Happy Death Day 2U, On the Basis of Sex and Glass

After finding that the original Happy Death Day received a good review on this blog:

OK, it was just a rip off of Groundhog Day, but it was interesting to see all those events that initially are ignored by the lead, knowing that at the end they all see her better side. I'm not a fan of slasher movies, and that aspect did put me off. But there were enough scenes that relied on a decent script and likeable actors that made it worth seeing. Jessica Rothe is perfect in her role of the witty and bolshie Tree. Again, a young female Bill Murray. Very clever. So well done director Christopher Landon and writer Scott Lobdell. 

I found the sequel to be both better and worse. The story was better but the script not so. I guess that was because the original writer, Scott Lobdell, was no longer involved. Returning director Christopher Landon took up the reins and, despite some witty moments, the dialogue was even more hammy than before. Jessica Rothe repeated her role from last time and did the best she could.

I thought On The Basis Of Sex was one of the best movies I had seen in the last year. An intelligent and moving film following the early career of Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg as she tackles sexism in the workplace and gender equality in the case she takes to appeal. I found it amazing that the real Ginsburg's nephew, Daniel Stieplemann  wrote the screenplay, although my guess is that the excellent director Mimi Leder lent a hand. Felicity Jones had come in for some criticism in the lead, but not knowing the real characters, I found she nailed the part. As, surprisingly, did Arnie Hammer as her husband. 

The last in the trilogy that started with Unbreakable and then Split, gathers together most of the cast from the first two movies for that same weird story of (possibly) super human powers. I think it's best to gloss over the story and concentrate on presentation. I found the cinematography and production design to be first rate. The characters are just those we have seen before. Bruce Willis doing his glum introverted turn,James McEvoy being bonkers in his twenty personalities and Samuel L. Jackson just broodingly silent. It was amazing to see Spencer Treat Clark all grown up as David Dunn's son from Unbreakable. Sara Paulson might have been out of her depth as Dr Ellie Staple, but that was probably the script. It just seemed to me that M Night Shyamalan man ran out of ideas and the final sequence, although classily shot, was a less than a satisfactory ending.