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Home Alone (1990)
Home Alone (1990)
Home Alone is the first movie that I could quote in its entirety line for line and I was maybe 6 years old at the time. I watched the movie for the first time on VHS when I was 5 years old.
The film is the first holiday tradition that I ever had. Christmas just doesn’t seem like Christmas without watching Home Alone at some point.
It’s the movie that boosted Macauley Culkin to superstardom while simultaneously dooming his acting career. Forever, he will always be known as Kevin McCallister, the little boy whose family forgot about him and left him home alone. Thanks to Home Alone, Culkin is the most famous child actor ever. However, Home Alone was the peak of his career and he was only 10 years old at the time. He could never, and will never top that movie, no matter how hard he tries.
Home Alone was touted as the family comedy without the family and it was exactly that. I don’t know if I have ever met anybody who has not seen the film. That is how popular it is. Everybody has seen it.
So, for all of the newborns out there who weren’t in their mother’s womb over Christmastime, the movie is about Kevin McCallister (Macauley Culkin), an 8-year-old boy who gets left at home when his big family goes on a trip to Paris for the holidays. He is left to fend for himself and forced to defend his home against two stupid criminals.
The film was written by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. The rest of the noteworthy cast includes Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O’Hara, John Heard, Roberts Blossom, John Candy, Devin Ratray, Larry Hankin, Gerry Bamman, and Keiran Culkin.
Home Alone has been one of my favorite movies ever since my childhood. It’s festive, heartfelt and hysterical. It’s everything that a family comedy should be.
Macauley Culkin did an excellent job for his age. Pesci and Stern gave priceless performances as the knuckleheads who insist on trying to rob the McCallister’s residence, even after knowing a little kid is home.
It’s a John Hughes classic that never gets old, no matter how many times you watch it. Trust me, I know. I’ve seen this movie more times that I could ever count.
I rate this movie a 10 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Buy.
If you enjoyed Home Alone than you will most likely enjoy:
Pain & Gain (2013)
Pain & Gain (2013)
Michael Bay took a true story about bodybuilding thieves and kidnappers, and chewed it up and spit it out bigger and better than before. The producer and director has a tendency to go big or go home. Pain & Gain went huge with a super sized Mark Wahlberg, a bulkier Dwayne Johnson “The Rock”, and an extra beefed up Anthony Mackie.
I should not have enjoyed this movie, but I did. It is supposedly a true story, but you have to believe that with Michael Bay involved, the film could very well be far from the truth. Everything about the movie was way over-the-top.
The movie was raunchy, vulgar, and went totally off the deep end. It’s filled with drugs, cussing, nudity, and brutality. I was caught off guard at how funny the movie was though. I expected an action/adventure and I got an action/comedy. The story is pretty twisted and it needed a lot of comedy to help you get through it, so kudos to the filmmakers for recognizing this fact. The real story was probably not that funny. The real story was probably not that entertaining either.
If you are not a fan of dark comedy, then you might not like this movie. It is mostly filled with dark comedy and stupid comedy. After all, all brawn and no brains is the underlined theme of this film. The movie could also be considered very offensive. If you are easily offended, you might not like the film.
The rest of the notable cast includes Tony Shalhoub, Ed Harris, Rob Corddry, Bar Paly, Rebel Wilson, Ken Jeong, Michael Risponi, Larry Hankin, Tony Plana, and Peter Stormare.
The characters were far out, but very well-acted. The casting was perfect. I don’t think that you could find a funnier bunch of giants anywhere. With that being said, if this movie had a different cast, it probably would have just been awful. I am certain that the actual people that the characters are based on are not nearly as likable as the actors who play them in the movie.
With how big Mark Wahlberg is now, if he could go back in time and fight his character in The Fighter (2010), he would beat the crap out of that guy. He gained 40lbs. to make Pain & Gain and he looks gigantic. Dwayne Johnson “The Rock” somehow became more enormous for his role. It just goes to show the dedication that these guys had to make the movie.
I rate this movie a 7 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Rent.
If you liked Pain & Gain, then you will most likely enjoy:
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