I didn’t know anything about Ruth Bader Ginsberg before going into this movie except that she seems like a Bad Ass. After seeing this movie, I have concluded that she IS a Bad Ass!! “On the Basis of Sex” follows the life of RBG from her time at Harvard Law School as a married undergrad to a ground breaking case that got her career going. That case helped to toppled decades old laws that discriminated against men as well as women. Her case, Moritz vs. the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, was distinctive for involving sex discrimination against a man. Charles Moritz was denied a $600 tax deduction because it was ruled that a man could not be considered a caregiver. Ruth knew all about discrimination as she faced prejudice, condescension and ignorance in her pursuit of a degree and then a career in law. As a lot of women back in the day found out, a woman had to work twice as hard to succeed in traditional male occupations. Once she got her degree, she had a hard time finding a law firm that was willing to hire a woman, even one who was at the top of her class. One prospective employer assumed she would get pregnant and quit while another told her that women were too emotional. Through it all, her husband Martin, a successful tax lawyer, supported and believed in her. One potentially tragic episode in her life occured while she and her husband were both in law school; and Martin ( played by Armie Hammer) is diagnosed with testicular cancer. At the time there was about a 5% survival rate, yet they pulled through it all, and he subsequently was a great helper in her reaching her goal. Though the focus of her efforts was sex discrimination (a term they modified to a less aggressive gender discrimination-it was the 60’s after all), she and her team (including her daughter and the ACLU) attacked the issue using the test case involving a man. Ruth, in a fine performance by Felicity Jones, manages her classes, his classes(while he battled cancer) and their daughter as they get through this trying time with an even stronger marriage. While I found this movie interesting and extremely topical, it is a little slower paced than most movies and I found my self losing interest here and there. But the performances are great and the plot is full of information that was new to me. I came out of this movie with a greater respect for the justice that some have nicknamed The Notorious RBG.
Rogue One
This is definitely a movie for Star Wars fans although you do not have to know anything about the franchise to enjoy this movie. I, for one, loved it! This movie takes place right before the original 1977 Star Wars. Remember that movie started off with a message from Princess Leia to Obi Wan Kenobi delivered via R2D2. This movie explains the origin of that message, how the Death Star was built and how the rebels knew the Death Star had a weakness that ultimately helped them destroy it. There is a lot of fighting, I especially enjoyed Donnie Yen who played a Jedi Knight who is sort of in control of The Force. Diego Luna and Felicity Jones were fine, but I enjoyed some of the supporting characters even more. The comic relief was supplied by the new K2-SO (voiced by Firefly’s Alan Tudyk), a sarcastic but resourceful droid. It was nice to see Mads Mikkelsen play a relatively normal and heroic character. But the biggest surprise was the appearance of Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin. Why was this a surprise, you ask? Well, Peter Cushing died in 1994! The technology needed to create that special effect just boggles the mind. If you are a fan of the Star Wars movies, you will love the last scene – no spoilers from me though, my lips are sealed. If you are going, get there early to avoid running into a sold out show, and may The Force be with you!
Inferno
The DaVinci code was a smart, riveting book that was made into an exceptional movie. The rest of his books/movies may not be quite as good, but they are still entertaining. There are a lot of plot holes in this one, and if you haven’t read the book I think you will be confused by the story a bit. But that shouldn’t get in the way of having an enjoyable movie experience. Tom Hanks plays Robert Langdon, the Harvard symbologist whose expertise is needed to help the CDC stop a world-wide pandemic from happening. As always, Langdon uses his brains, rather than his brawn, to solve the mystery. I enjoyed Irrfan Khan’s ( you have seen him in Life of Pi and Jurassic World) performance as Harry Sims, even though I am not sure exactly what his character was all about. Also, Felicity Jones gives a decent performance as a doctor who joins forces with Langdon after he is grazed by a bullet and sent to the emergency room. I do relish the way these movies feature art and literature and take us to famous landmarks and museums. This one takes you to Venice, Florence and Istanbul among others. The Da Vinci Code inspired my husband and I to make a trip to Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland. Perhaps when we visit Italy, we may have to visit the Palazzo Vecchio to check out Dante’s death mask!