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Leonard Maltin
A Separation—movie review
- By Leonard Maltin
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- December 29, 2011 10:31 PM
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- 8 Comments
Habib Madjidi ©, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
The Iron Lady—movie review
- By Leonard Maltin
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- December 29, 2011 10:30 PM
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- 10 Comments
Animated Jazz—And More
- By Leonard Maltin
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- December 29, 2011 2:21 AM
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- 0 Comments
Gordon Goodwin is a talented musician, composer, arranger—and animation buff. Years ago he got to score a pencil-test scene called “The Bedroom Argument” that was cut from 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' and unearthed for a laserdisc release of the film; you can see (and hear) it now on YouTube. He’d almost forgotten about this long-ago assignment when it turned up online, and says, “I remember how awestruck I was to be working with that iconic material!
The 11 Best Films You May Have Missed In 2011
- By Leonard Maltin
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- December 27, 2011 2:26 PM
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- 7 Comments
The folks at Huffington Post asked me to provide a list of the 11 best films people might have missed this year, and I was happy to oblige.
If you’re a discerning moviegoer who lives in a community with a specialty theater (or art house, as we used to call them), you may have seen some of the titles on my list. But there are some smaller, more offbeat pictures, that fly under the radar of even avid film buffs. Because they don’t have major marketing budgets—or, in most cases, marquee stars—they have no presence on billboards, bus stops, magazine covers, or talk shows. Some are home-grown and some are foreign-made; many are serious but others take a lighter approach to the stories they present.
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close—movie review
- By Leonard Maltin
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- December 25, 2011 12:02 PM
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- 12 Comments
I doubt that anyone who lived through the events of September 11, 2001 could remain completely unmoved by the story of how one boy deals with the death of his father, who was trapped in one of the World Trade Center towers that morning. There are many painful, poignant, and highly-fraught moments in 'Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close', simply because they remind us of what so many of us experienced that day, even from afar. But this drama, under the skillful direction of Stephen Daldry, aims to do more than merely arouse our latent emotions.
War Horse—movie review
- By Leonard Maltin
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- December 23, 2011 6:17 AM
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- 22 Comments
I don’t like pigeonholing films, and I’ve never been fond of the term “chick flick,” but I’d be less than candid if I didn’t tell you that several women I know and respect (including my wife) were moved to tears by 'War Horse', while I was lukewarm about it. Normally, I’m a sucker for this kind of picture, which has a great deal of sentiment built into it—but I found its execution too blatant and—if I’m not making a pun—on-the-nose.
We Bought A Zoo—movie review
- By Leonard Maltin
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- December 23, 2011 1:00 AM
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- 12 Comments
If your favorite descriptive word for a movie is “edgy,” you might want to skip this one. If, however, you like heartwarming—not cloying—stories about decent people, and hope to leave the theater feeling better than you did when you walked in, 'We Bought a Zoo' will be a welcome cup of holiday cheer. Rated PG, it is intended to please a family audience, so the timing is perfect.
Paramount Logo Revisited
- By Leonard Maltin
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- December 22, 2011 2:23 PM
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- 3 Comments
When I posted a story about the new Paramount 100th logo the other day, movie memorabilia dealer and collector Bruce Hershenson questioned my citation of 1916 as the date of its first use, in print and onscreen. He thought he’d seen instances of it in 1915. I told him that I had, perhaps foolishly, trusted the studio’s official press release. (I have a feeling that they’re referring to the photographed trademark on film, and not the print version.)
The Adventures Of Tintin—movie review
- By Leonard Maltin
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- December 21, 2011 1:00 AM
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- 17 Comments
Being completely unfamiliar with Hergé’s popular illustrated stories, I came to this movie as a blank slate, with no expectations. After an imaginative opening title sequence (scored by John Williams in a sprightly mode reminiscent of 'Catch Me if You Can'), I was enveloped in the spirit of a rousing, old-fashioned adventure yarn. I only wish I felt the same way when the movie concluded.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo—movie review
- By Leonard Maltin
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- December 20, 2011 12:55 PM
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- 15 Comments
The American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is well-made, well-cast, tense and exciting. I just wish I hadn’t seen it all before.
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