Leonard Maltin

Wartime Britain – Three Complete Dramas on DVD

  • By Alice Maltin
  • |
  • February 6, 2012
Stories inspired by real-life events of World War Two continue to inspire dramatists and filmmakers, especially in the UK…and I never tire of watching them. Here are three solid examples recently released as a boxed DVD set by Acorn Media.

The Woman In Black—movie review

  • By Leonard Maltin
  • |
  • February 3, 2012
As ghost stories go, this one isn’t bad, but the filmmakers take an awfully long time getting to the actual plot, content to spend the first half of the movie doling out “boo!” moments…more than I’ve ever experienced in one motion picture! Most of them are pretty effective, but after the third or fourth I felt I’d had my fill for a while.

Declaration Of War—movie review

  • By Leonard Maltin
  • |
  • February 2, 2012
It’s been decades since television created a genre that pundits labeled “disease-of-the-week” movies. Cable networks such as Lifetime have kept the form alive, because such stories are natural fodder for relatable drama, while medical TV shows have never gone out of style.

Quality Time With Martin Scorsese

  • By Leonard Maltin
  • |
  • February 1, 2012
Imagine spending two and a half hours talking to Martin Scorsese! The Santa Barbara International Film Festival gave me that gift on Monday night, and the evening-long tribute at the historic Arlington Theatre was everything I hoped it would be. My only frustration was not having even more time so we could cover all of Scorsese’s films and go off on as many tangents as we pleased.

Alexander Payne, Silent Film Aficionado

  • By Leonard Maltin
  • |
  • January 30, 2012
Alexander Payne is once again an Oscar-nominated director, for his wonderful film 'The Descendants' (still my favorite picture of 2011), but you may not be aware that his love of cinema runs deep. When he agreed to introduce Lon Chaney in 'He Who Gets Slapped' at last year’s San Francisco Silent Film Festival, he talked about his lifelong passion, and his love of silent film, with such eloquence that I later asked if he would allow me to reprint his speech. This seems as good a time as any.

The Grey—movie review

  • By Leonard Maltin
  • |
  • January 27, 2012
Liam Neeson is one of those actors who validates a film by his mere presence in it. Sure enough, he brings gravitas and credibility to this survival thriller set in the snowy wilderness of Alaska. I wish he’d also brought along a better script.

Man On A Ledge—movie review

  • By Leonard Maltin
  • |
  • January 27, 2012
Try this on for size: an ex-cop who wants to prove he was innocent of a crime that sent him “up the river” for 25 years decides that the best way to do so is to step out onto the ledge of a midtown Manhattan hotel—and create a distraction for an even wilder scheme he’s trying to cover up. As it happens, the leading actors play their parts with conviction, and director Asger Leth orchestrates the action and visual effects with considerable skill.

Albert Nobbs—movie review

  • By Leonard Maltin
  • |
  • January 27, 2012
I’m delighted that Glenn Close and Janet McTeer have earned Oscar nominations for their work in this striking and memorable film, but it would be a shame if all people talked about were their performances, great as they are. Albert Nobbs is a first-rate film in every respect. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the work of director Rodrigo Garcia, one of the most talented—and underrated—filmmakers working today. (I wish more people had seen his last feature, the 2010 release Mother and Child, which like all his films puts the spotlight on interesting women.)

‘Wings’ Takes Flight—On DVD

  • By Leonard Maltin
  • |
  • January 25, 2012
While it’s fitting that Paramount Pictures should unveil its masterful restoration of Wings on the studio’s 100th birthday, it’s a shame we had to wait this long. It is, in fact, the last Academy Award-winning Best Picture to be released on DVD and Blu-ray—an unintended irony, since it was the first film to receive that honor. (Fox’s Cavalcade was the other longtime holdout, and even now it can only be obtained as part of a big, expensive Fox tribute package.)

Oscar Welcomes Newcomers

  • By Leonard Maltin
  • |
  • January 24, 2012
Oscar voters always have some surprises up their collective sleeve, and today was no exception. The actors’ branch is especially welcoming to new talent, as witness the nominations of first-timers Demián Bichir, Rooney Mara, Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, and Melissa McCarthy. That such relative newcomers are standing toe to toe with the likes of George Clooney and Meryl Streep is a tremendous achievement—and honor.

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