Liam Neeson celebrated his heritage as he was named the Irish Man of the Year in New York City on Monday.

The Michael Collins star, who hails from Ballymena in Northern Ireland, was given a standing ovation at New York City Hall as he accepted the Thomas Manton Irish Man of the Year Award from Christine C. Quinn, speaker of the New York City Council.

Neeson joked about his nerves as he stepped up to the podium, telling the audience, "There's a popular assumption that actors are very good public speakers. It's absolute B.S. (bulls**t). It's actually my worst nightmare."

He added, "I'm ...

Liam Neeson won't be back as action man Bryan Mills in a third Taken movie - because the first sequel's director can't imagine there's anywhere for his kidnap expert character to go.

The Irish actor originally signed on to play Mills in Taken because he was intrigued by the script and thrilled by the prospect of working with French filmmaker Luc Besson, who created his character.

Neeson expected the film to go straight to DVD, but it became an unexpected hit in 2008 and now the sequel is expected to debut at the top of the box office this weekend as film experts predict a third movie.
...

'Taken 2', a sequel to the very highly successful 2008 film, 'Taken' which made 230 million dollars, once again stars the very tall, very talented, Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills, ex CIA agent extraordinaire.

The film has great action, edge of your seats thrills and many...unintentional, funny moments that had me LMAO.

For example...(don't worry this isn't a SPOILER)...During one very intense scene in the film, Bryan is on the phone with his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace) who's hiding from the bad guys in their hotel room. He tells her to...'Grab a couple of grenades, a couple of guns but as...

Liam Neeson based his action hero character in the Taken movies on the real-life weapons expert who helped train him for The A-Team.

The Irishman admits he was left stunned by the adviser - because he'd disappear for days to fight terrorists and then return to the set wounded but ready to go.

Neeson never complained about the hard work because he quickly realized the guy advising him lived a real hero's life.

The actor tells U.S. interview show Inside the Actors Studio, "I can't use his real name because I don't know his real name... He'd be training us and suddenly he'd disappear for fo...

Liam Neeson has played thoughtful and sensitive in movies like Kinsey, or romantic in Love Actually but we love him best when he's slinging swords or kicking butt.

Since he's reprising his role of ex-CIA man Bryan Mills in this week's rip-roaring sequel Taken 2, we thought we'd refresh your memory on just how big of a badass this 60-year-old Irishman really is before you watch him blow away Albanians for two hours.

Note: Due to badass violence, badass language, and general badassery, viewer discretion is advised.

9. 'Darkman' (1990)

Before Sam Raimi enabled Tobey Maguire to swing betwe...

You sank my battleship! (Remember playing that?). Peter Berg (A man with his fingers dipped in many batters) presents us with yet another aliens-trying-to-take-over-earth piece. Like ALL films within the particular genre, I think you can guess the outcome: They attack, a few people die, there’s a harsh build-up – YAY…humanoids win! (BARF!)

It was pretty shocking when I heard Hasbro’s famous board-game was being turned into a film – I dare not say adaptation, because it was far from it. Truth is Hollywood loves money-makers, and wherever they feel there’s a franchise to expose and/or expl...

'Battleship' directed by Peter Berg (Hancock) has a poorly constructed script, ridiculous dialogue, cardboard characters and it's really, really loud.

It does have bad ass aliens and some exciting visual effects but that is not enough to save this $200,000,000 fiasco.

When the film opens, we find out that a group of scientists in Hawaii have sent out a signal to Planet G whose atmosphere is similar to ours. They must have been thinking, "wow another planet we get to ruin." Anyway, to the scientist's surprise their signal is heard.

That's right folks...The extra terrestrials are coming ...

An Israeli TV reporter was caught out by Battleship director Peter Berg when their promotional chat about the action film turned serious and the moviemaker quizzed him about his military service.

After chatting about the political situation between Israel and Iran, Berg asked reporter Jason Holt if he had served in the Israeli army - a requirement for citizens.

