Critical Week: The holiday's over

The new James Bond movie was already delayed by six months when it became one of the first casualties of the pandemic way back in March 2020. So finally getting to see it was a momentous occasion, with press screenings held alongside the London world premiere (we didn't get the stars, but we had martini-flavoured popcorn). And it was worth the wait, because No Time to Die is a big, beefy, complex finale to Daniel Craig's five 007 films.

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Other films paled in comparison. Best Sellers is a mildly amusing literary comedy with Michael Caine and Aubrey Plaza. Falling for Figaro is a silly opera comedy with Danielle Macdonald and Joanna Lumley, but there's more going under the surface. And then there was American Night, a lurid Italian made Tarantino-wannabe thriller that has some style but never gels. Much better were two astute docs: David Wilkinson's Getting Away With Murder(s) takes a fresh approach to seeking justice for those who carried out the Holocaust, while Marco Berger provocatively explores masculinity in The Carnival. I also saw a preview screening of a beautifully delicate British drama that I can't say anything about - it's not out until next year.

London Film Festival screenings this week included the bonkers but strongly pointed Berlin winner Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, the sharply astute Belgian drama Playground, the stylish British horror Shepherd, and the gorgeously animated Japanese drama Belle.

This coming week, there are still more London Film Festival press screenings ahead of the opening night next Wednesday, including the Palme d'Or winner Titane and the opening night film The Harder They Fall. I'll also be watching Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch, the musical Dear Evan Hansen and the doc Pier Kids.