Similar layers exist throughout the 10-episode saga. “The Underground Railroad” employs aspects from traditional slave narratives, including sadistic torture and villainy, but it builds off these graphic scenes instead of making them the focus. (The second episode feels like it’s calling out past movies and shows that defined Black characters primarily through pain, as white curators at a museum ostensibly founded to honor African American history emphasize cruelty over curiosity.) Later chapters also prove remarkable in their tenderness, as Jenkins’ trademark patience behind the camera builds romance and passion with powerful precision, establishing unique individual identities while fleshing out each subject, no matter how many scenes they get....

Leading that charge is Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Prods., the prolific banner behind some of the most successful horror franchises of the last decade, including “Paranormal Activity” and “The Purge” as well as “Get Out” and “Us.” But in its rapid expansion, Blumhouse is in danger of becoming the Ryan Murphy of horror: Commercial, vaguely political, and mostly average. Blumhouse’s new slasher “They/Them” (the slash is pronounced) turns the very real horror of gay conversion therapy into a bloody nightmare....

In a new Substack interview with Matt Taibbi, Tim Robbins expressed his concerns that too much pandemic-related caution could ultimately make the arts less accessible. The “Shawshank Redemption” star explained that the Actors Gang Theatre, a Los Angeles theatre company where he serves as artistic director, made the decision to postpone its reopening in 2021 because he did not want to enforce a vaccine mandate for audience members. “We were capable of opening last September, but there were still all of these restrictions,” Robinson said of the vaccine mandates in California....

As reported by Variety: “With a planned 10th and 11th film in the works, [director Justin] Lin says he and Diesel have been plotting future storylines for years, but admits that ‘We’ve been talking a lot about Mrs. Toretto, from the very beginning of [me] coming back for ‘F9’. So, I feel like there’s gonna be a time and place to be able to reveal that.’ Diesel confirmed the storyline discussion, saying that the plot point has ‘come up in so many story meetings for ‘Fast 10....

Showtime will officially begin streaming “The Chi” Season 4 finale at midnight on Sunday. If you’re not already subscribed to the cable network, there’s still time to join so that you can watch the finale for free. Jacob Latimore, Yolanda Ross, Michael V. Epps, Alex R. Hibbert, Shamon Brown Jr., and Luke James star in Lena Waithe’s drama series exploring life on the South Side of Chicago. Whether you’re new to “The Chi,” or catching up on older episodes, Showtime gives you unlimited streaming access and you won’t pay a dime for the first month....

Ulysses Bloodstone, a renowned monster hunter, has passed and his widow has summoned the best monster hunters from all over to pay their respects. Among them is Jack Russell (Gael García Bernal) and Ulysses’ estranged daughter Elsa (Laura Donnelly). The animated corpse of Ulysses reveals the crew is actually there to fight for the role of the ruby-red bloodstone’s new owner, a birthright that Elsa has come back to claim. In order to do so, the gang of killers must retrieve the bloodstone from the back of a monster lurking in the castle garden which is conveniently littered with various weapons....

“Given the current situation, we have no plans to add these channels to our service,” a Netflix spokesperson told IndieWire. As of February 28, the Russian media law has not gone into effect yet. Published at 1:50 p.m. ET: Netflix will be subject to new broadcast regulations in Russia starting March 1, following the streaming platform being added to the “audiovisual services” overseen by Russia’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor in 2021. The register applies to streaming services available in Russia with at least 100,000 daily users....