Steve Jobs

A number of interesting and well-reviewed films have opened in New York over the past couple of weeks. Since we were here this weekend and it was too cold to do anything outdoors, we took the opportunity to see one.

Barry usually likes to let me choose, although I do not always relish the pressure of these choices. This weekend, there were a few options. There was “Bridge of Spies,” a Steven Spielberg historical thriller in which Tom Hanks stars as the lawyer who represented a Soviet spy and negotiated a swap for two Americans. That word “thriller” bothers me, because usually it describes a tense story, and I am only rarely in the mood to feel more tense than I already do much of the time. Then there was “Truth,” a journalistic telling about the events that ended Dan Rather’s career as a CBS anchorman. This was higher on the list.

My first choice, the movie we saw, was “Steve Jobs.” I had seen the trailer and read a bit and it just seemed interesting to me. After all, Barry and I both use iPhones and Barry has a Mac. The movie is about the early development of Apple computers.

To be perfectly honest, I was lost through a lot of the movie. I really knew very little about the development of the company during the 1980s and early 90s. I would have a hard time retelling the plot if not for cheating a bit with the help of A.O. Scott.

“Steve Jobs” is a rich and potent document of the times, an expression of both the awe that attends sophisticated new consumer goods and the unease that trails in the wake of their arrival. The movie burnishes the image of this visionary C.E.O. even as it tries to peek behind the curtain at the gimcrack machinery of omnipotence. Mostly, though, it is a formally audacious, intellectually energized entertainment, a powerful challenge to the lazy conventions of Hollywood storytelling and a feast for connoisseurs of contemporary screen acting. 

Steve Jobs is played by Michael Fassbender, known for his roles in the films “Inglourious Basterds” (2009), “X-Men: First Class” (2011), “Shame” (2011) and “12 Years a Slave” (2013), none of which we have seen. He certainly did a fine job (pun intended?) of portraying Jobs, down to the posture and expressions that are so familiar from seeing him over the years. Kate Winslet played a marketing executive who, at least in the movie, was his near-constant companion, Joanna. Jeff Daniels was John Sculley, and Seth Rogan played Steve Wozniak. Jobs’ daughter is played by three different actresses as a young girl, a teenager, and a college student. He apparently had other children but only this one was part of the movie tale.

This is a movie I do recommend, even to people who are not crazy about those Apple products (you know who you are J). I was left admiring of his genius while recognizing that he was not the sort of guy I would have liked to know or with whom I would have cared to work.

On Monday afternoon I attended a luncheon at which our friend Carole was given an award by the Center for Children’s Initiatives for her work as a Co-Director of the Infancy Leadership Circles Project of New York Zero-to-Three Network. It was quite gratifying to be there with her friends and family celebrating this honor. This write-up explains Carole’s background and the work that she has done for many important causes.

Saturday Night Live, while still going strong after 40 years (the first show was in October 1975) is definitely not the show we baby boomers remember from the early days, but every now and then my attention is drawn to something I find on-line or see briefly on TV. This past Saturday night, Larry David played quite a convincing and hilarious Bernie Sanders, and I have to believe that even Mr. Sanders had to chuckle.

I never thought I would find myself saying this, but I stayed up too late watching the New York Mets play the other night. So far our guys have won two games against the Chicago Cubs. During their history, the Mets have won two World Series titles (1969 and 1986) and four National League pennants (1969, 1973, 1986, 2000).The Cubs, on the other hand, have played in seven World Series following their wins in 1907 and 1908, the most recent in 1945. So I do understand why people are feeling a bit sorry for them, but we are sticking with our Mets for now!

Have a great week!

Love,

Rebecca