Tag: daniel stern

Don’t you know a kid always wins against two idiots? “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” (1992)

SashLeave a comment
directed by Chris Columbus
© 1992 20th Century Fox. All Rights Reserved.

I guess today’s post isn’t a surprise. Yesterday I told you that I cannot imagine winter without “Home Alone”. Well, each year on the following day, after watching “Home Alone”, I watch its sequel. And I honestly think that both parts are equally good, despite the difference in general ratings. So as you know very well (I hope), in this part Kevin ends up in New York without his family. And until they come to get him, he has to survive on his own, which wouldn’t be a problem unless our two lovely robbers didn’t end up in the same city as well. And I know that a lot of people think this part is worse, but I think that the producers did a really good job. Imagine if they repeated the story – Kevin stays at home again. Booooring. Or the family moves to another house and the same guys are trying to rob Kevin’s house. Boooooring. Or they exchange Kevin with another boy or the criminals with some other guys. Hell no! So I think making Kevin stay on his now in a huge city was a wonderful idea (for cinema, of course, don’t do it with your own children, please). In this part there are some fun facts you should know about as well. For example, Macauley Culkin earned a huge amount of money for that role – 4,500,000 dollars. Yes, I wrote those zeros on purpose so you see how much it is. If you ask me, I wish I was Kevin. And I guess Joe Pesci was a bit jealous too, because he wasn’t much friendly with Macauley. Some say it was his way of showing he likes the kid, some say he actually didn’t like him. Who knows? Next fact – the filmmakers had a lot of problems during shooting because of… snow. Normally, in most Christmas productions, they use artificial snow. In “Home Alone 2” they were lucky enough to have enough of real snow on set. Unfortunately, their cameras didn’t like that and they were often freezing. You cannot have everything, right? At least they could take breaks for building a snowman while waiting for the equipment to start working. Oh and I guess you know that Donald Trump appears in the film for maybe 2-3 seconds? He shows little Kevin the way, which is probably the only nice thing he’s done in his life (I don’t like talking about politics, but I just had to joke about that, laugh with me or forgive me). Anyway, there are too many funny moments in the sequel to skip it or rate it lower. And let’s face it – winter without Kevin is not winter, so I’m truly thankful that such story was created.

My rating: 9/10
S.

Guys, I’m eating junk and watching rubbish! “Home Alone” (1990)

SashLeave a comment
directed by Chris Columbus
© 1990 20th Century Fox. All Rights Reserved.

30 years ago a group of very hard-working, ambitious and stubborn people gave us a true symbol of Christmas. Personally, I can’t imagine winter without watching “Home Alone”. I literally watch it every year and I’m still very much excited about seeing this film again. I won’t be telling you about the plot of “Home Alone”, because I truly believe that most of you, if not everyone, have seen it at least once. If not, you’ve just got homework from me. Today, however, I’d like to tell you a bit about the reasons why I love this production. First of all, the cast. I cannot imagine Kevin being played by anyone but Macaulay Culkin. This boy was just perfect – angel face with a real rebel hiding inside. But he’s not my only favourite. Catherine O’Hara – this woman is simply marvellous and you could see so many of her acting faces in “Home Alone”. But let’s not forget about Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, who in this film are like yin and yang. In fact, those two liked each other in real, so it was even better for them to work together. Second reason is the screenplay. Not only all the funny moments are well-thought and not cheesy (as they often are in comedies), but also the dialogues make me laugh hard, even though I already know them by heart. Third reason – the camerawork and editing. Maybe you haven’t focused on that, but “Home Alone” is truly spectacular when it comes to the technical side. Pay attention next time you watch it. And now I’d like to make you look like Kevin after using his father’s aftershave – do you know that Kevin’s house doesn’t exist in real? I mean, the building itself does, yes. But you’ve never seen what’s inside of it, because the inside of Kevin’s house was built in the studio. I know, heart-breaking. And actually, it wasn’t a studio, it was a school, because the producers hated working in the studio, so they adapted one abandoned school and built the inside of Kevin’s house in the gym. I recommend you to watch and read more about shooting “Home Alone”, because it’s such a complex story that ended with a very happy end. Oh and one more reason why I love the film – the score. It was composed by John Williams, the absolute god of music in cinema, which was also a funny story, because the producers didn’t even dream of working with Williams. Still, they sent him the film, he loved it and wrote the perfect score. Just like that. So I guess I will leave you with this thought – it’s important to dream and try no matter what.

My rating: 9/10
S.