Life

Life did not impress me.
It's okay but brings nothing new to the table. The characters felt like they've been poorly based so the entire movie I could not care for anyone. I also was able "to guess" some parts and events in the movie - that I count as a bad thing too.
The plot is simple, not bad. Action, scary parts are there but somehow it is just okay. Did not look at the clock while the film was running (so it was entertaining) but wasn't excited or anything.
Jake Gyllenhaal is my favorite male actor but even he wasn't able to move me.

Rating: ★★½

Silence

As it is History/Drama called Silence and it is about two Jesuit priests who travel to Japan which has banned Catholicism and almost all foreign contact, you know it is not going to be something fast-paced or action packed. 
With that said - a pleasant cinema experience if you are ready for it. It is 2 hours and 40 minutes long and it is about different religions and how different people view them in that specific century. I liked it, it made me think about things I usually don't think about as I am not a religious person (don't mind others being though). It was interesting for me to see that sort of faith, flaws and lack of it at different points. 
What you can expect when going to see this:
- Interesting accents. 
- Religious, faithful/faithless mood. Struggles.
- Beautiful nature
- Brutality
- Strength. Weakness. 
- Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver. :D 

All in all, it is a bit hard to sit still for that long period of time but it was also quite enjoyable. 

Rating: ★★★½

Lion

Lion is a title to a movie which is based on true events and it tells a story about a very young Indian boy who gets lost and through different obstacles finds himself adopted by an Australian family where he grows up, eventually finding himself in need to find his birth mother, brother and - home.

The story itself is somewhat divided into 2 parts - we get to really experience the young boys journey and then his life in middle twenties as he starts to look for home.


The movie is very good but I want to enhance what I liked the most:

• The young boy - Sunny Pawar (his first film and first time traveling with airplanes by the way) - such a cute looking and sounding boy! Can't remember the last time I was so fond of a kid in a movie. Very lovely youngster. 
• Rooney Mara. Especially because it wasn't about her. She still managed to win my heart by portraying a down to earth, genuine person who cares. The subtle things she can do amaze me. This time it was this small tremble of her lower lip for about 2 seconds that just caught my eye. Great. Sold.
• Dev Patels' voice. In general. He looks good too, don't get me wrong, but his voice..
• How music cooperated into colliding timelines. This one is a bit hard to explain. If you are interested, feel free to ask? It may contain spoilers. 

There wasn't anything in particular that I did not like. Don't see why Nicole Kidman was nominated for an Oscar for this (can't believe there weren't better options. She is not bad, but usually the academy nominate extraordinary performances and this wasn't it). Otherwise - I connected to the story at some point, felt a bit emotional at the end (yes, many women and some men tend to cry after this piece) but still - something didn't work for me, hence the rating. 

Rating: ★★★½

20th Century Women

I don't know where to start. Sometimes it's hard to put down in words the things you feel during and afterwards.
The director and the writer Mike Mills drew from his life with women that were around him to make this film. It's about a single mother trying to figure out how to raise her teenage boy into a good man. She seeks help from two other (and different character-wise) women that linger around the house for different reasons. 
It was so good for me. Throughout the entire movie a sense of sadness is always there. Sometimes it's very blunt, sometimes very subtle. At points it gets heavy and at others - humour appears.
Always fantastic to see movies where the characters are well made. Here we got to see more than two:
Annette Bening does a fantastic job showing a non-stereotypical mother - a mother who has her good sides and many different flaws. I have no wonder anymore why she got an Oscar nomination. 
Greta Gerwig - one of my favorites in everything (this is a lie - I have not seen EVERYTHING) she does and this is no exception. She masterfully shows an artistic woman who has these "different" views on life and who doesn't live by the standard rules. She has heart and crazy good looking red hair. Very pleasant to watch her work. 
Although Elle Fanning played a character that I felt like I've seen before doesn't take away that she also did good in my eyes. Through her we see a somewhat cool, rebellious (she has her reasons) late-teenager who has sh*t of her own which is not shown that much because it's not the point of the movie. Believably played.
Lucas Jade Zumann plays the son of Annette Bening's character. So cute and lovable. And the way he is is very different from what I've seen in other films boys to be and that is something that I'm very keen on - to see uniqueness, something unordinary. And those brown eyes of his.. 
There is also Billy Crudup who plays a semi-meaningful role but I won't get into that because to me he didn't "shine" here.
What was also satisfying to see was the way and how well these characters blended. It didn't matter if it was a group scene or a dialogue, it all felt very interesting and natural. It had heart. 
I have nothing bad to say about the way it was shown - nice view angles at times, color choices for different "events", pretty landscapes. Very nice work. 
I have nothing bad to say how the story was told.
I have nothing really bad to say about 20th Century Women. It spoke to my heart and that is basically all I seek to get from a movie. 
If you are up for some down to earth different relationship drama which focuses on women - this should be a good choice! 
P.S. La La Land still gets the Oscar from me.

