ON THE BASIS OF SEX

PG-13, 120 minutes. Starts Friday at Niantic, Madison Art Cinemas. Starts tonight at Mystic Luxury Cinemas, Westbrook, Lisbon. If you simply can’t get enough Ruth Bader Ginsburg, these last few years have been glorious — a Tumblr account, T-shirts and totes with her face, “Saturday Night Live” parodies, a workout book and a CNN documentary. This year — marking the Notorious R.B.G.’s 25th anniversary on the Supreme Court — will end with another reason to cheer the feminist icon: The feature film “On the Basis of Sex.” Felicity Jones steps into the role of Ginsburg but this adoring biography ends well before she is sworn in as one of the Supreme Court nine. The film is actually the story of Ginsburg as a student and groundbreaking lawyer — a sort of origin story for a real-life super hero. By the time the real Ginsburg makes a cameo in the film, you’ll likely be cheering out loud, as one recent preview audience did. “On the Basis of Sex “is actually split into two parts. The first establishes Ginsburg as a brilliant and indomitable young woman. We see her attend Harvard Law School in the mid-1950s as one of only nine women, all facing a sneering welcome. As if that’s not a big enough ask, she’s also the mother of an infant. And when her Harvard-attending husband (the wonderful Armie Hammer) battles cancer, she attends all HIS classes as well to take notes for him. Ginsburg still graduates at the top of her class, but no firm will hire her. You know, ‘cause she’s a woman. Truth be told, the second part is the more interesting. The story flashes forward to 1970 when Ginsburg — now a law professor at Rutgers — starts shaping cases she would bring before the Supreme Court, arguing that the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment guarantees equal rights for women. — Mark Kennedy, Associated Press

BEN IS BACK

R, 103 minutes. Starts Friday at Stonington, Westbrook. Julia Roberts has put together a long and storied acting career. But, it has only been in the past few years that she has been taking on roles that have truly shown her scope as an actor: “August: Osage County,” “Secret In Their Eyes,” “The Normal Heart” and “Wonder.” You can add her latest effort, “Ben Is Back,” to the list. It doesn’t have the simple charm of a “Notting Hill” or the grab for respect as with “Mary Reilly.” What Roberts does in “Ben Is Back” is turn in a performance that finds power in the pain and prospects of the real world. Nothing she has done is as relatable as her work in this production from writer/ director Peter Hedges. The story is a family drama that starts with 19-yearold Ben (Lucas Hedges) arriving home on Christmas Eve after his latest stint in rehab. His mother, Holly (Roberts), is happy to see her son, but with his arrival comes a tsunami. She has a deep and rightful fear that Ben won’t be able to stay clean. She has been through the nightmare of his drug use more times than she can count. Holly calls on the last fibers of her maternal instincts to give Ben 24 hours to prove he has changed, a prospect that’s threatened when his past comes roaring back with dangerous possibilities. It is how mother and son deal with the issues that makes “Ben Is Back” brutal honesty at its core. — Rick Bentley, Tribune News Service

THE UPSIDE

PG-13, 125 minutes. Starts Friday at Niantic, Waterford. Starts tonight at Stonington, Westbrook, Lisbon. Kevin Hart’s transition from brattily charming comic persona to serious dramatic cinematic presence isn’t going quite as planned. His extracurricular controversies notwithstanding, the comedian’s first turn in a more serious role in “The Upside” — a remake of the award-winning French hit “The Intouchables,” across from Bryan Cranston and Nicole Kidman — should have been a slam dunk. And yet, “The Upside” is missing some crucial elements, and it’s a struggle to find the bright side to this rather hackneyed film. What’s missing is Hart’s manic energy, which he can’t quite translate into an effective or poignant toned-down performance. Part of what makes his comedic performances work is his characters’ cheerful arrogance is constantly rebutted by those around him within a heightened reality, offering a silly push and pull. With this muted performance in a naturalistic world as the down-on-his-luck Dell, that arrogance just makes him seem like a jerk. On the hunt for signatures to prove to his parole officer he’s looking for a job, Dell stumbles into a job interview in the palatial penthouse of Phillip LaCasse (Cranston), an uberwealthy investor who is quadriplegic and requires the assistance of a “life auxiliary.” It’s begrudging respect at first wisecrack for the two curmudgeons, and in a strange turn of events, Phillip offers Dell the job. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

A DOG’S WAY HOME

PG, 96 minutes. Starts tonight at Waterford, Stonington, Westbrook, Lisbon. A dog travels 400 miles in search of her owner. A review wasn’t available by deadline.

REPLICAS

PG-13, 107 minutes. Starts tonight at Westbrook, Lisbon. A scientist becomes obsessed with bringing back his family members who died in a traffic accident. Stars Alice Eve and Keanu Reeves. A review wasn’t available by deadline.