The Menu is a delicious and clever satire.

A young couple travels to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.

When going into The Menu I expected it to be great given the praise the film got at the Toronto Film Festival, what I wasn’t expecting was for it to be a truly fantastic film. What mainly pushes the film to extra levels is the performances the standouts being Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Fiennes and Hong Chau, Anya Taylor-Joy continues to show that she is one of the most interesting actresses currently working today and gives yet another strong performance that she really dives deep into. Ralph Fiennes and Hong Chu are both incredibly intimidating but at the same time strangely hilarious, Fiennes really gives this performance where immediately when you see him on screen he gives the viewer an uneasy feeling. It also helps that Fiennes and Chu work incredibly well together and their character’s personalities just blend so well together that it creates a haunting image. While The Menu may seem like another film that critiques the rich, it’s actually a bit more than that, it critiques food influencer culture which admittedly I have next to no knowledge of, but the film critiques it and says never hold someone you never met on a pedestal. It says this in pretty haunting ways that completely build the film including some kills that are actually pretty shocking and quite effective, atmosphere is truly thrilling and definitely one of those atmospheres that has the abandonment type feel, the film takes place on a island where it’s completely abandoned besides the characters involved. Combine that with some truly effective suspense that quickly gets under the viewer’s skin, some cleverly written dialogue and some incredible performances and you have yourself one hell of a film. Overall The Menu is truly fantastic and one of the best films of the year, make sure to seek this one out!

The Menu is available in theaters.

10/10 A+

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is a clever parody of the music biopic genre.

The unexaggerated true story about the greatest musician of our time. From a conventional upbringing where playing the accordion was a sin, “Weird Al” Yankovic rebels and makes his dream of changing the words to world-renowned songs come true. An instant success and sex symbol, Al lives an excessive lifestyle and pursues an infamous romance that nearly destroys him.

I’ve thought about Weird: The Al Yankovic Story for a couple weeks now, quite honestly the more I thought about it the more I loved it. Which it helps since I already loved it when I first watched it. Anyway Weird is a biopic on the famous comedic and parody songwriter Weird Al, a music biopic on Weird Al was inevitable the music biopic genre is one that has grown quite rapidly over the last couple of years with films like Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman, Respect and even this year’s Elvis and Dance With Somebody (which is releasing in a couple weeks at the time this was written). The only question was how were they going to approach a music biopic about Weird Al? Luckily what they went with was a very clever decision and actually compliments Weird Al as a person and his career, for starters the cast here is truly brilliant. Daniel Radcliffe at this point in his career has been very diverse when it comes to selecting roles in each genre but his portrayal of Weird Al might just be one of his absolute best, he truly captures the mannerisms and singing voice that Weird Al has and truly turns this up to eleven, it also helps that Al Yankovic is one of the writers of the film so that only adds to Radcliffe’s performance, there’s tons of songs that Radcliffe truly nails but the one that truly stands out is “Like A Surgeon” there’s so much entertainment in that scene alone that makes the film a whole lot of fun and sums up Weird Al and his style quite well. Radcliffe gives one of those performances where the actor or actress in questions completely transforms into who they are portraying. Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna is truly mind blowing talk about a performance that completely nails every scene she’s in, she captures everything from the looks, to the voice and the energy it’s all there. She’s such a delight every time she’s on screen and really works well with Daniel Radcliffe, the two really compliment each other incredibly well and keeps the movie at a very strong pace. The cameo performances are a lot of fun such as Conan O’Brien as Andy Warhol, Jorma Taccone as Pee-wee Herman and Nina West (who is actually a drag queen) as Divine. Jack Black as Wolfman Jack is also a very fun performance. But now we are getting into what I hinted at earlier how they were going to approach this movie, easy make it a parody of the music biopic subgenre and go absolute bananas with it. Which given that like I mentioned earlier that Weird Al is one of the writers this was always going to be a very creative parody. It’s one of those parody type films that actually really works and is actually one of those cases where the parody is better than some of the films it’s parodying, it’s very cleverly written with tons of jokes, the performances are truly top notch and actually compliment the film, there’s a huge amount of entertainment value that really makes the film standout on it’s own. There’s even some genuine heartfelt scenes between Al and the people around him, overall Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is a a blast of fun. It succeeds as a parody and completely matches the style of Weird Al Yannkovic, if you are fan of Weird Al please be sure to check this one out!

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is available on Roku.

10/10 A+

The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special is a very festive close to Phase Four.

The Guardians are on a mission to make Christmas unforgettable for Quill and head to Earth in search of the perfect present.

