Looking for a film to lose yourself in for a couple of hours? In this month’s wrap of what’s showing on the big and medium screens, there are star-studded laughs in the follow-up to 2019’s Knives Out with an impeccably dressed former James Bond and ludicrous collective of “disrupters”. There’s cannibalistic romance starring Timothée Chalamet that sees the “art-throb” join filmmaker Luca Guadagnino for the first time since Call Me by Your Name. And the journalism that broke the Harvey Weinstein scandal is given the straitlaced Hollywood treatment with pleasing, hard-hitting effect.

Here’s what we’re watching right now.

For deliciously dark comedy: The Menu
“We harvest. We ferment. We gel,” says one of the stern-faced workers at fine-dining restaurant Hawthorne, found on an exclusive island, in Mark Mylod’s grisly comedy The Menu. It’s one of many moments in the film where we laugh/cringe at the way we’ve become “foodies” in recent times. The darkly comic story follows chef Julian Slowik (played beautifully by Ralph Fiennes) who has invited a group of 12 guests, at $1250 a head, to come dine at Hawthorne for what will be the pinnacle degustation of his career. The guest list includes fanboy foodie Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) and his sceptical date Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy), a table of finance bros, a hyper-critical food writer and her editor, a semi-famous actor and his assistant, an older wealthy couple, and, inexplicably, the chef’s mother. As each dish is served, we learn more about why the diners are here – and their gruesome fates. It’s less of a thriller than the trailer suggests, but the satire is as sharp as a chef’s knife. The dish introductions in particular are exceptional comic relief. It’s written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, who, along with director Mylod, have worked on HBO’s Succession.
In cinemas now.

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For a moving recap of #MeToo: She Said
The 2015 film Spotlight is possibly one of the best depictions of the power of investigative journalism, but Maria Schrader’s take on the beginnings of the #MeToo movement – through the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times story that exposed Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault crimes and Miramax’s victim pay-offs – is high up there as a compelling tribute to the good that can come from traditional reporting. Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan portray dedicated reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who doorknock and cold-call people who worked with the Hollywood producer, convincing them to tell their stories. The film focuses on the work of the reporters more than the disturbing stories that drive them, but when it does depict the horrible experiences women endured at the hands of Weinstein, it does so delicately. It’s an engrossing, moving film with a convincing cast, including Patricia Clarkson as the New York Times assistant managing editor Rebecca Corbett, Samantha Morton as former Miramax employee Zelda Perkins and Andre Braugher as executive editor Dean Baquet. There are a couple of people who play themselves too – including Ashley Judd – which brings a certain gravitas to the film. Brad Pitt, one of the film’s producers, also makes an appearance. See it for Mulligan and Kazan’s star performances.
In cinemas now.

For gory romance: Bones and All
We all just want to be loved for who we are, don’t we? Luca Guadagnino’s latest film, a romance between two young cannibals, brings together Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell in a mesmerising love story that’s not as gruesome as its title suggests. It’s the first time Guadagnino and Chalamet have worked together since Call Me by Your Name, and it’s hard not to think of that film’s co-star Armie Hammer, who has been accused of sexual assault, and cannibalistic fetishism. But real-life allegations aside, Bones and All is an enchanting road movie set in 1980s America about a couple of outsiders who find love and acceptance together. It’s an adaptation of the young-adult novel Bones & All by Camille DeAngelis, and as Guadagnino has said in various interviews, “Camille DeAngelis is a vegan” – indicating an allegorical structure underneath the film’s premise, that addresses consumption and destruction. Chalamet and Russell’s chemistry is what makes this film a must-see. It won the Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival this year.
In cinemas now.

For laughs and cravats: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
If what you loved about 2019’s Knives Out was the roster of A-listers playing outlandish, dysfunctional family members caught up in a single location at the time of a mysterious death, then the follow-up film from writer-director-producer Rian Johnson is just as entertaining. Daniel Craig reprises his role as dapper detective Benoit Blanc (with his silky Southern drawl and penchant for a necktie). Blanc is itching for a real case to investigate, as he says sitting in his bath playing online games with a screen of celebrities. What we’re given in Glass Onion is not just a case, but a glamorous location – a Greek island – and a gamut of “disrupters”, including Twitch-famous Duke (Dave Bautista), prickly politician Claire (Kathryn Hahn), model-turned-business-owner Birdie (Kate Hudson), mastermind start-up founder (Janelle Monáe) and her ex-partner, billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton). It’s a film packed with puzzles – and plot holes – which don’t ask much of the audience except to savour the humour. See it for entertaining parallels to our real-life celebrity culture. Elon Musk? Surely not.
In cinemas now. Stream on Netflix from December 23.

For suspending disbelief: The Wonder
In an unexpected intro, The Wonder opens with a fourth-wall-breaking film set inviting the audience to believe in the upcoming story – at the same time breaking the illusion that we’re about to be thrust into 1862 Ireland in the aftermath of devastating famine. It’s filmmaker Sebastián Lelio’s way of fine-tuning the audience into questioning what we accept and why – whether it’s in a spiritual sense or in the stories we tell ourselves. What follows is the story of an English nurse called Lib (Florence Pugh) who’s been tasked with caring for a young girl (Kíla Lord Cassidy) who hasn’t eaten for four months. It’s shot like a thriller, with a gloomy outlook, and, as always, Pugh has a scene-stealing presence.
In cinemas and on Netflix now.

For twisted tales: Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities
Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water) is very, very good at telling twisted fairytales. In this eight-part anthology, the director has written two episodes and assembled a crew of directors to taunt us with six more mini horror movies – all coming in under an hour – that feature creepy, magical and sinister characters. One of the episodes, The Murmuring, is directed by Australian Jennifer Kent (The Babadook, The Nightingale) which tells the story of a couple of ornithologists who move into a remote haunted house. Whether it’s grave-robbing, unspeakable creatures or unnerving shapeshifting, the stories in each episode are curiously spooky in their own way, and del Toro’s signature magic keeps us coming back for another leap down the rabbit hole. It’s one you can dip into week after week for a night of fantastical storytelling.
Stream on Netflix now.