When the 25 year old revealed he hadn't, shocked Berg, a fellow Jew, said, "What? How did you get out of that? Are you a draft dodger?" before adding, "You better join the army motherf---er!"

Berg then asked Holt if and when he pl...

Man vs. wolves. Pretty straightforward stuff – unless you’re the man involved! We’re checking in with the new film featuring a little man/wolf tension titled "The Grey," out on Blu-ray May 15 from Universal Home Entertainment. The review battle begins below!

Title: "The Grey"

Grade: 4

Cast: Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney, Frank Grillo

Director: Joe Carnahan

Rating: R

Runtime: 1118 minutes

Release Company: Universal Home Entertainment

Website: www.UniversalHiDef.com

The Flick: I don't know what has come over Liam Neeson lately, but his recent selection of films have bee...

Last week’s Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaboration “Dark Shadows” turned out to be rather disappointing. The film starts out strong, but loses steam as it progresses. It has plenty of Burton’s trademark grim style with musical accompaniment by Danny Elfman, and some decent humor. However the villain is very one-dimensional, the climax is weak, and in many ways the film feels like a watered-down version of other classic Burton works like “Beetlejuice” and “Edward Scissorhands.” My Grade: C+

At the box office this week, you’ll find the science fiction action flick “Battleship,” the ensemble pr...

The president of Universal Pictures has urged British director/writer Richard Curtis to come up with a follow-up to hit 2003 romantic comedy Love Actually.

The British film, which focused on several different characters trying to find love, was a big hit at the box office, and now Universal chief Eddie Cunningham is hoping to convince the film's mastermind to pen a sequel.

He tells Britain's Mail on Sunday, "I think there should be a Love Actually 2. I'd give it a green light. I think many American movies try to emulate that brilliant format where the stories interweave and no one's on sc...

Liam Neeson stars in producer/director Joe Carnahan's tense adventure thriller "The Grey" about a group of tough-as-nails oil rig workers who must fight for their lives in the Alaskan wilderness after their airplane crashes miles from civilization.

With supplies running short and hungry wolves closing in, the shaken survivors face a fate worse than death if they don't act fast. It's a tense countdown as the survivors try to outrun and outwit the fierce animals who hunt them down one at a time.

Dermot Mulroney, Dallas Roberts, and Frank Grillo co-star. The film raked in $20 million during ...

Yesterday the "Battleship" Los Angeles premiere was a star-studded event. Singer Rihanna, who stars in the film, wore a low-cut tantilizing white dress that showed off quite a bit of skin.

Not to be outdone, her model co-star, Brooklyn Decker, also revealed a little bit of leg on the blue carpet in a strapless gauzy gown.

Malin Akerman opted for an unusual black dress, while a very pregnant Molly Sims showed off her round belly in a geometric-patterned ensemble.

Actors Alexander Skarsgard, Liam Neeson, and Taylor Kitsch also attended the premiere.

The film, based on Milton Bradley's boa...

Liam Neeson hopes his children decide against a career in acting, as he is convinced they would be under extra pressure because of their famous parents.

The A-Team star has two sons by his late actress wife Natasha Richardson, and he is eager for them to pursue a career away from the spotlight.

He tells Britain's Independent newspaper, "I hope not (that they don't take up acting), because for every one of me there's 10,000 that still wait tables or wash dishes."

"Also, I think there'd be more pressure put on them because they have my name and so more might be expected from them, which...

Liam Neeson struggled to keep a straight face while shooting the two Clash of the Titans movies with pal Ralph Fiennes - because the thespians felt ridiculous playing gods.

Neeson, who portrays Zeus in Clash of the Titans and sequel Wrath of the Titans, admits he had to focus on Fiennes' forehead during tense scenes between the warring brothers - to maintain his composure.

He explains, "When we did Clash of the Titans we found it hard to act with each other, so I would look at his forehead and he would look at my forehead because if we made eye contact it would go quite silly.

"We were m...