Rating: ★★★★½

Hidden Figures

Women handling numbers, physics, cars, other machinery and standing up for themselves? Yes, please!
Based on real people and events Hidden Figures shows us the time when NASA dealt with different problems in order to successfully complete first space missions. Here we get to follow 3 (well, one more than others to be fair) African-American women and their problematic "journey" as they are "colored" and segregation is in what they live in.
What I loved about it the most was how this movie managed to show difficult stressful situations, day-to-day unfairness with such lightness that it was impossible to get sad, angry or depressive. Big thanks must go to soundtracks for that. They could've just put in more dramatic (rather than something groovy and funky) songs and melodies but they didn't. I thank them.
Movie itself doesn't really show anything new, you know - it basically is any other space mission launching movie. The true story behind it is unique of course. What I want to say here is that the real life achievements of these women and their portrayal was very pleasurable and satisfying to see but what wasn't so amazing - how it was quite typically done (view points, dialogues, the whole picture itself, even saw some cliche scenes).
Although it is about three African-Americans Taraji P. Hensons character is seen way more than others. In my eyes Janelle Monáe was the one who popped out of the crew as the most interesting one to watch but unfortunately I didn't feel like her character was given a fair chance here. AND YET -
Octavia Spencer is the one who gets the Oscar nomination? REALLY? Don't get it but okay..
As I am bad in history and wasn't there at that time I can't judge how true or fabricated this movie is in reality and I don't even want to. Watched it, liked it very much and won't argue about "facts".
All in all - a very good, humane drama with splashes of lightness through tough times. Great main lady ensemble, soundtracks and overall feeling after the end credits. And feelings are what basically make my rating, so..

Rating: ★★★★

Patriots Day

This is a story, a somewhat true story about Boston Marathon bombing which took place on April the 15th and the search for the terrorists after. It's about some of the involved people (the police, terrorists, people who ran the marathon and people who came there to watch) - how they were either involved  or affected by this.
It's starts off with an introduction of these chosen people - who they are, where they are. We just get a glimpse, no deep character (real people? This is confusing..) development. Later on we get to see the bombs go off and then we follow how the police, ambulance, community itself, government and FBI work together to help people and work on finding those who caused this.
All in all movie is filled with action and bravery.
I did not really enjoy this piece and here is why:
a) Although I get to see how people can be and are brave, helpful and strong, which is really great, I could not "enjoy" this, because it somehow felt "forced on me". Like they were trying to make me feel emphaty and feel for everyone rather allowing me to reach that place on my own. I also get why they chose to show us some of the victims and their back-stories but that doesn't mean I liked it. I know it is a bit horrible to say (because it's based on true events and real people) but again - it just felt cliche, the way they executed everything about and around these characters. So yeah, forced and cliche.
b) Trent Reznor, oh dear Trent Reznor. I was let down. Hard. At some places in the movie it was like "I have heard this before" at others - it was just too predictable. I believe there are ways how to create suspense, create more stressful, dramatic scene without making it so obvious that NOW SOMETHING (and at the scene you know exactly what) IS REALLY GONNA HAPPEN. I really enjoyed (still do!) soundtracks from Social Network, I also do listen to Nine Inch Nails from time to time but this was....this was bad (still being subjective).
c) I WANTED TO SEE MORE OF THE "SEARCH". I wanted to see how the FBI (and maybe other instances, that doesn't matter how they are called) works - how they operate, how actually hard, intense it can be, wanted to see some conflicts (or just silent-working...as they probably know what and how to do everything) between different workers. How people contact and help the FBI for this specific reason.. Anything like that. I was left with this longing.
So, Kate the hater - what DID you like?
Well, Mark Wahlberg in his character (real person?) was doing a great, believable job to my eyes. He looked legit, acted like a real person (who he was portraying) who had his flaws and wonderful qualities. I also did enjoy some scenes at the end of the movie about which I won't say anything else...because they were very close to the end. All in all - I wasn't bored, didn't look at the watch or wonder off in my mind.

I can see critics are giving this movie good reviews (mostly)..So maybe it just wasn't my day and I was just unconsciously looking for reasons not to enjoy (PMS, you know) it. It is definately a whatchable movie, I just did not like it.

Rating: ★★½

Passengers

Before going to see it I knew it wasn't a good one (still wanted to see it). So I went in hoping it would be a sexy futuristic space movie (because of Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence and..spaceship and stuff). It wasn't. Instead I saw a film. It started, it went on but nothing really happened and then - about 20 minutes before it was supposed to end, SOMETHING started to happen. That is not a good pace.
Anways, the film started by Chris Pratts character unplanned awakaning in this spaceship which was set to go to another planet where mankind would develop a new world, new living space ect. J. Law was there too. All in all everything was quite bad, at points silly or illogical.
Good thingies - the spaceship was quite beautifully made. Pratt and Lawrence have appealing faces (and other features)..That's about it.
All in all - "Passengers" was quite boring, predictable, dumb and not at all intriguing. What was interesting - me and my friends thoughts of "what if-s". For example - what if NOW HE REALLY DID DIE (it was like 20 minutes in the movie)? Or - What if now it turns into a soft-porn movie? At least that would've been unpredictable... Needless to say our "fantasies" didn't make it.
Ugh, I just can't suggest it to anyone really. I won't judge you for going to see it though (because I did).

Rating: ★★