The Gambler (2014)

Literature professor and gambler Jim Bennett's debt causes him to borrow money from his mother and a loan shark. Further complicating his situation, is his relationship with one of his students. Will Bennett risk his life for a second chance?

Although this thriller is more conceived as a character study than it's interested in suspense, and it has a good cast and is professionally directed, the gambler himself is a most disagreeable narcissist for whom hardly anyone can root for.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

During experiments to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease, a genetically-enhanced chimpanzee uses its greater intelligence to lead other apes to freedom.

Fresh and new entry to the series, standard entertainment worth a view.

On renewed viewing: More enjoyable than I remember, has wonderful effects and makes you root for the apes.

Maltin**1/2: "Reinvention of the PLANET OF THE APES starts out so well it seems a shame it winds up like a cheesy monster movie of the 50s, with 21st-century visual effects. Everything we see seems absolutely real, including Caesar, played in performance-capture by Serkis. Screenplay is rife with references to the 1968 movie and its sequels."