by Leonard Maltin

As we head toward the starting line for the summer movie season, which in Hollywood terms begins in early May, it may seem like a difficult time to find stimulating entertainment that doesn't involve superheroes or special effects. In point of fact, several distributors...

I'm still in a state of shock over the news of Roger Ebert's death, at age 70, so soon after going public about the recurrence of cancer in his system -- and promising to file reviews as often as possible. That's the Roger Ebert I'm thinking about right now: not...

by Leonard Maltin

As Hollywood seems to be unleashing some of its worst pop movies on an unsuspecting public this spring, there's no better time to seek out alternatives from the world of indies and foreign-language imports.

Not long ago, during Oscar season, I was fortunate enough to have...

Oscar season may finally be behind us, but there is still the afterglow of worthy nominees playing in theaters and available for viewing at home, on DVD and On Demand. Even this year's Oscar-nominated shorts (both live-action and animated) are continuing a healthy theatrical run. They help compensate for the...

by Leonard Maltin

Since this is Academy Award month, I've decided to focus on Oscar-nominated documentaries, with one ringer to lighten the tone of these mostly-serious films.

However, I can't let the moment pass without putting in a good word for a film that went all but...

By Leonard Maltin

January is traditionally a spillover month for late-December releases, almost all of them vying for critics' awards and, of course, the Oscar. There are some worthy candidates this year, along with well-intentioned films that suffer from what might be called December Bloat. Apparently, many of today's top...

By Leonard Maltin

With so many big, prestigious, Oscar-worthy movies crammed into the last few weeks of the year, it's challenging to find hidden gems now playing in theaters. But this gives me an opportunity to reach into my archival bag and pull out some lesser-known treats for the season....

by Leonard Maltin

With autumn comes the annual parade of good movies -- the kind that studios and distributors often hold back in order to increase their chances for year-end awards and maybe even an Oscar. (For instance, The Sessions made its debut in January at the Sundance...

by Leonard Maltin

The fall movie season is beginning to heat up, with Oscar contenders waiting in the wings, but right now some of the best films playing in theaters come from independent filmmakers and documentarians.

One documentary, Searching for Sugar...

By Leonard Maltin

Labor Day Weekend marks a turning point in the movie year, as some of the fall's most promising films are unveiled at the Venice, Telluride, and Toronto Film Festivals. But even the current fare playing in theaters is better than usual; several good films opened, uncharacteristically, at...

By Leonard Maltin

There was a time when independent films had such a reserve of good will that followers flocked to them simply because they weren't part of the mainstream. Now the truth can be told: a film isn't worth seeing just because it was made by well-meaning people outside...

By Leonard Maltin

Changing times, and habits, are playing a bigger role than ever in the life of independent films. The Do-Deca Pentathlon and The Magic of Belle Isle were both made available for viewing at home via Video On Demand prior to their theatrical openings today. On the other...

by Leonard Maltin

This may be the first summer movie season where box-office results in China and Russia mean more to Hollywood than the domestic returns. That's not good news for those of us who crave movies for mature audiences, as those mushrooming new markets seem especially hungry for superheroes,...

In Hollywood terms, the "summer" movie season used to begin on Memorial Day weekend; this year, it begins today, May 4, with the release of Marvel's The Avengers. (If even a few of the other blockbusters turn out as well as this one, I'll be very happy.) This is also...

The cinematic pickings remain relatively slim this spring, but there are always isolated bright spots here and there. Any month when I can spotlight work by The Dardenne brothers of Belgium, the Duplass brothers of the U.S., and such provocative filmmakers as Morgan Spurlock and David Cronenberg can't be all...

The Oscars may be history, but I'm happy to report that this year's Documentary award winner and three of its Foreign Language Film nominees are now playing in theaters (along with the winner in that category, the extraordinary Iranian film A Separation, which I highlighted...

By Leonard Maltin

After the mad rush of December releases, the early months of the new year are usually fallow--except for films that opened briefly in 2011 in order to qualify for the Academy Awards, like our first two selections, Albert Nobbs and Coriolanus. Now that they're actually playing on...

By Leonard Maltin

Traditionally, January releases are nothing to shout about, since most moviegoers are still busy catching up with the Big Guns of December, some of them having crept into theaters just under the year-end wire to qualify for Academy Awards. This translates into good news, however, since...

If you're a discerning moviegoer who lives in a community with a specialty theater (or art house, as we used to call them), you may have seen some of the titles on my list. But there are some smaller, more offbeat pictures, that fly under the radar of even...

If you're a discerning moviegoer who lives in a community with a specialty theater (or art house, as we used to call them), you may have seen some of the titles on my list. But there are some smaller, more offbeat pictures, that fly under the radar of even...