The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special is the final part of phase four in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it definitely ends it on a high note. It keeps a lot of the humor of what made the two Guardians Of The Galaxy movies so hilarious in the first place as well building a bit more development for the characters as well, it’s a very festive special that truly is heartwarming and is the very definition of a holiday special. It mainly focuses on Drax and Mantis which Dave Bautista and Pom Klementieff really do a fantastic job here, the interactions they have with the people they come across plus Kevin Bacon is truly hilarious and pretty cleverly written as well. James Gunn nails down the music extremely well, like the rest of the special it’s very festive and has an incredible amount of charm to it as well. The underlying story of Star Lord loving and missing Christmas is a genuinely emotional and really strong one that add some really great animation as well. Overall there might not be a whole lot to The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special but it’s very well made, written and has a lot of charm to it that you can’t help but love.

The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special is available on Disney+

8/10 B+

The Eternal Daughter is a beautifully haunting atmospheric film.

Returning to a hotel now haunted by its mysterious past, an artist and her elderly mother confront long-buried secrets in their former family home.

The Eternal Daughter is definitely a haunting little movie that is quite effective, Tilda Swinton plays a double role she plays Julie Hart and Rosalind Hart a mother and daughter who are staying at a hotel which is haunted. Patience is key with this film, it’s a very slow movie that admittedly is a bit too slow and could take you out of the movie. However for most of the movie that’s really not an issue, the film develops both Julie and Rosalind incredibly well and often times feels like a personal story that Joanna Hogg is trying to tell the audience. The film is visually stunning with a very gothic ghost theme and feel to it that really pops out in every single way possible, the atmosphere is truly haunting especially with the limited cast members it often feels like you are alone in the hotel that Julie and Rosalind are staying in, the film rewards the viewer with tons of emotional moments with an ending that puts a nice bow on the movie. The Eternal Daughter won’t be for everyone but I do recommend checking it out.

The Eternal Daughter is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+

A Wounded Fawn is a bizarre ride shot in 16mm

A serial killer brings an unsuspecting new victim on a weekend getaway to add another body to his ever-growing count. She’s buying into his faux charms, and he’s eagerly lusting for blood.

A Wounded Fawn is definitely a weird one that truly goes bananas very quickly, the film is shot on 16mm and it looks really wonderful. It gives the film it’s own atmosphere and a haunting one at that, it definitely has the eerie feeling that a lot of very low budget horror films from back in the 70s or 80s had. Sarah Lind and Josh Ruben are both solid in their roles, they each bring something different to the film and the interactions between one another make the film all the more atmospheric. The practical effects combined with the makeup are truly incredible, they have a lot of the charm The Evil Dead had and it really works here, there’s a lot of gruesome imagery that is very creative and once again builds to the film’s atmosphere. Everything in this movie just stacks on top of each other and then goes complete haywire during the final acting, it really rewards the viewer with something truly special. Even though the writing can be a bit on the weak side at times particularly in the beginning, that isn’t enough to stop this movie from being a wild ride from beginning to end. Go into this one knowing as little as possible.

A Wounded Fawn is available on Shudder.

8/10 B+

Lady Chatterley’s Lover is well crafted but lacking in strength.

After falling out of love with her husband following a war injury, Lady Chatterley pursues a torrid affair with the gamekeeper on their estate and begins to uncover her own internal biases.

I think I respect Lady Chatterley’s Lover when it comes to the craftsmanship more than I do when it comes to parts like the writing, the film has some strong performances from Emma Corrin and Jack O’Connell who actually have very strong chemistry between one another. The costumes are very well detailed, the filming is quite beautiful and the direction from Laura de Clermont-Tonnerre (director of The Mustang) is very well done with really strong craftsmanship and a lot of attention to detail in a lot of scenes as well. Unfortunately what bogs this down is the script being on the weaker side, there’s just not enough strength in certain scenes that really could have used the extra push.

Lady Chatterley’s Lover is available on Netflix.

6/10 C+

Love Lizzo is a very personal documentary.

Lizzo gets candid about body positivity, self-love, and recognizing black women for their contributions.

It’s honestly such a shame Love Lizzo had incredibly poor advertising (you would think a documentary about one of the biggest stars right now would have so much better advertising) but with that aside this documentary is truly an honest one. The documentary serves as almost a personal diary for Lizzo to tell the viewer everything, from body positivity to self-love and much more, there’s some really strong discussions here that are absolutely worth listening to. Lizzo talks about her early life, her dad’s death and so much more. But perhaps what makes Love Lizzo standout as a documentary is how authentic it really is, there’s tons of personal moments where it feels like you are sitting in the room with Lizzo having a discussion. There isn’t a whole lot more to say here, if you are a fan of Lizzo you will most definitely love this one.

