2011 Leonard Maltin Guide: Actors and Directors Index Adds

With the new Maltin Guide comes the addition of new names to the star/director index (and axing of others). Last year 21 people were cut and 12 added.  Oddly, this year, no one was cut and there were but 3 additions (all new Oscar nominees)!  I have no idea what this means.  It sounds as if the editors have just thrown in the towel on the index though, knowing the power of such searches online— at this point between smart phones and WiFi I guess the theory is: who really looks at the index.  But in a way it starts to relegate the book itself to a shelf ornament.  This was the first time that I really started to think that the print Maltin may be heading the way of the dodo bird.  Cutting them some slack though— maybe, just maybe, they didn't need to do much in the way of changes because of the wholesale work done last year.  Here are the few "graduates" of the class of 2009/10.

New "Faces" added to the Leonard Maltin Guide 2011 Index:

STARS—

Colin Firth

Woody Harrelson

DIRECTORS—

Kathryn Bigelow

2011 Leonard Maltin Guide Is Out!

Every year I greatly anticipate Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide. His capsule reviews and ratings set the standard for how a film will be seen by future generations.   As I've reported each year, the last several Maltin Guides have been VERY sparing in giving out the **** rating— practically unattainable for new releases, last year I noticed but three films were **** rated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, and Slumdog Millionaire; this year I didn't spot ANY **** additions!



Here's how my top ten 2009 stacked up against the Maltin Guide's ratings:

Inglourious Basterds (d. Quentin Tarantino) (** 1/2) [my #1, rest alpha]
Capitalism: A Love Story (d. Michael Moore) (***)
District 9 (d. Neill Blomkamp) (*** 1/2)
The Hurt Locker (d. Kathryn Bigelow) (*** 1/2)
I Love You, Man (d. John Hamburg) (** 1/2)
Julie & Julia (d. Nora Ephron) (***)
Nine (d. Rob Marshall) (***)
Paranormal Activity (d. Oren Peli) (***)
Up (d. Pete Docter, Bob Peterson) (*** 1/2)
World’s Greatest Dad (d. Bobcat Golthwait) (***)