Halloween Kills (2021):
What the latest entry into the Halloween Franchise lacks in invention, it makes up for somewhat in application. As the subtitle suggests, the "kills" really are the center of this film. Myers exhibits particularly gruesome brutality, which we can't deny might be a bit justified given the fact that the lead characters attempted to immolate him in the previous feature, which this film picks up immediately from. Halloween Kills has many good ideas going for it beyond the various home appliances that The Shape uses to inflict his carnage onto the trauma-ladened town of Haddonfield. It attempts to give us a deeper glimpse into Michael's psyche without over-explaining his motives in such a way that would dilute his ominous presence in Laurie Strode's life. It also brings back several key players from his first night of terror back in 1978, illustrated in some impressively competent flashbacks. These characters, along with Laurie's granddaughter, Allyson, encourage the citizens of Haddonfield to stand up against Michael and his blood-soaked fiascos. Watching Halloween Kills, one can't help but think of the country-wide community-centered protests that took hold in the summer of 2020 after the murder of George Floyd. Still, the film's ultimate message when it comes to forming a unified front against tyranny, be it systemic police brutality or a deranged serial killer, is murky at best. The film both applauds this form of vigilante justice and decries it in uneven sweeps throughout its runtime. It features a more diverse cast than its predecessors but only really uses them to add to the body count. Out of the four major speaking roles given to black characters, three are killed, and the sole black survivor plays no significant role in the plot other than to be a low-brow face for the other characters to scream at. The film predictability kills off the eldest survivor of Michael Myers, Marion Chambers, first because, well, that's what happens to older adults in horror movies. While Lindsay's chase scene is a moment of shock, simply because she survives it, a rarity when anyone but Laurie is up against Michael, she ends the film just as afraid of Michael as she was when she was a child, if not more so. Most of the characters simply don't arc, and if this wasn't a film with so much pre-established history, that wouldn't be such a problem, but it is. Halloween Kills ends up being more of a narrative bridge than a film, with its essential function being to allow The Shape to create even more vengeance in the heart of the ultimate Final Girl until their inevitable (final?) confrontation in Halloween Ends (2022) next year. It hints at depth but never uses its favorite kitchen knife to really carve it out as deeply as it could have.
No Time to Die (2021):
Daniel Craig's Bond era was never going to be an easy one to conclude. Unlike his predecessors, most of whom overstayed their welcomes in the Bondverse with less than stellar final outings, Craig and the entire 007 production team manage to craft a worthy conclusion to the 6th incarnation of this cinematic legend. Craig's portrayal of the British secret agent has progressively challenged many of the most famous archetypes we've come to associate with the character and franchise as a whole. Moneypenny no longer is a salivating secretary but a retired agent with a formidable wit that defuses his advances with effortless expertise. Q no longer just stands for Quartermaster, but queer as well. Madeleine Swann might not be the most memorable Bond Girl, but Lea Seydoux still succeeds in giving the interesting layers that allow her to rise above the sexist caricature that plagued actresses in the past who took the infamous title. The sole character that comes out of the film scathed is Safin, the film's villain who, through no fault of actor Rami Malek never sticks the way you'd like him to. This film has Bond wrestling so many personal demons the idea of adding a physical one almost seems like overkill, but then again, every Bond film needs someone planning to kill millions of people through elaborative means. Still, one can't help but wonder how potentially intriguing it would have been to have James go after a female villain for Craig's final outing. A female villain in the post-feminist Bond world that Craig and co have created would've undoubtedly been an alluring standout, toying with him in ways only a woman could, while Safin mostly just plays the same notes past villains have performed more resoundingly in previous instalments. He is more of an homage to the past in a film that hints at a more complex future for the decades-old yet still surviving franchise. When all is said and done, No Time to Die might not be as reinvigorating to the franchise as Casino Royale (2006) when helming this new chapter 15 years ago, but it is an indicator that Bond is adaptable and capable of living another day in the hearts and minds of viewers all around the world.
