Rating: 
Summary: Solid, learned, and complete
Review: I love Leonard Maltin's movie guide. I had a 1998 edition, which was probably one of the most thumbed books in my house, and finally rewarded myself to upgrading to the latest, 2003 version. What inevitably happens is this: I go to look up one film, and on the way, flicking through the pages, see another. That makes me think of a third which I then start to look for, but then I see a fourth... and before you know it, and hour has passed and I've completely forgotten which movie it was I was looking up in the first place. A very organic way of reading, and thoroughly, personally recommended as a way of passing the time waiting for your two-year old son to fall asleep! This is a terrific resource: Maltin and his team of editors have a huge knowledge of the history of cinema, and the small amount of text which is afforded to each entry (by necessity - there are something like 14,000 movies reviewed - is unfailingly to the point - curt, in many cases - and gives a very good flavour of the reviewer's view of the movie. The reviews, and star ratings, are very tough indeed, and in no sense does Maltin concede to public (or fashionable) opinion: if he doesn't like a film, no matter how well regarded it may be, he'll mark it down. Blade Runner, for example, gets just two stars our of four, while Memento, in my view a fantastic film and one which I've never heard a bad word said against, avoids the dreaded "BOMB" rating by just half a star. While often times you may not agree with this rating, you do have to respect Maltin's integrity. There are one or two items I would mention (although, as Maltin would say, why carp?) which probably add up to imperfections, but which don't rob the book of my five stars: In terms of its judgments, Maltin is guilty of the "They Don't Make Them Like They Used To" complex: there is a rather pompous introduction which says as much, and I have not been able to locate one film released since 1998 which has been awarded the full four stars. On the other hand, the top rating is liberally thrown about for films made in the forties or before: Adam's Rib: ever heard of that? Me neither. It may be true that there is a lot of commercial rubbish around now, but no more so than there ever was, and I think Maltin should be courageous enough to say at the time of release (rather than waiting for a film to pass the test of time) to pronounce a film a four star effort. In much the same vein, Maltin seems to be no great fan of comedy. Having looked through all the greatest comedy films I could think of, only two have been awarded four stars, and both of those by the Marx Brothers: Duck Soup and A Night At The Opera (oh, and Adam's Rib is a comedy too, apparently). I think there is some cinema snobbery going on here. Films should be judged according to their genre, and the fact that none of Zucker & Abrahams, Monty Python, the Coen Brothers, or Rob Reiner has had any of their comedies credited as four star movies is a little telling. A couple of nit-picks: I think a star system of up to five would give a little more room for flexibility in ratings, and I don't understand why TV Movies aren't subjected to the same regime (again, I think this is a little cinema snobbery: TV Movies, apparently, can only be "average", "above average" or "below average".) Lastly, the indexing is pretty meagre: If you can't remember the titled of the movie, then unless it starred a major league actor, you are staring at one big haystack in which to find your needle. I guess space prevents anything more, but I would have thought an index of Directors wouldn't have hurt - or indeed a list of all four star (and BOMB) movies. In fact would be great to be able to get this book on CD-ROM so you could search on any name (or, indeed, sort by rating!)
Rating: 
Summary: Good guide
Review: Of all the movie guides that I looked at, Leonard Maltin's is thje most thorough for the price. The movies are rated from four stars to bomb. TV movies are rated above average, average and below average. Each review contains a synopsis of the movie as well as its good and bad points. There is a cast list as well as the running time. Leonard Maltin also contains information on the various hollywood film series such as Andy Hardy, Blonde and Tarzan. He also has a list of sources for ordeing videos. People have complained about the alphabetized listings. The movies are listed as if their is no space between words. Maltin explains this in the begining of the guide.
Rating:
Summary: Before watching any movie...see what Mr. M. has to say!
Review: I have relied on Leonard Maltin's Movie Guides for many years. The 2004 Edition is the most complete source of honest movie reviews you can find. The new 2005 volume should be out around September. Each year Maltin adds hundreds of new reviews. I'm a AMC buff, but I appreciate the latest reviews as well, and they're always in time for the new video releases. As a reference book for movie fans, this is THE BIBLE!*****
Rating:
Summary: Best of the capsule movie guides
Review: There a lot of books on the market that have attempted to duplicate the success of Leonard Maltin's annual guide, but this one remains the most thorough and convenient. Rather than classify films according to genre as some of his competitors do (Where would you look for "Dr. Strangelove"? In Drama? Sci-fi?), the titles are arranged alphabetically making the search for a particular film fairly easy. The information provided (year of release, running time, cast, director, availability on DVD and video) is all relevant and useful. Certainly, this book has its faults. The ratings are sometimes inconsistent, with some films mysteriously rising to three stars from one-and-a-half in a previous volume, and Maltin (or his co-writers) have their own tastes which may or may not reflect yours, mine, or the majority of his readers. Still, the capsule reviews are often witty, and whether or not you agree with the ratings, there is just enough pertinent information about thousands (and thousands and thousands) of movies to make it the most useful of these reference guides. My only complaint is that though each year's edition is larger than the last, a lot of older films are tossed out to make room for the new. Some of the extras added in the last decade (the list of actor and director credits at the end of the book) should be eliminated instead. A complete list of films by a particular star or director can be found in other sources, and is not essential here. Still, as a handy, easy to consult reference, Maltin's Movie and Video Guide serves its purpose very well.
