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5 articles
White House Down
27 June 2013 9:10 PM, PDT
I can’t imagine how anyone pitched this concept to a movie studio. It’s a big summer movie from the director of Independence Day, full of huge, explosive action scenes—and completely unexpected comedy. I’ve never seen anything quite like it: not a self-parody, but a film that asks you to take it seriously at one moment, then throws out all sense of logic the next. The result is outlandish, inventive, and completely entertaining. I’m tempted to call it my Guilty Pleasure movie of the summer, but I don’t feel all that guilty. Channing Tatum plays a divorced guy who’s trying to build a relationship with his 11-year-old daughter (Joey King) while pursuing his dream job on the...
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- Leonard Maltin
The Heat
27 June 2013 9:05 PM, PDT
I feared that we might have seen all the funniest bits of The Heat in its trailer; fortunately, I was wrong. The preview only offers a glimpse of what both Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy have to offer in this rowdy, raunchy buddy-cop comedy. They make a terrific team. (Note to studio: that doesn’t mean I’m dying to see them reteamed in a sequel. Find something else for these actresses to do, please.) Katie Dippold’s screenplay offers more plot than one expects to find in this kind of film and enough fuel to propel both halves of its leading odd couple: ultra-square, by-the-book FBI agent Bullock and foul-mouthed, unkempt Boston street cop McCarthy, who are forced to work ...
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- Leonard Maltin
I'm So Excited!
27 June 2013 9:01 PM, PDT
Perhaps because he took such a somber turn in his last film, the ultra-serious The Skin I Live In, Pedro Almodóvar has opted for a return to the outrageous sexual humor that put him on the map. It’s fun to see cinema’s leading bad boy having fun again…for a while. Ultimately, I’m So Excited deflates like a balloon, expelling air until there’s almost nothing left. The multi-character piece is built around the diverse passengers in the First Class cabin of a flight that appears to be heading for disaster, due to carelessness we’ve witnessed in the movie’s opening scene. The male flight attendants are flamboyantly gay and the equally colorful passengers turn out to have connections...
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- Leonard Maltin
A Fond Farewell To Annette
25 June 2013 10:02 AM, PDT
I was honored to be asked to host a celebration of Annette Funicello’s life at the Walt Disney Studio yesterday, where Stage One—home of the Mickey Mouse Club—was rechristened in her honor by Disney CEO and Chairman Bob Iger. Then, inside the studio theater, a number of Annette’s friends, family and colleagues shared memories of the little girl whom Walt Disney discovered, hired, and singled out as his homegrown star. As usual, the public’s taste aligned with Walt’s, and of all the talented youngsters on the Mickey Mouse Club it was Annette who truly captured the audience’s heart. One might think that her fellow Mouseketeers harbored some envy over the attention Annette generated,...
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- Leonard Maltin
Critical Thinking
23 June 2013 9:00 PM, PDT
People often ask me what critics I read, if any. Of course, I’m not typical; I don’t consult reviews to help me decide whether or not to see a film. In most cases, I read reviews after I’ve already screened the picture in question. I’m interested in having a critic point out things I may have overlooked or illuminate aspects of the film I didn’t appreciate. Mostly, I’m interested in good writing, and this is where Peter Rainer excels. Currently reviewing for the Christian Science Monitor, his byline has appeared in many top publications over the years. He’s just collected essays spanning some thirty years in a valuable book called Rainer on Film: Thirty Years of Writing in a...
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- Leonard Maltin
5 articles
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