TORONTO — Another year is over and a new one is about to begin. But what if you’ve got no interest in making non-binding resolutions, revelling in forced optimism or watching balls drop?
For those who prefer to stay home and sit in front of a glowing screen, here are five flicks set on or around New Year’s Eve:
Ocean’s 11 (1960)
Is there a better way to ring in the new year than with the Rat Pack? This classic caper, which also stars Angie Dickinson and Cesar Romero, centres on a gang of veterans planning to rob five Vegas casinos on New Year’s Eve.
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
An all-star cast, including Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters and Roddy McDowall, makes this disaster movie a classic. At midnight on New Year’s Eve, the lives of passengers onboard the S.S. Poseidon are turned upside down — literally — when the ship is struck by a tidal wave. The special effects (and Winters) are good for a few laughs.
200 Cigarettes (1999)
This comedy/drama follows characters played by the likes of Ben Affleck, Kate Hudson, Dave Chappelle and Paul Rudd as they make their way to a New Year’s Eve party in New York City in 1981. There are plenty of adventures and misadventures along the way — and a lot of smoking, of course.
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)
A remake of the 1976 film of the same name, this one is set on New Year’s Eve inside a soon-to-be-shuttered police station in Detroit. Cops Ethan Hawke and Brian Dennehy are forced to stop ringing in the new year when masked gunmen storm the precinct to free a crime boss played by Laurence Fishburne. Fun fact: This flick was shot in Toronto.
New Year’s Eve (2011)
A ton of stars, including Zac Efron, Halle Berry, Jessica Biel and Robert De Niro, show up in this romantic comedy, which is made up of a series of vignettes. All of it takes place on the titular holiday in New York City.
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