Product Reviews

The Leonard Maltin Movie Guide 2006 includes mini-reviews of more than 21,000 films, all written by the well-known American critic. The reviews are by no means comprehensive, but with the star rating they should help you decide whether a film is worth watching or not.

There's a lot of interesting information on offer besides the main reviews, with hyperlinked cast lists and a search facility that lets you look for, say, all adventure films from the 80s starring Johnny Depp. You can even add your own film reviews, and there's a built-in database application to store details of your DVD or video collection, right down to when you bought each item and how much it cost. You can export your data to the desktop, or import it from another application.

The only disappointment is that the software is updated just once a year (for which you have to buy an $8, about £4.40, upgrade), and it doesn't include the most up-to-the-minute films. As an example, the edition reviewed here has fewer than 20 films from 2006. That aside, this software is a must-have for all film fans.