Menu

CHiPS: ESCAPISM ON THE FAST TRACK

Film Leonard Maltin Movie Reviews
6143

While it may not make the short-list for Oscar consideration this year, CHiPs is definitely fun to watch. Unlike some contrived or cynical rehashes of old TV series, this one has no pretensions. It’s escapism with a capital E: a funny, energetic, enjoyably ragged buddy movie with lots and lots of car-chase action. It also serves as a showcase for the charismatic Dax Shepard and the always-impressive Michael Peña, whose comedic chops are put to great use. The story is pretty basic: hardened Florida FBI agent Peña is sent to sunny Southern California and planted undercover in the Highway Patrol in order to ferret out some dirty cops. He’s teamed up with a rookie fresh out of the Academy–who happens to be a former motocross…

READ MORE >

CHAPLIN AND ORSON WELLES’ ONE-HIT WONDER

Leonard Maltin Movie Talk
6762

Few actresses have had a mentor as notable as Charlie Chaplin or a launch-pad as prominent as Citizen Kane, yet the name Dorothy Comingore is as little-known today as it was when that milestone movie was released. I was reminded of this when I stumbled across a rare, early photo of the actress with its original Warner Bros. caption intact. Like every blurb over the next few years, this one predicts great stardom ahead. The publicity prose credits Chaplin with discovering her, which is true; he saw her on stage in Carmel, California while vacationing there. She was already married to screenwriter Richard Collins, so this may have been a rare case of actual talent-spotting for the celebrated Mr. Chaplin. The Warner Bros. entree led…

READ MORE >

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: PLEASANT BUT POINTLESS

Film In Theaters Leonard Maltin Movie Reviews
19384

First, the good news: Beauty and the Beast is better than I expected it to be. I still don’t understand why Disney insists on recycling its most popular and beloved movies, but when the public repeatedly responds with box-office dollars it’s hard to argue this policy. Barnum had it right. Director Bill Condon has created a visually extravagant movie and cast it well enough. Emma Watson is a likable Belle and Dan Stevens a convincing Beast. Luke Evans is ideal as the handsome but unheroic Gaston, and Kevin Kline is a joy to watch as Belle’s warm-hearted father. But the hurried introduction of live-action figures who are about to be transformed into household furnishings does no one any favors. A fleeting glimpse of Audra McDonald…

READ MORE >

KONG: SKULL ISLAND

Film In Theaters Leonard Maltin Movie Reviews
14063

This is the best monster movie I’ve seen in years. I was not optimistic, having been burned before; what’s more, I still hold a special place in my heart for the original 1933 King Kong. But this movie adds new energy and excitement to a storyline that incorporates the ingredients we all expect. After all, when someone explores an unknown spot on the map populated by prehistoric monsters there are only so many ways you can go. Kong: Skull Island scared the bejeezus out of me but enabled me to enjoy the experience. It made me jump repeatedly but didn’t gross me out. I salute director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, whose varied experience in non-horror TV and movies (like The Kings of Summer) benefits this ambitious endeavor.…

READ MORE >

MOVIES WORTH SAVING—AND SHOWING

Leonard Maltin Movie Talk
9941

My Dad always loved my definition of a film buff: someone who will intentionally watch a bad movie. My wife and I put that to the test Monday night when we attended the UCLA Film and Television Archives’ Festival of Preservation. We were treated to a double-bill: crisp, newly-struck prints of the all-star horror cheapie Vampire Bat (1932) with Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, and Melvyn Douglas—with a re-creation of its hand-colored fire-torch scene—and the least-known film directed by the great William Cameron Menzies, Almost Married (1932). Menzies’ granddaughters were there along with his biographer James Curtis, who explained that the 51-minute film (yes, 51) brought derisive laughter when it was previewed in December of 1931. This caused Fox to commission Menzies and co-director Marcel Varnel…

READ MORE >

ROBERT OSBORNE: ONE OF A KIND

Leonard Maltin
15196

If ever a man got to live out his dream, it was Robert Osborne. Twenty-three years ago he was hired to be the on-camera host for Turner Classic Movies. He was the perfect man for the job because his enthusiasm was genuine and his knowledge was vast. Yet I don’t think the people at TCM realized how indelibly he would become identified with the network—or how connected his viewers would become with him. I can testify to this, having watched the reaction of people who traveled from all over the country to attend the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood. When Robert would appear in the lobby of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel he’d be mobbed like a rock star. He represented everything these fans loved…

READ MORE >

HUGH JACKMAN RETURNS AS ‘LOGAN’

Film In Theaters Leonard Maltin Movie Reviews
8261

Fans of Marvel, X-Men, and the Wolverine character should be pleased with Logan–it’s a strong finale and arguably the best in this highly uneven spin-off series. With three prominent names credited for the screenplay (director James Mangold, eminent screenwriter Scott Frank, and Michael Green, whose name is also on the upcoming Alien: Covenant and Blade Runner remake) it’s impossible to know who came up with the ideas that make this movie work as well as it does. But any film that invokes George Stevens’ classic Western Shane—and shows an 11-year-old girl getting caught up in it—is definitely on the right track. The setting is the near-future and Logan is worn down, to say the least. He still has his mutant powers but they are greatly diminished.…

READ MORE >

Subscribe to our newsletter

MERCH

Maltin tee on TeePublic

PODCAST

Maltin on Movies podcast

PAST MALTIN ON MOVIES PODCASTS

Past podcasts

PATREON

Maltin On Movies Patreon

APPEARANCES/BOOKING

Leonard Maltin appearances and booking

CALENDAR

December 2025
S M T W T F S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031