by Oscar O’Sullivan

Monday – Live and Let Die

A much more successful introduction to a new Bond – rather than drawing attention to the change of face, we simply pick up with Moore as if it’s just another adventure, his first appearance onscreen being him waking up in (where else) the arms of a beautiful woman. He’s familiar yet subtly different from Connery, the same dry wit and ruthlessness in the face of danger, but a little more refined and high-class. This Bond is a proper British gentleman, with the film playing up how much he stands out in the American and Jamaican settings. Where the film differs more radically from what came before is in the tone it strikes – rather than skewing serious like On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Moore’s first outing dabbles in new and exciting forms of absurdity. Instead of Communists and international political conspiracies, Bond is battling New York hoodlums and Voodoo priests, running along the backs of alligators and motor-boating across Florida. This is a groovy exploitation film first and a spy adventure second, with the opening titles perfectly setting the tone – a naked woman’s head explodes into a flaming skull as the beat drops on the title track, by far the best Bond song yet and certainly the most central to the film’s identity, recurring in the score more often that the signature Bond Theme. The film is held back from perfection by the overlong motorboat chase, which doesn’t offer enough action for how long it runs and introduces a phenomenally annoying character who inexplicably becomes central to the entire sequence, almost making you forget that you’re even watching a Bond film. It amounts to a minor speed-bump overall, with Live and Let Die working as a decisive step forwards – I’ll be interested to see if the subsequent Moore films can keep bringing the thunder like this. I do worry that his straight-laced, refined take on Bond may not hold my interest over multiple instalments, but hopefully the films find ways to expand on and utilise his performance well. 9/10.

Tuesday – Moulin Rouge

Bz Luhrmann is, to put it bluntly, a lunatic. I can’t even begin to imagine how a person could conceptualise the way that a film like Moulin Rouge looks, sounds and moves. Love it or hate it, it’s a spectacular achievement in gaudy, over-the-top maximalism. Of course I love it, not only for the sheer joy of the breakneck form and madcap musical comedy, but because it delivers a sublime emotional story on top of it all. A jukebox musical that truly makes each song it’s own, there’s not a single dull moment – even the emotional downtime is presented in dizzying montages and smouldering exchanges. The cast deserves full credit for being able to keep up with Luhrmann’s madcap vision, where it’s so easy for an unprepared performer to be lost in the shuffle. You’ve got to play big to be heard in the midst of the insanity – McGregor radiates charm out of every pore, Kidman flits effortlessly between ravenous seductress and jaded dreamer, Jim Broadbent goes utterly ballistic as the venue’s larger-than-life owner and Richard Roxburgh is perfect as the snivelling villain, a proper pantomime baddie who becomes surprisingly intense when the plot takes its darker turns. It’s a big, loud, hilarious, sweeping, bombastic, audacious, moving, positively dizzying film – but above all else, it’s a story about love. 10/10/

Wednesday – Anora

Already reviewed this one – boom. Read it here.

Friday – Y Tu Mamá También

Written with a rare clarity of character and emotion, Alfonso Cuaron’s Y Tu Mamá También is a simple but deeply layered story of love and friendship in an increasingly unstable world. Captured with a thrilling immediacy that brings the setting and characters to vivid life, the film is essentially a road trip through rural Mexico, with best friends Tenoch (Diego Luna) and Julio (Gael García Bernal) taking older woman Luisa (Maribel Verdú) on a journey to find a mythically beautiful beach. Said beach, suggestively titled ‘Heaven’s Mouth’, doesn’t actually exist – the boys make it up to impress Luisa and convince her to come along, each hoping to get lucky with her on the trip. The boys both have girlfriends who are currently travelling in Europe, and both pride themselves on never cheating – at the same time overtly hitting on Luisa, who is herself married to Tenoch’s cousin. Luisa herself is in turmoil over her husband’s infidelity, using the trip as an excuse to run away from her life. She sees the young men as something fresh and different, untainted by the hatreds and failings of adult life – she is bitterly disappointed to learn they are just as flawed and fallible as anyone else. Despite its impure intentions, the trip does prove to be enlightening, both for the characters and the audience. An arresting technique used throughout the film is the insertion of a prescient voice-over, all other sound cutting out as an impassive narrator casts his eye ever further into the future, contextualising the events of the present in a more sombre light. Also lending to the realism of the film is the unadorned, unfiltered honesty of the many, many sex scenes, which are captured in unbroken wide shots. The drama is often eye-rolling but never anything less than entirely genuine, the central cast giving subtle, brave performances that elevate the material further. Not for the prudish – you’ll have to get your freak on if you want to enjoy this one. 9/10.

Saturday – Eight Crazy Nights

I told someone this was my favourite Christmas movie and they looked at me like I have two heads. This is the society we live in. Well-known as a ‘terrible film’, that reputation is actually entirely false – this is a gorgeously animated comedy masterclass, contrasting the cutesy Disney-esque visuals with entirely adult humour and themes that push the boundaries of good taste. If anything it goes even further than many live action Sandler comedies, using the medium of animation for slapstick and visual humour that would be entirely unacceptable in real life. Sandler’s voice work is excellent, playing three roles that sound nothing alike and showing off his superb singing voice in the film’s (almost too few) musical interludes. This won’t be to everyone’s tastes – what a boring world we’d live in if we all loved the same things for the same reasons. I’m man enough to admit that I can’t get through this without crying at least once. Sometimes I even get emotional just thinking about the part where Davey reads his Hanukkah card or the ending with Whitey in the mall. Sometimes we just can’t control what films affect us – embrace the sincerity and say it loud and proud. Calling this a guilty pleasure would imply that I’ve done something wrong in enjoying it – I will not stand here and be judged by people who lie about their own tastes. Come join me in the sun. 10/10.