The Story of Documentary Film (The 1980s) review – Mark Cousins educates and intrigues once more

The film-maker and critic traces a decade of documentaries, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to Michael Moore, via Klaus Barbie and The Wombles

‘There’s excitement in the air’: how America fell back in love with indie cinemas

With unexpected programming and a community ethos, independent cinemas across the US are giving multiplexes a run for their money

Farewell to Jackass, the finest catalogue of male idiocy – it could only go on for so long

When I was 12, the antics of Knoxville, Steve-O and co were an invitation to jump out of trees. These days, I see something deeper in their refusal of filtered perfection, says writer Tom Usher

The Guide #250: All the US/UK cultural crossovers you may have missed but need to read about

A tour through the moments when American celebrities crossed the ocean and landed somewhere entirely unexpected

From Madonna to Minions & Monsters: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead

The begoggled yellow munchkins are indulging in a spot of time travel, and the queen of pop returns with a new album of pristine dancefloor bangers

Britain has so many stories. The reason we fund the arts together is so we can tell them

Dear England, Ink, Sherwood … I owe my career to publicly funded art. Never downplay it: it’s how we speak to each other, says author and playwright James Graham

Burning flags, busty blondes and bison skulls: 50 photographs that capture America at 250

From the gold rush to civil rights, the moon landing to 9/11, the US has always understood, mythologised and sold itself through the power of the still image

Supergirl is a box office catastrophe. How can Marvel and DC save the superhero movie?

Cinematic universes rely on audiences investing in minor characters – but as that interest wanes, it may be up to the big guns to keep the genre afloat

Yours for just £228: a Kevin Spacey stainless steel gold-tone Fourth of July ‘adversity ring’

For true patriots with short memories and cash to waste, his limited-edition bling might be an ideal gift

‘If you see one movie this year’: Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey set to storm the box office

The summer’s most anticipated film will raise epic questions about culture wars, classics and the nature of film-making

The making of Independence Day at 30: ‘I panicked and raced to set to rewrite’

The makers of the blockbusting sci-fi thriller reveal how they made a hit, why Kevin Spacey was almost involved and what went wrong with the sequel

Bugonia to Wicked: For Good – the seven best films to watch on TV this week

Emma Stone is a CEO-maybe-alien in Yorgos Lanthimos’s wild black comedy, and it’s the vibrant conclusion of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s Wizard of Oz tale. Plus: The Bodyguard!

‘I feel both thrilled and ruined by this’: Olivia Wilde and Edward Norton on making sex comedy The Invite

Their movie about marital bed death is this summer’s buzziest, funniest film. Its director and her co-star talk self-loathing, psychosexuality and unexpected eruptions

‘A female Minion would be the beginning of the end’: Pierre Coffin on creepy memes, decoding Minionese and farting bananas

The French animator, director and voice of those lurid yellow assistants to the despicable answers your questions

Calendar Girls: The Musical review – heartfelt and hilarious, with nimbly handled nudity

This celebratory show by Tim Firth and Gary Barlow delivers emotional openness alongside cracking jokes