HOME AlONE

OUT 5 December

Written by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus, this 1990 Christmas staple about a lone kid (Macaulay Culkin) creatively brutalising two hapless burglars (Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern) remains briskly barbed fun.

If the Chuck Jones-ian violence blackens the seasonal sentiment nicely, Pesci’s mismanaged anger and John Williams’ indelible score help weaponise its enduring appeal. Kevin Harley