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THE BRUTALIST – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Every rare now and then, a performance comes along that is so organic and natural that even though one is familiar with the actor all memories of his other work recede. That’s how I felt watching Adrien Brody in The Brutalist. It isn’t a matter of acting per se: he becomes Laszlo Toth, a Hungarian refugee trying to make…
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN: MY FAVORITE FILM OF THE YEAR – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Biographical films are a minefield, but A Complete Unknown dodges every trap and emerges as my favorite movie of 2024. No one is more surprised than I, because I’ve never been a Bob Dylan fan… but Timothée Chalamet delivers a compelling and convincing performance as the singular troubadour-poet. By not imitating Dylan’s distinctively whiny voice he even…
MARIA – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The overuse of the word “iconic” has rendered it practically meaningless, but if it ever applied to a public figure it would be opera star Maria Callas. Director Pablo Larrain, having focused on two other notable women of the 20th century (Jacqueline Kennedy and Lady Diana Spencer) has now turned his attention to the diva whose…
EMILIA PÉREZ: UNIQUE AND AMAZING – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Phrases like “game-changer” and “cutting-edge” can’t capture just how audacious and original Emilia Pérez is. I daresay it wouldn’t or couldn’t have been made, or even conceived, just ten years ago. (Maybe five…) I am determined to praise and discuss it without giving too much away. Here goes: Emilia Pérez is a crime thriller that boils over into melodrama,…
DAY OF THE FIGHT – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
What ever happened to genre movies? Hollywood thrived on westerns, musicals, gangster stories, hospital dramas, whodunits and the like until television consumed almost every category. The Day of the Fight isn’t trying to rewrite the playbook. It’s a boxing picture, and it hits most of the notes we anticipate…but that’s what makes it so satisfying. It gives…
A BIT OF CRUMPET: WATERSHIP DOWN – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Leonard here. The following column is written by my colleague Mark Searby highlighting British cinema past and present. Please enjoy A Bit of Crumpet. Think you’re a tough guy, huh? Real tough, yeah? You thought A Serbian Film was funny did you? Threads was a light-hearted documentary was it? Well, let’s see how tough you really are…
BLITZ: UNLIKE ANYTHING WE’VE SEEN BEFORE – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Blitz is a powerful and somewhat disarming film about the longterm German bombing of London in 1940. One might be forgiven for expecting a kinder, gentler rendition of this horrific event because it’s told through the eyes of a 9-year-old boy. Guess again. Writer-director Steve McQueen spares us nothing in his recreation of the conditions before,…
WHAT’S NEW ON DVD/BLU-RAY/4K IN NOVEMBER – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The following article was written by my friend and colleague Alonso Duralde. You can learn more about him HERE. WHAT’S NEW ON DVD/BLU-RAY/4K IN NOVEMBER: BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE; BOX SETS CELEBRATING CRITERION COLLECTION, HITCHCOCK, AND CAPRA; AND SO MUCH CHRISTMAS NEW RELEASE WALL Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment): Neither director Tim Burton nor sequels in…
A REAL PAIN – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Jesse Eisenberg has nothing to prove; he has already staked his claim as an actor, writer, and director. But A Real Pain digs deeper than he ever has before; even the film’s title has multiple meanings. The movie simmers and occasionally boils over. The end result is a satisfying brew (to stretch a metaphor). As a writer…
NEW AND NOTABLE BOOKS NOVEMBER 2024 – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
ZEPPO: THE RELUCTANT MARX BROTHER by Robert S. Bader (Applause) This is a revelatory book, achieved through painstaking research (see: Four of the Three Marx Brothers by the same author) and the participation of Zeppo Marx’s two sons and other family members and friends who were close to him. Getting close to Zeppo was no easy task,…
BOGART: LIFE COMES IN FLASHES – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
My all time favorite film is Casablanca, so it shouldn’t come as a complete surprise that my favorite actor from Hollywood’s golden age is Humphrey Bogart. A new feature length documentary is about to debut called Bogart: Life comes in Flashes and while it has no startling revelations it does view him through a different…
‘CONCLAVE’ IS GRIPPING – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The election of a new pope is one of the world’s most recognizable rituals. Conclave spins its tale with confidence because director Edward Berger and screenwriter Peter Straughan (adapting Robert Harris’s novel) know that we in the world outside the Vatican don’t have a clue as to what conversations go on before we see white smoke…
NEW ON DVD/BLU-RAY/4K DVD IN OCTOBER – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The following article was written by my friend and colleague Alonso Duralde. You can learn more about him HERE. NEW ON DVD/BLU-RAY/4K DVD IN OCTOBER: ROBOT DREAMS, ABOUT DRY GRASSES, TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, AND MORE! NEW RELEASE WALL Robot Dreams (Decal Neon): This Oscar-nominated animated feature makes for a delightful watch for the whole family,…
