Remove ability to access certain admin menus

I figured it out in the end and this is the code I used:

function restrict_menus() {
    $author = wp_get_current_user();

    if( isset( $author->roles[0] ) ) { 
        $current_role = $author->roles[0];
    } else {
        $current_role="no_role";
    }

    if( 'contributor' == $current_role ) {  
        $screen = get_current_screen();
        $base   = $screen->id;


        if( 'edit-post' == $base || 'upload' == $base || 'tools' == $base || 'edit-comments' == $base ) {
            wp_die( 'Cheatin’ uh?' );
        }
    }
}
add_action( 'current_screen', 'restrict_menus' );