Leonard Maltin's 151 Best Movies You've Never Seen

This review is for the Kindle version of this book. It is a 5 star review for a $1.99 Kindle book. The price jumps around - too bad it can't be more accessible by keeping it under $5.I saw this book at a used thrift store and I was immediately very impressed with the concept. So I quickly opened up Amazon on my phone and chose the Kindle version of this book was $1.99 at the time. (Less than the used book copy.)I buy used VHS and DVD films, so this Kindle book has already been helpful in deciding on movies I would otherwise pass up. I don't go to movies, and I don't have any movie channels on my basic cable, so this book is just what I feel I needed... for 151 movies, anyway. The reviews are detailed, but short enough to read while shopping.* I use the Kindle App on my smartphones so this book is always with me.* The table of contents is in alphabetical order. With Kindle, the links take one right to the review.* The list of actors which starts each review is more comprehensive than on the DVD or VHS product box.* It is wise to remember that these are all positive reviews! They review a very wide genre & stylistic range of buried movies.The reviews in this book by Maltin stick to the subject and are both interesting and accurate. He will point out when a story is character-driven and why to watch, while excusing the same film for the director's story-telling decisions such as a flash-forward & flashback style in one example. But he makes the reader aware to prepare them. In each review I have read in this book Maltin is giving a great review, well written, interesting, and concise. As a book, I am up to the flicks beginning with the letter K, but I have referred to it while shopping used movies as well.Leonard Maltin is probably overexposed on TV, whenever there is a Disney history he will pop up, however this book is right on the money in every review. Well done, Leonard. There have been so many movies in the glut of the last 15-30 years. They stiffed in theaters but are far better than the rest of the pack.Read the free Kindle sample to decide if it's worth your time. Use the Kindle smartphone Apps to keep the reference handy.

I must say that when I saw the title of the book, "151 Best Movies You've Never Seen", I thought Leonard Maltin was being quite presumptuous and a bit cocky. Most people that buy books like this love films and have seen so many that they are looking for more ideas. Personally, I have seen almost a hundred of these films that I supposedly have never seen. I will excuse Mr. Maltin however because his suggestions are excellent and so far I have watched over a dozen of the film in the book and have been extremely entertained by them.The format of the book is well done and the description and reviews of the films are very well written. They give the reader just enough information to allow one to know if the plot would be to our liking but not too much to ruin our viewing experience.In the past I have always thought that Maltin is a little too "white bread" in his selections for great films but in this book he really steps outside the box and presents the reader with some incredible choices for films that may have been forgotten or not given enough critical acclaim when they were first released.I have many of these types of film reference books and this one is definitely at the top of the list. My only suggestion would have been to increase the number to make it, "500 Best Movies You've Never Seen". I will also say that most of the film choices were contemporary, american independent films which, for me was a plus but, for others, who may be hoping for more diversity, it might be a bit of a disappointment. There were only a few foreign and classic film ideas in the book but otherwise it is worth purchasing especially if you enjoy independent films that for whatever reason(s) never made it to your local cinema or video rental store.

For some reason, these day, musicians doing "covers" is a highly underrated thing, even coming in for contempt and dismissal--Think of calling some band you've seen a "covers band," somehow they're less than, though there are better and worse ways to cover a song--The full range of musical expression includes "covering" music composed by others--If you listen to jazz of any era, and classical music, it's mostly "covers"--Jazz musicians invented "sampling" by "quoting" in their improvised works, some passages from some "standard" tunes--"Standards" were well-known, usually popular songs that were jumping off points for creative jazz musicians--Standards provided a kind of lingua franca for jazz musicians, a song everyone knew was a challenge to present in a new way never before heard--I find "Sid & Suzie" (Susanna and Matthew) to have selected judiciously music from three decades, some of which I was familiar with, and a lot that wasn't familiar to me--I'd say it's a testament to their commitment to doing these covers with energy and enjoyment that communicates itself to the listener--Some of these pieces I was hearing for the first time, but I thought Sid & Suzie's production was quite worthy--The songs I was familiar with, like Neil Young's Cinnamon Girl, they covered with energy and a sense of interpretation that presented the tunes for a refreshing new listen--Sid & Suzie push Refresh!

I am a huge fan of old movies (silent to the 1950s) and bought this book thinking it would include films from the golden era. However, the vast majority of films are from the 1990s to about 2010. I wasn't too disappointed because the movies in this book sound very interesting and I will try to see some of them. I've only seen maybe 2 or 3 of the ones written about so I have a lot to look forward to.

Not many of which I want to see. But Leonard makes them all interesting to read about.

Good, solid work from old-hand Maltin. You feel like you’re in safe hands, guiding you to any overlooked gems and a few old favourites.