Mamma, ho preso il morbillo

Home Alone 3 has a lot of unfair criticism. I mean, how many of you would really have wanted a 16-year-old Mac Culkin doing the same-old same-old to Harry and Marv. Of course it was a better idea to do in a different direction and with John Hughes still producing and writing you know there's going to be a good amount of imagination and creativity.

This time around we have 8-year-old Alex Pruitt defend his house against international criminals. Stuck at home with Chicken Pox with both his parents tied-up in work matters, Alex suspects foul play on his snowy street when he witnesses strangers poking around in his neighbor's house. Of course, no one believes an imaginative 8-year-old so he has to deal with them himself.

It turns out that a toy car Alex got from the old-lady across the street is actually a Trojan horse to smuggle a priceless defence microchip to the North Korean mob. They really ought to hire better criminals as they fall for every one of Alex's sadistic booby-traps.

Yes, that is basically the whole plot but it gets enough mileage out of it and it's still very funny. Set in January, it lacks the Xmas feel of the first two, but I guess that would have just been a distraction. John Williams' theme only gets a brief recital at the start, but from then on it's an adequate (if not exceptional) score from Hans Zimmer pal Nick Glennie-Smith. Despite these key differences of characters and theme, it still feels like it has enough continuity with the others.

It's a totally worthwhile and enjoyable sequel that has a bad rep for no reason. Home Alone 4 on the other hand...now THAT is BAD!

This is NOT part 3 of "Kevin's Adventures", but rather a brand new "home Alone" situation. The setting is still suburban Chicago during the Christmas season, the family is still "upper middle class", and even the theme music is very similar to the predecessors. This time, however, the "kid" is NOT abandoned by his entire family who took off for their Christmas Vacation. This time our pint sized hero is left unattended only for hours at a time, while he is at home and sick with the measles. A gang of foreign spys is after a top secret multi-million dollar computer chip stolen from the US Air Force. Of course, they hide it in a battery-operated toy that ends up with "the kid".

Although the "boobie trap" routine could be viewed as just another rip-off from the first two films, the "gags" seem a bit more sophisticated and less forced in "3". The mere fact that our hero is not dealing with "wet bandit idiots" this time around makes the whole show less of a "kiddie circus". The third running is also leaving out the mushy side plots which would've gotten tiresome by now. All in all this is a fun show for the whole family. I showed this film to my 4th grade class and they gave it 20 thumbs up. Not for the "grown-up" comedy critic, but definitely a winner with kids.

Everybody says this movie sucks...i don't think that at all. We can't have kevin forever...he's gotta grow up at some point. That's why it was good to go with a new family that would keep the spirit of home alone alive...remember it's for the kids. plus the bad guys were more advanced then marv & harry (not saying that i didn't like marv & harry) but these guys had high-tec equitment that was pretty cool. This movie was new,fresh,well acted & had good direction. (RAJA GOSNEL)

WAY-TO-GO JOHN HUGHES!!!!

Precocious youngster Linz—a target of torment for his older siblings and uptight next door neighbor—is stuck at home with the dreaded chicken pox. He stumbles upon a top secret computer chip that makes him the target of four, high-precision international spies determined to re-obtain it, but the feisty youngster is determined to defend his home at all costs. The whole thing is pretty formulaic, but smarter crooks, an appealing cast, and a surprising amount of unexpected laughs help overcome the script's familiarity and wild leaps of logic. Not very original, but there are more than enough good gags and amusing situations to make it worth a look. **½

Has the same title only this ain't the Home Alone you'd all be familiar with.

No one from the original is in it. And the plot to it isn't as amusing as the first 2 were.

This one has to do with some secret group of agents accidentally misplaced there product at the airport which has some important chip in it that's top secret. They track down where the product is which is in Chicago, and located in somewhere in a neighborhood. 4 agents now have to check every house and find that chip.

A kid who's supposed to be the new version of Kevin has the chip only he doesn't know it yet.

He likes to watch neighbors with his telescope and goof around. When he notices the agents breaking into the neighbor's homes, he calls the police. When they get there they didn't find any of the intruders in the neighbor's home. When the agents plan on breaking into our main hero's home, he has to prepare himself to set up traps and give them hell.

This movie was good at first but it's not the same. Those who like the first 2 Home Alone movies, you might not like this one. Rent it first, and see for yourself.