In some respects, “Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon” — Ana Lily Amirpour’s latest feature, premiering at this year’s Venice Film Festival — could be called a return to form, or at least a return to the tropes and visual tendencies the Iranian-American director showed in her promising 2014 debut, “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.” After Amirpour’s disastrous collaboration with Netflix in “The Bad Batch,” “Mona Lisa” feels like a movie that is of a kind with her initial preoccupations....

But a new promotion set to run on Labor Day weekend is hoping to change that pattern. Or, at least, minimize the damage. The Cinema Foundation, a non-profit arm of the National Association of Theater Owners, has announced that the inaugural “National Cinema Day” will take place on Saturday, September 3. Movie theaters across the country will offer $3 tickets to all movies in what’s being billed as a celebration of in-person movie attendance....

While the first season appeared to close that loop, Season 2 restarts the insanity — with a twist I dare not mention here. Some may balk at extending a series that’s already found an ideal closing point, but given how long it’s taken for new episodes to come about, as well as the talent involved in front and behind the camera, “Russian Doll” seems poised to prove it’s a circle worth extending....

Netflix’s original film slate might be packed with all manner of auteur-driven features, especially as we continue to lumber through awards season, but tucked inside offerings that includes everything from new films from Jane Campion, first-time efforts from Lin-Manuel Miranda and Rebecca Hall, and yet another small screen blockbuster in the form of “Red Notice,” the streamer has also carved out a stellar assortment of content for kids. Related ‘1899’ Canceled By Netflix After One Season ‘Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story’ Sneak Peek: Adjoa Andoh’s Lady Danbury Origin Story Is Revealed Related Martin Scorsese’s Favorite Movies: 53 Films the Director Wants You to See Guillermo del Toro’s Favorite Movies: 45 Films the Director Wants You to SeeAlongside recent live-action movies for slightly older viewers, like rom-com series “To All The Boys” and “The Kissing Booth” or the sweet dramedy “Finding O’Hana,” Netflix isn’t content to let a whole patch of the population live without their own Netflix Originals....

While Jordan Peele has fast become one of the most relevant and profitable of modern American filmmakers, “Nope” is the first time that he’s been afforded a budget fit for a true blockbuster spectacle, and that’s exactly what he’s created with it. But if this smart, muscular, and massively entertaining flying saucer freak-out is such an old school delight that it starts with a shout-out to early cinema pioneer Eadweard Muybridge (before paying homage to more direct influences like “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”), it’s also a thoroughly modern popcorn movie for and about viewers who’ve been inundated with — and addicted to — 21st century visions of real-life terror....

Audiences — or at least the heads of programming —seemingly can’t get enough stories about terrible places to work. But the comedies are also probing deeper into work culture, and the ways in which it bleeds into personal lives. “Mythic Quest” investigates the company behind a successful multi-player game, digging into the thorny issue of mentorship amid the laughs in a way “30 Rock” never quite did. On fellow Apple TV+ series “Severance,” employees at Lumen agree to have a chip implanted in their brains that keep their work and personal lives completely separate....

“We’re going to start November 9,” Jason Bateman said in an interview with IndieWire. “Everything is moving well toward that, and we’re very confident in the guidelines and protocols we’re going to be following. We’ve got tons of consultants, [and] we’re learning a lot from other productions.” Netflix first announced plans for “Ozark” Season 4 when the streaming giant renewed its hit drama at the end of June. Produced by MRC, the final season will consist of 14 episodes, which Netflix will release in two, seven-episode parts....