Home Alone

Home Alone is a Christmas film in which a small child commits a sustained campaign of grievous bodily harm against two burglars, and it is beloved by everyone. John Hughes wrote it in about nine days and it became the highest-grossing live-action comedy for over two decades.

The first half is much better than people remember. Before any traps are set, it's a genuinely warm film about a kid who wished his family away and got what he asked for, wandering an empty house and slowly realising it isn't the victory he expected.

Then the second half arrives and the physics leave. The traps would kill an adult several times over, which Marv and Harry survive through the specific durability that only cartoon logic provides. Joe Pesci reportedly had to stop swearing on set, which explains a lot about his delivery.

The old man with the shovel subplot is the reason the ending lands, and it's the part most sequels forgot to include.

This collection covers Kevin and the bandits. Keep the change, you filthy animal.