Bicentennial Man (1999)

★★★1/2

After being purchased by a suburban family in the near future, android Andrew Martin yearns to become a human being after developing humanistic qualities such as sculpting, painting and a playful attitude. However, during his 200-year journey he is met with the deaths of his closest friends (his family) as well as the disapproval of being classified as “human” by popular vote. Though not as great as I remember, this is a still a very touching and imaginative tale of wanting to fit in with a brilliant performance by Robin Williams and beautiful direction by Columbus. It has heart, affection and warmth but seems a bit too fast-paced. It brings up the question, what defines being human?

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)

★★★★☆

The McCallisters are at it again; they’re leaving the wintery climate of Chicago in favor for a more tropical Christmas down in Florida. But when Kevin, having losing his party and following the wrong ‘dad,’ gets on the wrong plane… he’s all alone in New York. So he goes crazy: he stays in the lap of luxury at The Plaza, enjoys first-rate limo service and takes advantage of all the money he ended up having. But that soon changes when he runs into escaped thieves Harry and Marv… again. Now, he must stop them not only from stealing money from a charitable toy store but also from killing him. Much like the first, this one is very screwball and painful. It’s a childhood movie that I will always love. It has heart, humor, Kevin’s antics and that special John Hughes Christmas magic.