In brief: Banal Nightmare; Feeding the Monster; Burning Angel and Other Stories – review

Midlife millennial angst abounds in Halle Butler’s sardonic novel, while Anna Bogutskaya bites into our love of horror films, and Lawrence Osborne spans the globe with gripping tales

On my radar: Evie Wyld’s cultural highlights

The author on a musical tribute to Andy Warhol, the book that made her swear out loud, and an exciting new restaurant in Peckham

The Guide #149: Is Deadpool & Wolverine a symptom or cure to Marvel’s multiversal malady?

Marvel, DC and others try everything from standalone films to sequels stuffed with stars. But could genre experimentation be the trick that keeps the action going – and audiences watching?

I’ve been thinking about life after death – and I want to come back as Keanu Reeves

He’s got looks, talent and money … but is also generous and modest. Who could ask for more?

Rampant slaughter! Sexy armour! Tiger maulings! We bust the gladiator myths

As swords and sandals make a bloody return to the screen, the ‘Colosseum consultant’ who advises all the epic productions about accuracy tells us why he is ‘paid to be ignored’

‘I wanted to do pulpy, hyper-violent action’: Keanu Reeves on his novel with China Miéville and the afterlife of The Matrix

What happens when a Hollywood actor and SF author join forces on a novel? The pair talk about their literary bromance – and their quest to turn Reeves’s comic book series into something deeper

Hillbilly Elegy: what can the book and movie tell us about JD Vance?

The bestselling book and its poorly reviewed adaptation provide clues to who Donald Trump’s new running mate really is and how he sees himself

Forrest Gump review – Tom Hanks’ chocolate box hero still gets under your skin

Robert Zemeckis’s re-released fantasy is entirely ridiculous, hokey-sentimental and politically naive, but it’s superbly paced and expertly acted

The Paddington Bear Experience review – the Marmalade Day jamboree must go on!

Visitors get stuck in when they enter the world of 32 Windsor Gardens, thanks to a merry immersive show boasting hands-on games and evocative design touches

Credit at last for female screenwriter airbrushed from Hollywood history

Despite her activism during the golden age of cinema, Mary C McCall Jr was all but forgotten. Now a new book is about to set the record straight

The Fifth Seal review – a spiky political cabaret of cruelty and fear

Zoltán Fábri’s 1976 film follows military veteran Karoly in wartime Hungary as he asks fellow drinkers in a bar what they would choose: be the slave master or the slave

‘My flash kept blinding everyone on the dancefloor’: Elaine Constantine on capturing 90s northern soul all-nighters

The UK photographer took these powerful shots of northern soul nights 30 years ago. Now collected in a new book and exhibition, they offer an intimate glimpse of a peculiarly British subculture

Orlando, My Political Biography review – inventive spin on Virginia Woolf’s novel

Trans director Paul B Preciado uses Woolf’s classic text as a literary exploration and an intimate personal journey to powerful effect

The Imaginary review – charming anime about made-up best friends from former Ghibli protege

Spirited Away animator Yoshiyuki Momose takes the reins in this dreamy and dark family fable, adapted from AF Harrold’s novel of the same name

The Guardian view on the power of brevity in the arts: an antidote to the blather of politics

Editorial: From the Marx Brothers to Albert Camus and Claire Keegan, concise storytelling can get to the heart of the matter