Love Lizzo is available on HBO Max.

8/10 B+

She Said is a respectful film that tackles sexual assault and harassment.

The New York Times journalists Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor publish a report that exposes sexual abuse allegations against powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. The shocking story also serves as a launching pad for the #MeToo movement, shattering decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault and harassment.

Making a film about sexual harassment and abuse is a very hard task, it’s a very heavy subject that you have to really nail down to get right and luckily She Said nails it. From the trailers it did seem like another case of Hollywood patting themselves on the back despite sexual abuse and harassment still being a huge ongoing problem in the industry. She Said tells the events of Harvey Weinstein one of the biggest Hollywood producers being finally exposed for his disgusting crimes, I do want to note that She Said is not just about Harvey Weinstein it’s about Sexual harassment and assault happening in the workplace being covered up in general. The cast is very strong here particularly Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan who truly deliver some powerful and honest performances that really bring a lot to the film, both of which play real journalists which only add to the power of their performances. The film is also claustrophobic and quite disturbing at times which it accomplishes that by never showing any of the sexual assault or harassment instead it uses it’s atmosphere combined with it’s writing to put the viewer into the victims shoes. It might be a bit disturbing yet the film is empathetic and approaches the heavy topic with a lot of respect and that has a lot to do with Maria Schrader’s direction who really nails down a huge issue that is still going on in Hollywood, she makes some very strong decisions such as letting survivors tell their stories and show tons of emotion while talking to the journalists. It creates a brutally honest experience that is very real, combined that with Kazan and Mulligan blending incredibly well together with their two very different personalities and you have a honest film that approaches a heavy subject with tons of respect.

She Said is currently in theaters.

8/10 B+

The Wonder is a grounded story with strong themes.

Set in The Irish Midlands in 1862, the story follows a young girl who stops eating but remains miraculously alive and well. English nurse Lib Wright is brought to a tiny village to observe eleven-year old Anna O’Donnell. Tourists and pilgrims mass to witness the girl who is said to have survived without food for months.

The opening shot of The Wonder immediately sets the dark tone of the movie quite well and sort of serves as a thesis statement of the film, the major things that really keep this film a float are the cast combined with the score. Florence Pugh once again absolutely nails it here, like in many of her other roles she truly dives into her performance and puts so much acting power into it. Which results in some very raw moments that really push the film to a darker direction, Kíla Lord Cassidy who is a newcomer also knocks it out of the park quite well, like Pugh her performance brings some rawness into the mix and really works well with the script. If you have seen a Sebastián Lelio (Gloria Bell, Disobedience, A Fantastic Woman and a few others) film before you know exactly what type of direction you are going to get here and that is not a bad thing at all. Something Lelio really excels at is telling very grounded stories that have a lot more themes then you would think and The Wonder is no exception. The score is very cleverly used especially when its used during moments where the plot really starts to tip upside down, it starts to feel like everything is falling apart in a metaphorical sense. The only main criticism is that the first act is a bit too slow and takes awhile to get going, the first act is by no means bad in anyway it’s just sort of left in the shadows of the rest movie due to just how much happens later on. Once you start to get what exactly is going on and really digest it all, it really starts to come together and create a very dark painting.

The Wonder is available on Netflix.

8/10 B+

See How They Run is a very cleverly written whodunnit film.

In 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered. When a world-weary inspector and an eager rookie constable take on the case, they find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the glamorously sordid world of underground theater, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.

See How They Run is the result when you take the feel and look of a Wes Anderson film and mix it in with the whodunnit it genre, to the movie’s credit it does a pretty solid job of doing exactly that. Although it might not be the most original idea and it does have a few cliches however the film works around that by excelling at almost everything else, for starters the cast is quite strong here particularly Saoirse Ronan who truly gives one of the most hilarious and entertaining performances of the year. Her comedic timing is truly spot on and her dialogue with Sam Rockwell is truly scene stealers, the film quite honestly belongs to Ronan as she really hits the ball hard with tons of film reference and her facial expressions that truly capture each scene. Sam Rockwell and the rest of the cast are quite great as well, although some of the side characters could have used a bit more screen time they are still entertaining and quite a lot of fun. As I said earlier the conversations between Rockwell and Ronan are truly some of the film’s highlights, there’s so much energy and a very strong comedic atmosphere that truly makes it all work. The dialogue is genuinely funny as well as investing the viewer into the mystery itself, overall See How They Run is a very fun film that any fan of the whodunnit genre should watch!

See How They Run is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+