Rating: 
Summary: Over the hill
Review: Leonard Maltin is too old for any modern movie lover. Can't seem to appreciate that movie making has changed (SOMETIMES for the better) in the last 50 years or so. Try the videohound movie guide for better assesments. Significantly less scholarly but much more fun and will actually help you find movies that you will like (that's the real point, isn't it?)
Rating: 
Summary: A must-have reference for movie buffs
Review: You might not agree with all his reviews, but you'll certainly appreciate his learned opinion. I love having this book near my tv so I can quickly gauge which movie on cabel is worth my time. Once you get to know Leonard's style, you can gauge it to your own and then be able to tell what movie you'll like based on what he says.My friends love it too. Now when we're watching a movie, one of them will inevitably ask "What did Leonard say?" and we'll go look it up. I also love the adjectives he uses to describe movies like "stupefyingly unwatchable" and "So mesmerizingly awful it actually improves (so to speak) with each viewing." My only criticism is actually with the book's format. The mass market edition is so thick and the type is so small, it's not as much fun to read. If available, I would recommend the larger format. Unless you're going to cart it around every day! Then you might want the smaller book.
Rating:
Summary: FOR 25 YEARS
Review: I've been a regular buyer of MALTIN's book for many years.I usually buy it after my old copy wears out.I remember when LEONARD's only competitor was STEVEN SCHEUER who also had an annual guide.Nowadays,books of this type are legion.It is hard to put on the market a book like this for many reasons:taste is such a personnal thing;everyone's opinion can match a film critics most of the time.I admire MALTIN for persisting every year with a new édition.You may contest some of his reviews,but this guy sincerly love movies and wants you to do the same if possible.Imagine the time you save by skipping the bad movies.Thanks LEONARD.Keep on coming back to us and don't forget the FRENCH movies.
Rating: 
Summary: Leonard Maltin has guts and sees through pretentiousness
Review: I have been buying Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide for quite some time now. While not as articulate as say, Roger Ebert or the late, great, Pauline Kael and James Agee, he is highly readable, and occasionally, very funny. He does show a marked partiality, as I do, for old films and for the great stars of the Golden Age of the '30's and '40's, as well as for shorter films vs. longer ones. (It was common in those days for films to run 90 minutes or less, to accomodate a double feature. This made it necesary for storylines to move faster, of course, and that is what appeals to Maltin, with a few exceptions---he gives high marks to the 1935 "Mutiny on the Bounty" and "David Copperfield", among others). While I find his negative reviews of the excellent "Amadeus", the 1984 "Carmen", and the recent "The Red Violin"and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" hard to stomach, it is blatantly unfair to slam Maltin for not liking your favorite film. That is the right and privilege of any critic, and if others don't share his opinion, that's just too bad. I often, but not always, agree with his judgements--"Lord of the Rings" deserved a higher rating, and the latest "Count of Monte Cristo" a lower one, IMHO. However, Maltin seems to be completely free of that self-importance that afflicts so many major film critics, who try to prove that they are oh-so-trendy and intellectual. His reviews are direct and honest, and he is not afraid to puncture holes in recent independent films that gain ardent followings simply because their pseudo-intellectual posturings impress critics. For example, he is the only major critic who gave "The Cider House Rules" four stars, and he gives the recent "Memento" (a film with an ardent following just because it deliberately leaves the viewer baffled no matter how carefully he or she follows it) only one-and-a-half stars, labeling it "pretentious pap", a verdict with which I heartily agree. He may not be the most profound critic working today, but Maltin is the critic I usually turn to if I want an honest review with no pretentiousness.
Rating:
Summary: A horrible critic
Review: True, any book of this type is entertaining enough to look at, but if you are going to get one, DO NOT BUT LEONARD MALTIN'S. Some of his ratings are fair and accurate, but lots are unfair and vague as to why he gave them the rating. Example: He gave Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, one of the best movies ever made, only a 2 1/2 out of 4 stars, the same, I might add, as the animated version of Thumbelina, or as my younger sister likes to call it, "the stupid one with the pink-haired frogs and George Washington chickens". He is also totally obsessed with Disney animated movies. Don't get me wrong, they're great and I love them, but he gives them all 3 stars, practically no diversity, so don't waist your time looking them up. Also, he goes straight from 1 1/2 to BOMB, so it's really only rated out of 3 stars. If you want better and more accurate ratings, buy another book.
Rating:
Summary: Annoyed about his newer reviews
Review: I first got a Maltin guide in 1997 and I absolutely loved it. I agreed almost all the time with his reviews and was introduced to many great movies thru this book's recommendation. Since then I haven't got a new one for a while and I picked up the 2002 in a bookstore to have a look and see what he said about some newer movies...and I was so disappointed. Fight Club is NOT a ** movie! (movies are judged out of **** stars). There were several other ratings I disagreed with so I put it down in disgust.. I looked again recently at the new 2003 guide with a view of giving it one more chance, hoping it would approve of movies like Fellowship of the Ring and A.I., which got *** and ** ...both deserved at least three and a half. I'm not complaining because he disagreed about a couple of movies -- obviously different people have different opinions. It's just that all the older ones are judged very liberally -- there's countless 4-star films from about the 1930's thru the 70's. In the 90's, there were 3 he gave 4 stars.