Two Jews on Film - By Joan Alperin Schwartz: So what's a demigod to do when all he wants is to live a quiet life with his son, and do a little fishing, but his daddy has other plans for him?

That's the predicament Perseus (Sam Worthington) finds himself in, when a war breaks out among the gods. Families... Can't live with them... Can't live without them.

Seems Perseus father, Zeus (Liam Neeson) has been kidnapped by his brothers Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and Poseidon (Danny Huston) and he's being held captive in the underworld, where his bad-ass dad, Kronos, is sucking the life out of him.

T...

Liam Neeson will reprise his role of Ra's Al Ghul for "The Dark Knight Rises," ending months of speculation about his casting in the eagerly awaited blockbuster.

Neeson's character was killed off in 2005's "Batman Begins" but there have been several rumors about the villain's return in Christopher Nolan's final Caped Crusader movie.

And his appearance was finally confirmed in the production notes of his fantasy epic "Wrath of Titans." The press notes state, "Neeson next appears in Peter Berg's actioner Battleship, and he also will be seen in Christopher Nolan's much-anticipated action thr...

Last week I was lucky enough to see an advanced screening of the Drew Goddard/Joss Whedon horror flick “The Cabin in the Woods,” which took SXSW by storm. I won’t comment on it just yet, but I will say that I’m excited to be interviewing two of its stars, Kristen Connolly and Fran Kranz, in the coming days. Keep your eyes peeled for my write up.

Big budget franchise season arrived last week with the premiere of “The Hunger Games,” and continues this week with the release of the Greek action sequel “Wrath of the Titans.” Also coming out this week are the light-hearted Snow White picture...

With the wide-eyed Amanda Seyfried hitting theaters this week via the kidnap thriller "Gone," we thought we’d pay homage to the blond goddess by resurrecting a little five-star nugget from her recent past that some may have missed – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick! We’re going back to 2009 for a sexy and sultry little erotic thriller that had Seyfried playing a very grown up call girl brought in to help a jealous wife with the adulterous suspicions. But as with every great film helmed by Canadian wunderkind Atom Egoyan there’s more then meets the eye in the sensual and suspenseful flick...

Animal rights activists are urging film fans to boycott Liam Neeson's new movie The Grey after the actor admitted eating wolf stew in preparation for the role.

In the film, the Irish star plays an oil worker who is stranded in the arctic with a group of colleagues following a plane crash and they are forced to fight for survival as they are hunted by a pack of wolves.

During the shoot, the movie's director Joe Carnahan suggested the cast eat wolf meat to get into character, and Neeson revealed he "went up for seconds of the wolf stew."

However, his comments have infuriated activists at...

"The Grey" appears to be box office gold - it raked in $20 million at the weekend to take top spot in the box office chart.

Liam Neeson's adventure drama bumped Kate Beckinsale's horror film "Underworld: Awakening" to second place with takings of $12.5 million.

Coming in at a close third was Katherine Heigl's bounty hunter comedy "One For the Money" with earnings of $11.8 million.

Falling to number four was George Lucas' passion project "Red Tails" ($10.4 million) and "Man on a Ledge," starring Sam Worthington and Elizabeth Banks, opened in fifth ($8.3 million).

This weekend, audiences will get the chance to see Liam Neeson fight a pack of hungry wolves in order to say alive in “The Grey” from director Joe Carnahan. Though he has become a worldwide action star with films like “Taken” and “Unknown,” 15 years ago the Irish-born former amateur boxer was better known for dramas like “Schindler’s List” and “Michael Collins.” That’s not to say he takes the craft of acting any less seriously now than he did back then. He is still as talented and charismatic as ever, only now he seems to be having a lot more fun.

So how did Neeson go from being a serious ...

Clearly the best thriller this year (although 2012 just started), I don’t think I have enough words to describe how much I love and respect this film. Shot in harsh terrain in 40 days without all the fancy Hollywood hoopla, it clearly displays a large amount of professionalism by the cast, crew, and everyone in between.