Rating:
Summary: INVALUABLE RESOURCE GUIDE....
Review: This is my own personal guide to research and seek out films that I've never seen and to collect those that are available. I have used Maltin's guide for years and years. For me, it's the only one I like and the one I turn to time and again. There are omissions of some hard-to-find films but also new listings of hard-to-find films every year. I don't always agree with the reviews but for the most part I am completely satisfied. I buy the large version every year and look forward to thumbing through it's pages. It's the most comprehensive guide I have found that I am happy with. It would be impossible to say how many films I have tracked down over the years with this guide. It sits by my computer like a Bible. I know everyone has their own personal preference for what guides they like to use, but I'm a Maltin fan and always will be. For me, he's the best. I only wish the guide was in hardback because I would collect them.
Rating:
Summary: Most Comprehensive Movie Guide
Review: This is the best for the completeness . .
it's like the Movie Dictionary (although sometimes it's difficult to find the title you want)
The capsule review is OK . . i dont like the style
Moviegoers often disagree with Maltin Review, his taste is weird sometimes. but do i care ? nope . .
this is a 'must have' no 1 guide book for a movie fans.
Rating:
Summary: Still the best of its type
Review: "Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide" is still the best book of this kind on the market. It's comprehensive - 18,000+ reviews. It's focused on the kind of movies most people are interested in - it's mostly American movies, with some of the more popular and interesting Foreign films thrown in. It's concise - the reviews are brief (As they have to be in this kind of mammoth tome). And it gives you the information you require - advice on a film's content: sex, violence, nudity, etc. The 2004 edition is pretty much the same as the other editions, only updated to include more recent films of interest. But it retains its biggest strength, which is to not join in with the over-inflated "Let's say everything's great!" approach to criticism. Maltin and his reviewers have the same high expectations as a good portion of their readership. If a film isn't up to scratch, they aren't afraid to say so because it may upset the money men in Hollywood. If a film is merely mediocre, this book will tell you it's only mediocre. It's hard to agree with everything in here. Some films you love will be trashed, other films you thought sucked will be admired. But that's part of the interest here; seeing how different the perceptions can be. This is informed without being intimidating, solid and huge. A must have for the serious or casual movie fan.
Rating: 
Summary: Be wary.
Review: Lenonard Maltin is just one man. That being said be wary of his reviews because they are subjective opinions. If you find yourself agreeing with his opinions then by all means this is the book for you. But he doesn't know everything and in my opinion knows almost nothing. Some people may praise his "honesty," but like Simon from "American Idol" I think that most of the time he is just being mean. Don't throw your money away read it BEFORE you buy it!
Rating:
Summary: good book for movie fans
Review: I can say that Leonard Maltin is a ok critic and I can say that because I can. Though I prefer him over some others, but I like Peter Travers alot as well. This guide is really long but I skim through it alot each day, reading the info and there's a lot of movies out there that are in this book that I rent or buy or just plain ignore. I agree and I disagree with some of Maltin's ratings. for example I agreed with him for Boat Trip, Tomcats, Ballistic Ecks Vs. Sever, House OF A Thousand Corpses, etc. I read a review from someone on here that he gets bored with overlong movies and he seems to be lacking and I agree. I read on his website that he did like Pirates OF The Carribean but being a pirate movie it was overlong...I mean come on, that sa good movie. The same with Ebert and Roeper, they said the exact same thing. whine, whine, whine all you like, directors arent gonna listen to you. are modern comedies getting to much cruder and disgusting, Leonard thinks, and I agree with him on that too. I just dont care really for those movies where Tom Green tells about his life story, or so does Jerry Springer. Where Van Wilder goes wild, Not Another Teen Movie sucks the big one and Cuba Gooding Jr. goes on a gay cruise and sinks the whole movie. basically with some of todays big action stars like Jean Claude Van Damme,Steven Seagal, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger come out with movies where we already seem them decapitate lots of badguys. so in conclusion, this is an ultimate movie book and for those people who think this is too big of a book for your little itsy bitsy minds to comprehend, then go to those one where there very thin and very small and short, that'll help you out a bit.
Rating:
Summary: An absolutely indispensable reference
Review: I have been buying the Leonard Martin's Movie and Video Guide for at least 10 years now. I find it an absolutely indispensable reference and the latest version is no exception. I like the style of rating from 4 stars right down to BOMB and more often than not I share the opinions of the reviewers. I admire the no-nonsense layout, constant for every film, and I think a good balance on content over presentation is maintained. I would love that every film ever produced could be included but you would probably be looking at a 3-volume version if that were the case. I long for the day that can be achieved with a DVD-Rom version release and sadly miss the Microsoft Cinemania effort.
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