HIDDEN CITY – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Leonard here. The following column is written by my colleague Mark Searby highlighting British cinema past and present. Please enjoy A Bit of Crumpet. A name synonymous with premium quality British TV dramas is Stephen Poliakoff. Close My Eyes, Perfect Strangers and Dancing on the Edge are just three of Poliakoff’s much lauded work for British television.…
Trenque Lauquen and The Agitator – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Leonard here. The following column is written by my colleague Mark Searby highlighting British cinema past and present. Please enjoy A Bit of Crumpet. Radiance Films are boutique Blu-Ray label out of the UK. They have been running several years now and their output has ranged from arthouse provocateurs to genre classics. It’s run by…
ANORA: THE LATEST FROM SEAN BAKER – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Sean Baker is one of the brightest and most original filmmakers of his generation. He rates a place in cinematic history for being the first professional to shoot a feature film on an iPhone. That was Tangerine, which was set in and around a Hollywood donut shop. He is fascinated by people who live and sometimes…
THE OUTCASTS – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Leonard here. The following column is written by my colleague Mark Searby highlighting British cinema past and present. Please enjoy A Bit of Crumpet. Long forgotten films are two a penny. But what about films that rarely made it out of their own country? And even then when they were released in their native country…
THE OBLONG BOX – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Leonard here. The following column is written by my colleague Mark Searby highlighting British cinema past and present. Please enjoy A Bit of Crumpet. Any horror film that brings together icons such as Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Gordon Hessler and Edgar Allen Poe should immediately pique the interest of fans of classic horror movies. Yet…
THE APPRENTICE: A BIOPIC FOR OUR TIME – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The first thing you should know is that this biopic is not a hatchet job on the former President. It’s a smart, but not smart-alecky, dramatization of his evolution as an entrepreneur and public figure, under the tutelage of the notorious New York lawyer Roy Cohn. That relationship is at the core of this film,…
FOLIE INDEED: THIS TIME THE JOKE IS ON US – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
What a waste! The only folie (or delusion) in Joker: Folie à Deux is believing that I want to spend quality time with Arthur Fleck, the pathetic figure first played by Joaquin Phoenix in 2019. This time, he meets his match in a groupie (Lady Gaga) who joins him in performing a roster of tunes that…
I’M JUST WILD ABOUT ‘THE WILD ROBOT’ – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
I no longer feel an imperative to see and review every animated feature that comes along, but Chris Sanders’ The Wild Robot is exceptional in every way. It embraces a wide range of emotions and somehow manages to keep cynicism at bay. My class of 20-somethings at USC adored it, and so did I. Sanders is by now…
NEW ON DVD/BLU-RAY/4K IN SEPTEMBER – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The following article was written by my friend and colleague Alonso Duralde. You can learn more about him HERE. NEW ON DVD/BLU-RAY/4K IN SEPTEMBER: ALL OF US STRANGERS, MENUS PLAISIRS, GREGG ARAKI’S TEEN APOCALPYSE TRILOGY, AND MORE! NEW RELEASE WALL All of Us Strangers (The Criterion Collection): With previous films like Weekend and Lean On Pete,…
HEADS UP: IT’S NATIONAL SILENT FILM DAY – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
What started out as a lark, or a novelty, has blossomed into an event of real significance: National Silent Film Day. Some participants are celebrating this Saturday, the 28th, and some on Sunday, the 29th. I could easily watch a silent film every day of the week but for people who have to be cajoled…
BRINGING RARE MOVIES AND MOVIE LOVERS TOGETHER – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
This past weekend was like visiting an oasis. It brought back memories of attending the annual Cinefest in Syracuse, New York, where every day was packed with screenings—and lots of chatter with like-minded friends in between. I proposed to the folks who run Quentin Tarantino’s New Beverly Theater in Los Angeles that we show a…
THE CRITIC – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Any film bearing that title and Ian McKellen in the leading role holds the promise of good entertainment, even the possibility of greatness. Add to that the credentials of the writer, Patrick Marber (Closer, Notes on a Scandal), director Anand Tucker (Hilary and Jackie) and a top-notch supporting cast (Gemma Arterton, Mark Strong, Lesley Manville, Ben…
MERCHANT IVORY: A UNIQUE LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
I screened this documentary out of a misplaced sense of duty. After all, the filmmaking team of Ismail Merchant and James Ivory made a number of exceptional films over many years’ time, and Ivory is still going strong at age 95. Attention must be paid, and good work celebrated. Stephen Soucy has done just that,…
I’M GOING UNIVERSAL NEXT MONTH – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
I am proud and delighted to report that I am programming and hosting a series of six rarely-seen Universal Pictures from the 1930s next month at Quentin Tarantino’s New Beverly Theatre. From Friday to Sunday, September 20-22, I will be introducing 35mm prints of films that, for the most part, haven’t been shown on television…
