Anya Taylor-Joy

The Menu Year: 2022 Rating: R Length: 107 minutes / 1.78 hours I want to chastise the advertisers of The Menu (2022) for making me almost miss this gem of a movie. I usually pass on horror films, so the ads for this one made me think that the “twist” would be something more like Soylent Green (1973). Instead, I was given the treat of a wildly dark comedy that plays off all the prestige and pompousness of foodies and high-concept restaurants. Sure, some moments are horrific during their brief appearances, but I would hardly put this movie in the horror category. The Menu has something to say and is actually quite funny about how it does it. What makes The Menu work is definitely because of the performances of its top-billed actors. Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Nicholas Hoult all act their hearts out, likely adding to how funny this satirical take on foodie culture ended up being. Almost as a bonus, this film...

Last Night in Soho Year: 2021 Rating: R Length: 116 minutes / 1.93 hours In the last five years, it's been interesting to see director Edgar Wright move further from the comedies that helped put his name on the cinematic map. Most know him for his British comedies like Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007), but stylistically I don't think you can go wrong with Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010). This kind of cinematography drew me to his more serious film, Baby Driver (2017), and the even more serious Last Night in Soho (2021). It is a little odd to see Wright step out from his comfort zone just because he's so good at comedic writing (having also written Ant-Man (2015)). While I liked the music-themed mayhem in Baby Driver, there wasn't much in Last Night in Soho that was artistically interesting. Sure, the whole mirror-image special effects were neat and occasionally a little mind-blowing, but the biggest problem with Last...

Tag: Anya Taylor-Joy

MOVIE: The Menu (2022)

MOVIE: Last Night in Soho (2021)