For many who have come across this film via TV spots, posters or on-line promos, the common thought is probably, “Oh, here’s another one of those plane crash survival films like 'Alive,' with a twist resembling 'The Thing.'” Perhaps there might be some mirroring of those fi...

Two Jews on Film - By Joan Alperin Schwartz: It takes a lot for a film to truly scare me. I mean, after seeing hundreds and hundreds of movies featuring, knife wielding masked maniacs, cannibalistic nuclear families preying on hot teenage girls and demon possessed embryos, I've become kind of blasé about the horror genre.

So many horror films are durative of one another. But I'm happy to say this is definitely not the case with 'The Grey' directed by Joe Carnahan ('Narc', 'The A Team') and starring the very tall and always excellent, Liam Neeson.

The story is simple. A group of sup...

Irish actor Liam Neeson is considering converting to Islam after becoming fascinated by the religion while filming in Turkey.

The Taken star grew up as a devout Catholic who acted as an altar boy at his local church and was even named after a priest.

However, during a trip to Istanbul to shoot a film, he was moved by Muslims' Call To Prayer, which takes place five times a day to summon followers to worship.

He says, "The Call to Prayer happens five times a day and for the first week it drives you crazy, and then it just gets into your spirit and it's the most beautiful, beautiful thin...

Liam Neeson's new survival thriller The Grey has come under fire from officials at an animal conservation group, who claim the movie's portrayal of wolves as violent killers is "fantasy".

The Schindler's List actor plays part of a group of men stranded in Alaska after a plane crash and forced to survive on their wits as a pack of wolves hunts them down.

However, the winter wilderness drama has failed to impress chiefs at Wolf Conservation Center.

Managing director Maggie Howell tells the New York Post, "Wolves don't hunt humans - they actually shy away from them."

"It's not anything...

I loved last week’s Steven Soderbergh movie “Haywire.” It’s a visually stunning picture with cool music, and a strong, sexy female protagonist to boot. For elaboration on my thoughts, check out my review, if you haven’t already.

Dropping into theaters this week is the frosty Liam Neeson thriller “The Grey,” the high-rise standoff “Man on a Ledge,” the Glenn Close period piece “Albert Nobbs,” the Katherine Heigl action comedy “One for the Money,” the historical drama “In Darkness,” and the foreign drama “Declaration of War.”

Look out later this week for my interview with “Man on...

Moviemaker Joe Carnahan urged Liam Neeson to channel his grief over the death of his wife Natasha Richardson for an emotional scene in new movie The Grey.

The film focuses on a group of plane crash survivors who are stranded in the Alaskan wilderness, and Neeson plays Ottway, whose spirits are kept alive by the thought of reuniting with his wife.

In a crucial scene, his character pens a heart-wrenching letter to his loved one - and Carnahan suggested Neeson should think of his late wife Richardson to summon up the appropriate emotions.

He tells Empire magazine, "There's a letter that Ott...

Irish actor Liam Neeson has thrown his support behind controversial comedian Ricky Gervais as the host of the 2012 Golden Globes, insisting Hollywood needs "a shake-up."

The British funnyman caused outrage when he presented this year's ceremony and made cruel jibes about some of the movie world's biggest stars, including Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie.

Gervais was widely expected not to be invited back to host another Golden Globes prizegiving, but event bosses shocked industry insiders this week when they announced the Brit had been hired to make his third appearance as the host of the 2...

Liam Neeson is set to narrate a musical stage production of "The War Of The Worlds" - appearing to the audience in the form of a 3D hologram.

Neeson will voice the journalist character George Herbert, but he won't be there in person, thanks to the wonders of modern day technology.

The star says, "I'm not a computer nerd at all so I knew nothing about this technological stuff, but it did sound very interesting. We shot it over three days in April.

"It was all done on 'green screen' which I'm very used to after Star Wars and Clash of the Titans and various films like that. It wasn't terrib...