The Hunting Ground

Wrote the review in Letterboxd, this is a copy of it.

I was laughing from sadness on how unfair and just wrong it can get. This movie exposes rape crimes on U.S. college/university campuses and how victims are being treated by these institutes.
What I learned:
1) According to U.S. universities, if you're sexually assaulted, don't say anything. Nobody likes bad reputation. If you say anything, you most probably won't be heard. So, college statistics over rape/rape-related crimes.
2) Sports over rape. Let's just wait until some sort of season is over to MAYBE act on what happened...like a year ago..or maybe the victim will forget about it or just give up..
3) If you're a decent person and working at university and will hear and stand for victims, you most probably won't be working at that university soon enough. Nobody will go to a college where there is high assault statistics, right? Reputation, reputation (parallels with point No.1).
4) Money over everything. No explanation needed.
It's not bad enough that rape exists it is just terrifying to see what happens (or more accurately - what doesn't happen) afterwards. And for deans to discourage you and to try to turn it that it most probably was your own fault that you were sexually assaulted, just bad and wrong.

Actually this is why I don't watch documentaries everyday - they almost always make me very sad and upset. I don't know what is better - to know what's happening and live life in half=depression most of the time or not to know almost anything and to live happily like a fool.

And sorry, but Florida you still look like a really bad state to me.

Rating: ★★★★

The Dressmaker

I will start by saying The Dressmaker was almost a perfect fit to my movie taste. I even didn't really notice that 50's vibe.
IMDb says it fits into "drama" category. I will agree and add that it was also a comic and detective-ish piece.
It's a story told in a very interesting way. So a woman (played by Kate Winslet. I'll get back to amazing her later.) returns to her hometown, practically village, to make some excellent dresses with her sewing machine and do other things I won't tell you about. Watch the movie.
I'm a big believer of karma and this movie also was showing some "what goes around comes around" themes, so that must be another plus for me liking this film quite a bit.
Drama parts were neat, detective-ish parts good, the humor was excellent (I appreciate British and Australian comedy which you will be able to see in The Dressmaker. Americans rarely impress my laugh-longing soul) and what also pleasantly surprised me was these unexpected twists and turns here and there. I really did have a nice and lovely time.
Oh, KATE WINSLET! In my eyes, she just gets better and better with time (and practice maybe?). I'm very pleased somebody thought she would be good in this part. To me she was marvelous.
Camera and direction wise I can't say much because I was consumed in what was happening..or I was just giggling.
I should also add that this movie most probably isn't for everybody. I can suggest it to my friends who know my taste and have a similar one and also to people who are looking for something easy-going after a hard days work but who still want something with substance and a story to follow.
I know I shouldn't praise movies like I just did so you don't make up high expectations but I have warned you before - I write my afterthoughts and I do not want to hold back if something has made me quite happy.

Rating: ★★★★½

P.S. Liam Hemsworth was there, if somebody's interested in seeing him wherever he is in. 

How To Be Single

I went in on "How To Be Single" with very, very, very low expectations (I received a free ticket to it). So I was pleasantly surprised that I did have some laughs and had a good time in front of the screen. It's an easy-breezy comedy about women who have quite different backgrounds and how they manage their private lives - how they "cope", "learn" or "celebrate" being single. Really, nothing really interesting there but it worked - I had a good time.
Alison Brie was there and I do like to watch her stuff. Other ladies (Rebel Wilson, Leslie Mann, Dakota Johnson) don't impress me but they were fine, as this was an American comedy and didn't require strong performances. Or maybe it did. What do I know, I'm not an actress.  .. .. Or am I?
It won't be the best movie you've seen, nor the best comedy but if you're looking for something light and easy after a hard days work and you don't want to follow the story that much - this should be a very good match for you. Nothing meaningful here to my mind.


Rating: ★★★

Hail, Ceasar!

