What to watch this weekend: Horror sequel 'Halloween Kills,' A-list period drama 'The Last Duel'
James Bond should avoid being around any and all cutlery: Michael Myers is back and he's ready for a bloody killing spree at the box office and on streaming.
This weekend, Jamie Lee Curtis takes on the masked maniac once again in a new "Halloween" sequel, Matt Damon and Adam Driver clash as medieval rivals in a 14th-century action thriller, Leslie Odom Jr. and Cynthia Erivo star as soulmates in a time-travel romance, and Todd Haynes ("Carol") directs a documentary about influential rock band The Velvet Underground.
Here's a guide to new movies that'll satisfy every cinematic taste:
Review: 'Halloween Kills' is a step back for Jamie Lee Curtis' stab-happy horror franchise
If Michael Myers is your No. 1 horror guy: 'Halloween Kills'
That iconic silent psycho returns to plague Haddonfield yet again in the followup to 2018's hit "Halloween." Michael escaped a fiery trap and is on the loose, the townsfolk form a vigilante mob to kill him once and for all, and Laurie Strode (Curtis) has a nasty stab wound and some other chaos to deal with at the local hospital. Splitting enemies Laurie and Michael into different subplots leads to an unfocused, so-so sequel, though a bloody finale successfully delivers an emotionally charged cliffhanger.
Where to watch: In theaters and on Peacock
Ranked: All of the 'Halloween' movies (including the new sequel 'Halloween Kills')
If you want to see a pair of egotistical medieval A-list bros: 'The Last Duel'
Director Ridley Scott's ambitious 14th-century action drama features a narcissistic, battle-hardened French knight (Damon), an arrogant squire (Driver) and the knight's wife (Jodi Comer) – who accuses the squire of rape – in a sordid tale told through each character's perspective. It's an interesting storytelling device used in a film that misses its socially conscious mark, though it's a brutally violent and well-acted affair, with Comer impressing the most as a woman who puts her life in danger to air her truth.
Where to watch: In theaters
Review: 'The Last Duel' is dude-filled drama that doesn't do enough with its female perspective
If you need a different kind of time-travel movie: 'Needle in a Timestack'
In the near future, where rich people can afford to go back and change things in the past, Nick (Odom) fights to be with his wife Janine (Erivo) when her wealthy ex (Orlando Bloom) causes a time shift that blows up their lives and creates a new timeline where Nick's instead married to his college girlfriend (Freida Pinto). While a little wonky with its time-travel logic and quite sentimental, writer/director John Ridley's romance at least offers a thought-provoking premise to explore love and destiny in a compelling way.
Where to watch: In theaters and on Apple TV, Vudu, Google Play
Cynthia Erivo: Emmy nominee for playing Aretha Franklin releases a stellar debut album
If you live for legendary Swedish director Ingmar Bergman: 'Bergman Island'
Cinephiles will get a kick out of Mia Hansen-Løve's quietly introspective drama with an intriguing meta-narrative. Vicky Krieps and Tim Roth star as a filmmaking couple who visit the island of Fårö, where Bergman shot his famous projects, for work and pleasure. Each in different places of creativity and fame, the pair slowly go their own way as the story weaves in a movie-within-a-movie where a young director (Mia Wasikowska) attends a wedding, dances to ABBA and reconnects with her first love (Anders Danielsen Lie).
Where to watch: In theaters
If you dig unconventional rock docs: 'The Velvet Underground'
The Velvet Underground wasn't your normal musical outfit so why should it spawn a normal movie? Haynes uses archival footage, interviews with band members and relatives plus a really neat split-screen technique to dig into the 1960s/’70s origins of the New York group. The documentary gets music-nerd heady dealing with its melding of rock, classical and the avant-garde, and everything involving volatile frontman Lou Reed is fascinating, especially his turbulent relationship with the band's manager, Andy Warhol.
Where to watch: Apple TV+
'The Velvet Underground': Director Todd Haynes 'would have given anything' to have Lou Reed be part of new doc
If you're all about creepy kid movies: 'Fever Dream'
There's a dark and otherworldly nature to this intimate little Spanish-language thriller, told through an unseen conversation between an overprotective mother named Amanda (María Valverde) and strange neighbor boy David (Marcelo Michinaux). Their voiceovers unfold a mystery with environmental and spiritual underpinnings that center around Amanda's family getaway with her daughter in Argentina and their relationship with David's mercurial mom (Dolores Fonzi).
Where to watch: Netflix
If you enjoy possession films with a little extra: 'The Medium'
In the Asian shockumentary, a Thai camera crew follows Nim, a local shaman (Sawanee Utoomma) who was the latest in her family to be a vessel for a healing spirit named Ba Yan. Visiting her estranged clan, Nim notices her niece Mink (Narilya Gulmongkolpech) is exhibiting the weird behaviors of becoming a shaman though begins to worry she's actually harboring an evil presence. It's a supernatural slow burn with "Paranormal Activity" and "Blair Witch" vibes as it grows disturbingly more bonkers.
Where to watch: Shudder
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Halloween Kills,' 'The Last Duel': New movies streaming, in theaters