ll love watching these two animated films: Gnomeo and Juliet, a twist on the Shakespeare tale, and Rango, a flick about a chameleon (played by Johnny Depp) with an identity crisis.

Are your sibs more middle-school? Suggest a family movie night to go see Mars Needs Moms! It’s about a 9-year-old whose mom is nabbed by Martians. Or you can check out Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules, which is based on the second book in the popular series.

Movies to See With the Crew
Up-and-coming English actor Alex Pettyfer stars in I Am Number Four, a sci-fi film that revolves around a group of Earth-bound teen extraterrestrials who are being hunted by another alien species. Beastly, a 21st-century take on Beauty and the Beast, is also coming out.

Vanessa Hudgens stars opposite Pettyfer in Beastly, but make no mistake: This is no Disney spin. Hudgens also goes girl-toting-machine-guns in the wicked Sucker Punch. We must say we’re impressed with the no-fluff roles Hudgens has landed lately. That should give you and your friends some good convo when you go for lattes after the film.

Mia Wasikowska Photo: Getty Images