From When Harry Met Sally to Countdown, Bad Genius director’s early gem, five movies to see in the New Year at home
- Don’t let the pandemic spoil your New Year’s Eve – sit back at home in front of the TV, relax and enjoy some movie magic
- Any one, or indeed all these New Year’s Eve-themed films will help you finally see off 2020
The persistent pandemic and lingering lockdown have scuppered New Year’s Eve party plans the world over, so why not put your feet up, pour yourself a glass of bubbly, and see in 2021 with one (or more) of these five films?
Countdown (2012)
Before finding international success with the high school exam heist caper Bad Genius , filmmaker Nattawut Poonpiriya wrote and directed this effective little thriller about four Thai teenagers celebrating New Year’s Eve in New York.
Pachara Chirathivat ( Bikeman ), Jarinporn Joonkiat and Pattarasaya Kreuasuwansri play the three wealthy brats, who plan a night of drug-fuelled debauchery in their shared flat. But when their regular hook-up falls through, they inadvertently summon David Asavanond’s devilish dealer into their midst.
The revelry soon spirals out of control as their malevolent house guest proceeds to stoke the fires of friction between the flatmates. Before the night is out, he has forced each of them to confess their most closely guarded secrets.
Filmed on a modest budget, its single location heightens the oppressive claustrophobia, and as the night becomes an inescapable nightmare for all concerned, the hope and salvation a new year promises remains torturously out of reach.
Strange Days (1995)
A hi-tech thriller of which Michael Crichton would have been proud, Strange Days was conceived by James Cameron before being handed off to his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow to direct. Set in the then near future of New Year’s Eve 1999, the film casts Ralph Fiennes against type as a sleazy ex-cop who peddles recorded memories, which can be relived using a sensory stimulating headset.
Blending equal measures of film noir, murder mystery and dystopian sci-fi, the cast boasts a raft of ubiquitous ’90s stars, including Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore, and an outstanding Angela Bassett as a butt-kicking limo driver.