# New Year's movies



## Metryq (Dec 27, 2011)

Anyone else have favorite New Year's movies? There are special movies for Halloween, Christmas, and Groundhog's Day.

At least once a year—not necessarily _on_ New Year's Eve, but around that time—I like to watch George Pal's 1960 version of _The Time Machine_. (Please don't mention the 2002 version, or the server running the forum will implode.) The story takes place on a New Year's Eve, yet makes the trademark mistake of so many movies where years ending in a 9 are referred to as the rollover for the next decade, century, millennium, etc. (Kubrick and Clarke titled their movie _2001: A Space Odyssey_ for a reason.) Wells' description of the Time Machine in the book is both specific and vague at the same time. I've seen many renderings of the Machine, but Pal's model is the only one that nailed it perfectly. If Wells had been around to see it, he would have shouted enthusiastically, "That's it!" The set dressing in George's house is fantastic—both rich and olde fashioned at the same time, and reminds me of those trips when I accompany my sister to antiques stores.

_Strange Days_ is another New Year's favorite, rich in allegory, yet also flawed in its counting. (Y2K was the rollover for a potential computer bug, but not the rollover into a new century/millennium.)

_Entrapment_ is a guilty pleasure that I do not watch as frequently as the others noted above, but either Sean Connery or Catherine Zeta-Jones is excuse enough to watch a movie. Just try not to laugh too hard when the Conrad "the Hutt" Greene (Maury Chaykin) scenes are on.


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## Foxbat (Dec 28, 2011)

This is the time of year I start to go through my collection of favourite classic SF movies (such as _The Day The Earth Stood Still_, _The Day The_ _Earth Caught Fire, When Worlds Collide)_. Hmm. I wonder if there's a theme there

In truth, I suppose it's a kind of cinematic laxative with which to purge myself of all the crap I have watched during the year.


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## Metryq (Dec 28, 2011)

If you include the 2008 version of _The Day the Earth Stood Still_, then that would be some of the purge, and not the laxative! I saw half of that last night, which was about all the histrionics and misanthropy I could take. I didn't even bother to rewind the DVD.


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## Ripley!WatchOut! (Dec 28, 2011)

It's not SciFi but When Harry Met Sally is always played in my house this time of year.


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## scotlandsyard (Mar 28, 2012)

In Germany we always watch DINNER FOR ONE or The 90th birthday.


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## Rodders (Mar 29, 2012)

scotlandsyard said:


> In Germany we always watch DINNER FOR ONE or The 90th birthday.


 
I remember seeing about Dinner for One on QI.


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