Leonard Maltin’s 2015 Movie Guide

Printed movie guides probably seem antiquated these days, considering the wealth of information on the Internet, but there’s something to be said for insightful, concise commentary provided by sharp-eyed students of cinema with the pedigree of Maltin’s crew. Sadly, this edition opens with an admission that Leonard Maltin’s 2015 Movie Guide will be the final entry in the series.

Subtitled “the Modern Era” after ditching the remaining silent film-era entries in its library, this edition pulls no punches, offering funny, incisive, and for the most part, eminently fair assessments of thousands upon thousands of movies. For a taste, just read the entries for the Police Academy series. For Police Academy 4, the entry consists of “More of the same, only worse.” For Police Academy 6, there’s the gem “This entry only — repeat only — for those who thought Police Academy 5 was robbed at Oscar time.”

I would highly recommend reading this not only as a resource, but as a thoughtful glimpse of the depth and breadth of cinema itself. With highs and lows, bombs and meteoric successes, the entire history of the genre is encapsulated here in micro reviews that say a great deal in a few words.