Movies you saw in January 2016

The Eye (2008) Jessica Alba, Alessandro Nivola

Michael Collins (1996) historical biographical movie about the Irish Nationalist and leader of the IRA in the early 20th Century. stars Liam Neeson as Michael Collins and Alan Rickman as Eamon de Valera who became the first President of the Irish Free State which preceded the Republic. supporting roles by Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea (who was excellent in the movie Citizen X) and Juila Roberts. early film work by Brendan Gleeson.

a fine overview of modern Irish history it has good action in spots and excellent acting by all involved. it is NO wonder the Irish fought for their independence from Britain when you see what thugs the "Black and Tans" British Special Reserve police force was back then. runs a pretty fast paced 2 hours 13 minutes and as a history buff I found a facinating. Played on HD Net movies channel and hopefully will repeat soon. I rate it    of four

The Wild (2006) Disney computer animated family adventure comedy probably designed to cash in on the popularity of the Madagascar series of films as the plot is very similar to those. pretty fast paced 82 minutes with some good action and oodles of laughs esp the scenes with the Indian "pidgin scout", the two street wise Brooklyn sewer alligators Stan and Carmine, the two chameleon "secret agent" camouflage expert. IF you like the Madagascar movie I think you will enjoy this one.  I pretty much laughed all the way thru it. plays again on Starz Kids & Family all day Wednesday February 3rd. I rate it   of four

Crank (2006) crime-action comedy staring Jason Statham with Amy Smart as his love interest. basic plot is Statham's character Chev Chelios has been poisoned with a drug and must keep his adrenaline flowing constantly to stay alive. that leads to oodles of fights and chase scenes which is typical of a Statham movie and is really funny in spots. it plays again on HD Net movies channel Tuesday February 2nd and Saturday February 6th. runs a short 90 minutes and I think a "must see" for Statham action movie fans. I rate it    of four and you also want to look for the sequel Crank: High Voltage (2009) which I think is even bigger, badder and funnier.

Blue Ruin (2013)
came across it on netflix the other day
its an amazing thriller , that will keep you glued to the screen for the entirety of the film
a homeless guy learns that the killer of his parents is being released from prison and he decides to get revenge, but nothing goes as planned

Daniel Day Lewis
If you thought he was good in Gangs of New York
You should see him in There will be blood.

The Intern (2015) stars Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway with Rene Russo. two hours of pure boring "schmaltz". I had two free PPV certificates I had to use and I chose The Martian (2015), which was VERY good, and this piece of tripe because the Mrs usually enjoys these type movies. even she couldn't stand it. got mixed reviews and has an average 61% "fresh" from Rotten Tomatoes. for me, AND the Mrs, it was complete

Gentleman's Agreement (1947) from the Laura Z. Hobson novel about a news journalist posing as a J*ew to expose the underlying anti-semitism in American society. star Gregory Peck and Dorothy McGuire with Anne Revere, John Garfield and Celeste Holm. won the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director (Elia Kazan) and Best Supporting Actress (Celeste Holm). nominations for Best Actor (Gregory Peck), Best Actress (Dorothy McGuire) and Best Supporting Actress (Anne Revere). personally I found it to be rather slow and boring. the acting is just "OK" and it must have been a weak year for Oscars. played on Turner Classic Movies and I rate it just  of four

Thanks for saving me 2 hours of my time Rink! 

Slobbasaurus, The Intern is a WORSE waste of time than 50 Shades of Grey and I did NOT think that possible