So in other words, buy this but ignore all the newer entries because he is seemingly jaded and cynical about all new movies.
Rating:
Summary: Very good review book
Review: Leonard Maltin provides very accurate reviews of many movies dating back to the silent film age. Very few reviewers include many of these old movies. He gives great details about each film, including many background and production information on many films. He includes the full cast as well as the film length and type of film used. He includes many TV movies in his reviews. Instead of recieving a one Star (Bomb) to four star rating. These TV movies are rated Below Average, Average and Above average. He also gives complete listings and descriptions of many of Hollywood's film series such as "Andy Hardy". Each year he adds hundreds of reviews. He also includes a list of companies that sell or rent videos.
Rating: 
Summary: Leonard Maltin has corrupted my mind...
Review: Several years ago I saw a movie entitled "Armageddon," and despised it from the moment that the credits began to roll. Surely this elaborate cinema giant couldn't have turned out to be so dreadful, I thought to myself. Needless to say, all of my friends loved the movie, and thought it was "deep, heartfelt, and powerful." I personally thought it was "shallow, contrived, and disappointingly obscure."
The next year, while browsing through books at a local seller, I came across a ludicrously thick reader entitled "Leonard Maltins 2000 Movie and Video Guide." On a whim, I looked up "Armageddon" to find this stranger speaking the same things I myself had thought. He gave the movie ** and labeled it "routine" and "redundant." Interested, I purchased the book and began a friendship with Leonard that escalated to the point where I would no longer rent or buy a movie without his consent.
Then it happened. I watched a fabulous, innovative arthouse flick entitled "Memento" which quickly became my favorite movie of the year. Soon after, the next Maltin book came into print. Interested in what Lennie had to say, I read his review of "Memento," only to find, to my horror, that he had branded this genious masterwork a *1/2 star rating. Why!?! He called the movie "pretentious pap" that "adds up to zero." Then he informed me that the movie had many "ardent fans" and the review was over. Who was this new voice? Surely Leonard Maltin would never say such a thing... Then I began to realize the horrific truth: by allowing myself to trust this judgemental hack, I had missed out on a ton of truly great movies. So I began watching films that Maltin had slammed to see if perhaps he truly WAS jaded and biased. As it turned out, the only movie I could find that earned a **** rating from him in the last few years was the overrated formulaic "drama" that was "The Cider House Rules." I was disgusted. Because I had allowed myself to fall victim to Leonard Maltin's words, I had missed such contemparary classics as "Fight Club," "Mallrats," "American Psycho," and "Unbreakable," just to name a few. That was bad, but as I glanced through this years book, I realized the reviews were now completely obtuse. Browsing some movies that I had seen and enjoyed, I noted that I scarcely agreed with anything this aging farce had to say. Upset, I left the store, resolving to get my reviews from online sources. If you must get this book, buy it as a reference guide, or to learn about older movies. Chances are, because of Maltins extreme bias (it has become apparent to me that he loves Speilberg, formula plots, and Michael Cain, and loathes creative thought, innovative ideas, and movies with bold messages)his opinion is no longer dependable...."
As far as the book is concerned, use it only as a quick allusion to movie facts and plot information. If you have already purchased the book, I've found it to be very helpful as a doorstop, cutting board, firewood, or as toilet paper.
Rating:
Summary: There is a larger version available.
Review: Yes I almost bought this more than useful book. Then sitting next to it is the same book word for word that has twice the surface for twice the price. Of course if you are economically conservative and have good eyesight the smaller book works well. It is always fun to see how close one comes to Leonard's conclusion which is not always the same as yours. Yet if you have not seen the film you need some sort of guide. And to get a feel for how he thinks when making his judgments there is an introduction covering how he rated some of the most popular films. Be sure to read the section "Key to This Book" as it tells the different media or lack of for each film. Some films are includes because of their popularity even if there is no recorded media such as "John Goldfarb Please Come Home" Once again many of my favorites have been left out such as "Out There" (1995) ASIN: 6303965954 and "Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death" (1989) ASIN: 6305078599, based on "Heart of Darkness." However with 19,000 entries you will be kept busy trying to find out what else is missing.
Rating:
Summary: Bag of Sha 2003
Review: Let's drop the average for Lenny's book a notch for his panning of the great movie Kingpin, which does have heart, contrary to what this buffoon says. It seems that all of Lenny's taste is in his mouth. Bah. Save you pennies and visit some online dvd-review sites as well as reading other customer views, it will certainly be more comprehensive.
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