WHAT’S NEW ON DVD/BLU-RAY/4K IN AUGUST – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The following article was written by my friend and colleague Alonso Duralde. You can learn more about him HERE. WHAT’S NEW ON DVD/BLU-RAY/4K IN AUGUST: THE PEOPLE’S JOKER, I SAW THE TV GLOW, MONSTER MOVIES, AND MORE! NEW RELEASE WALL The People’s Joker (Altered Innocence) and I Saw the TV Glow (A24): Two of 2024’s most…
MY PENGUIN FRIEND – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
This utterly likable, disarming film tells a true story about a Magellanic penguin who gets lost—and badly injured—off the coast of Brazil. He is rescued by a simple fisherman (Jean Reno) who is still shaken by the drowning of his young son years ago. Reno nurses the bird back to health and sends him on…
NEW AND NOTABLE BOOKS: FROM CHAPLIN TO ERROL FLYNN August 2024 – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
MISS MAY DOES NOT EXIST: THE LIFE AND WORK OF ELAINE MAY, HOLLY WOOD’S HIDDEN GENIUS by Carrie Courogen (St. Martin’s Press) If you came of age when comedy albums were all the rage, as I did, it’s likely you were a fan of Mike Nichols and Elaine May (and fellow Chicagoans Bob Newhart and…
Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The following article was written by my friend and colleague Alonso Duralde. You can learn more about him HERE.NEW ON 4K/BLU-RAY/DVD IN JULY: PERFECT DAYS, RISKY BUSINESS, TED LASSO, AND MORE! NEW RELEASE WALL Perfect Days (The Criterion Collection): It’s zen and the art of cleaning toilets in Wim Wenders’ latest understated masterpiece. Japanese superstar Kôji…
MODERNISM, INC.—A GOOD DOCUMENTARY BY DESIGN – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
I must confess that I wasn’t familiar with Eliot Noyes although, like other baby boomers, I was affected by his work. Noyes, the subject of this first-rate documentary, was an esteemed graphic designer who spearheaded the philosophy and practice of modern design in the years following World War Two. (During the war he was a…
TWISTERS DELIVERS THE GOODS – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Shortly after seeing, and enjoying, the 1996 movie Twister, I noticed something on a colleague’s desk that made me laugh out loud: a copy of the published screenplay. If there were ever a film that made me want to read its script less than this, I couldn’t name it. Like its predecessor, Twisters does something only a movie can…
MADE IN ENGLAND: THE FILMS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
If you are already a Powell and Pressburger aficionado, this highly personal documentary, hosted and produced by Martin Scorsese, will be catnip. I found it positively thrilling. If you are unfamiliar with their notable work from the 1940s—The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus, et al—it will serve as a unique…
THE CONQUEROR: HOLLYWOOD FALLOUT – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The backstory of the notorious turkey The Conqueror, starring John Wayne as Genghis Khan, has all the ingredients for a stimulating documentary, but Hollywood Fallout puts that story into a larger and more troubling context. Spoiler alert: the U.S. government lied to its citizens about the dangers of long-term radiation emanating from atomic bomb tests in the Nevada…
DADDIO: AN INTRIGUING CURIO – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
If you’re going to make a two-character film you’d better have two really interesting people in your script and damned good actors to play them. Daddio has exactly that, and the result is an intriguing curio that serves as a showcase for the talents of Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn. He drives a Yellow Cab and she…
NEW ON 4K/BLU/DVD IN JUNE – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The following article was written by my friend and colleague Alonso Duralde. You can learn more about him HERE. NEW ON 4K/BLU/DVD IN JUNE: MONKEY MAN, IMMACULATE, BOUND, THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, AND MORE! NEW RELEASE WALL Monkey Man (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment): Dev Patel’s stunning directorial debut almost didn’t get seen at all by audiences when…
THE BIKERIDERS: COMPELLING FROM START TO FINISH – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Jeff Nichols is one of the most original writer-directors working today. If you haven’t seen Take Shelter, Mud, Loving, or Midnight Special you’re missing out. What’s more, he is utterly unpredictable, tackling a wide variety of subjects that capture his interest. His latest feature (postponed from its planned release last fall) was inspired by a 1967 book of photographs…
THELMA: JUNE SQUIBB RULES – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
I don’t like movies that portray senior citizens as cute; that’s a pitfall for any film that depicts older people in a lighthearted vein. Josh Margolin dances around it rather well in Thelma, a film inspired by his real-life grandmother who is now 103. He has had the good fortune to land 93-year-old June Squibb (whom…
ROBOT DREAMS: THE OTHER NEW ANIMATED FEATURE – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Of course moviegoers turned out en masse for Inside Out 2 this weekend. Who wouldn’t want to enjoy more of the experience the original film provided in 2015? My only quibble is that the new release is a sequel and therefore lacks the freshness of the first film, which was a marvel of ingenuity. On the other…