Last year, I bought myself my own family heirloom: the 2010 edition. At least that what I had thought I'd done. Turns out he's eliminated a lot of 30s and 40s films and put them into a separate book! Whaaa? OK, I realize there's a limit to how fat a paperback can get, but I find this a sad compromise. Maltin's earlier books included lengthy lists of B-serials like the Bowery Boys and Blondie. Having suffered through a number of Bowery Boys vehicles, I've come to realize that the Maltin star rating system is about as unreliable as a 2002 Ford Explorer transmission. To test this, I chose a couple gut-wrenchingly awful films I have seen in the last ten to fifteen years or so, to see what the Maltin team came up with. Keep in mind the maximum number of stars awarded is four.
Category: Unnecessary Sequel
Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
Maltin Rating: ***
"DIE HARD is effectively re-invented for a post 9/11 world" (!).
"DIE HARD is effectively re-invented for a post 9/11 world" (!).
Editorial comment: This is the Die Hard with the "I'm a mac" guy, people! Now, if it had co-starred John Hodgman....!
Category: Down and Out Former Oscar Winner
Men of Honor (2000)
Maltin Rating: ***
Really?
Category: In Retrospect, The Original Review Could Use a Rethink
Star Wars Episode II: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Maltin Rating: ***
"The beginning of Lucas' epic saga resembles his first STAR WARS film in both story and tone, with quantum leaps forward in special effects - including computer-generated characters (like comic-relief character Jar Jar Binks) who seem astonishingly real." Dude, what?
Of course knowing that you don't use the Maltin star ratings as the basis for making movie-watching decisions means knowing how to use your Maltin. You don't also use it as a comprehensive reference! Maltin himself even complains in the Introduction to the 2010 edition that shall-not-be named internet websites can be - gasp - erroneous (oh, IMDB, we are looking at you and your industry-contributed information). Maltin is proud to say that the fact-checking that went into his guides are far superior, and he's most likely correct. I also appreciate details such as format availability, length and the Widescreen Glossary. But the always-included Maltin Guide appendix of certain folks (Halle Berry?) and their film credits feels superfluous these days. When I am trying to remember where I saw that guy before, it's not usually Clint Eastwood. Oh, the colliding worlds of analogue and digital when it comes to searching for information. There's probably a Library Science paper in there somewhere.
On a final note, I'd like to thank (?) Sarah Silverman for forever associating Leonard Maltin with certain talents in her thank-you speech from the Night of Too Many Stars Autism fundraiser (NWSF).
Maltin Rating: ***
"The beginning of Lucas' epic saga resembles his first STAR WARS film in both story and tone, with quantum leaps forward in special effects - including computer-generated characters (like comic-relief character Jar Jar Binks) who seem astonishingly real." Dude, what?
Of course knowing that you don't use the Maltin star ratings as the basis for making movie-watching decisions means knowing how to use your Maltin. You don't also use it as a comprehensive reference! Maltin himself even complains in the Introduction to the 2010 edition that shall-not-be named internet websites can be - gasp - erroneous (oh, IMDB, we are looking at you and your industry-contributed information). Maltin is proud to say that the fact-checking that went into his guides are far superior, and he's most likely correct. I also appreciate details such as format availability, length and the Widescreen Glossary. But the always-included Maltin Guide appendix of certain folks (Halle Berry?) and their film credits feels superfluous these days. When I am trying to remember where I saw that guy before, it's not usually Clint Eastwood. Oh, the colliding worlds of analogue and digital when it comes to searching for information. There's probably a Library Science paper in there somewhere.
On a final note, I'd like to thank (?) Sarah Silverman for forever associating Leonard Maltin with certain talents in her thank-you speech from the Night of Too Many Stars Autism fundraiser (NWSF).
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