I couldn't really enjoy this movie. I didn't find it funny (I remember laughing when watching Fargo and laughing harder when watching Burn After Reading). It wasn't bad, it just wasn't very good for me. What I did like was how it was shot and performances from Tilda Swinton, Channing Tatum and Ralph Fiennes.
I read in another review that "It's not about the story, it's about how the Coens are celebrating the films we have perhaps idealized a bit too much (..)". As at this time I'm almost all about the story, it just proves this wasn't a film meant for ME. At least not now.
So yeah, if the story isn't everything to you, you might have a better time with this than I did.
P.S. I haven't seen many classic movies so I also missed bunch of references on them.


Rating: ★★★

Fathers And Daughters

A brief thought overview:
The subject was interesting, actors were good (even though I dislike Russell Crowe he didn't annoy me this time) and I liked that they used time-jumping through the whole movie.
For me it lacked emotional depth. I got to see many different emotions but I couldn't feel them. What I also didn't like were those "tiny life lessons" they put in like they usually do in family/kid-friendly movies and TV Series (and this movie wasn't that child-friendly).
Almost forgot another thing I didn't appreciate: Amanda Seyfrieds' character felt very "typical" if I may call it that. I pretty much could tell what she is going to do next and to my mind that is not a good thing - the predictability.
I would say it is an average movie which doesn't feel that real, it is quite predictable in various aspects. Didn't have a bad time, just not good enough.

Rating: ★★★

Deadpool

Deadpool....Deadpool... IMDb rating at the moment: 8.8 (from more than 21k viewers).
It's an entertaining movie about a guy with an interesting personality who is kind of forced to become a hero.
The main role is played by Ryan Reynolds and I think this part suited him oh so very much.
What else is there? Bunch of jokes (that I mostly did not enjoy (d*ck stuff you know), but that's just me. It's not going to be you. Probably) and bunch of different references from Wolverine (there we first met Deadpool if you didn't know) and other places.
Camera work kept me entertained, I also noticed Junkie XL work in soundtracks (He composed also for Mad Max: Fury Road) - quite likable for my ears.
Despite lots of shooting and knifing, some guts and blood, this piece had a light, easy aura to it. So to my mind you may love or may not love the movie but there's just a small, small, small chance you won't have a good time with this.


Rating: ★★★½

What Happened, Miss Simone?

I knew nothing about Nina Simone except some of her most popular songs (I have had her "Greatest Hits" album for some time now). And now I know a little more and I am happy I educated myself a teeny-tiny bit more.
By watching this I learned not necessarily useful but most certainly interesting things about her career and private life. I wouldn't have imagined she had this complex life (I won't say much in case you have an interest and want to see it for yourselves) but then again I guess people don't make documentaries about people who are having these "fairytale" lives and don't really struggle or go through major life disasters or what not. You know, people like me. 
Anyways, I was kept entertained and interested through the whole movie and now I also have got a new feeling towards her music, I see it a bit differently.
If you haven't read really anything about her, don't mind documentaries and enjoy jazz music from 60's and 70's this should be a treat. Okay, it should also be enough for people who are into documentaries, it's a good one it think (or maybe I lack experience in documentaries, pardon if so).
P.S. I'm glad to see it's nominated for an Oscar.


Rating: ★★★★

The Big Short

Even though I'm not big on economics, banking, stock exchange etc. (nor I really understand them) The Big Short (based on a true event) presented the global economy blow-up in a way that was very interesting and it explained some of the stuff I didn't get before. Some other stuff I still don't get even after seeing this.
It wasn't my favorite direction (not that it was bad, just not my favorite), but the performances by Steve Carell, Christian Bale and Jeremy Strong - oh boy, how I much I liked them. Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt and others were fine too (their characters just weren't that strongly based) but those three and their work was the best from my point of view.
Even though it wasn't an action movie, I caught myself being quite tense in some moments. It most probably was because I knew it was based on something real and couldn't (or didn't want to) believe that that had really happened. It was hard to see that people could be that greedy and/or "evil" and that stupid (or arrogant in some cases) and not question different things...or choose not to see.
Anyways, it's a good movie to go and see for anyone who want's to have a good time at movies or who wants to understand a little bit better of what happened. Okay, anyone but children. I don't believe children will have a great time with this.
P.S. I believe it's a great time to go to the cinema - many good films out there right now in Latvia ;)



Rating: ★★★★