Jane’s world: fans and admirers pick their favourite Austen characters

Helen Fielding, David Baddiel, Nicola Sturgeon and other cultural figures celebrate the great writer’s 250th birthday

Hot Milk review – Fiona Shaw a fierce fly in simmering erotic soup

A cantankerous Shaw undercuts her daughter’s summer sexual awakening in this interestingly elusive adaptation of Deborah Levy’s novel

The Guardian view on film awards: and the winner is…

Editorial: Getting rid of separate best actor and best actress categories is not the answer to lack of diversity in the industry

I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron audiobook review – bold truth-telling

Growing older, culinary mishaps and meeting JFK are among the subjects in this fiercely funny collection of essays, narrated by the author

Sidelined: The QB and Me review – hot cheerleader meets star quarterback movie is streaming-age bubblegum

Slickly made high-school movie is packed with slow-motion corridor walks and flawless cheer-squad routines – but it’s hard to get caught up in a plot with so few surprises

The Stepford Wives at 50: a compelling idea in search of a better movie

The 1975 adaptation of Ira Levin’s influential sci-fi thriller has its share of unnerving moments but its brainwashed housewives concept is still in search of a better vehicle

The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep review – gore flows in bloody animated mer-western

Lovejoyish dude with magical powers wanders into a seaside kingdom where merpeople and regular humans are at loggerheads

Cottontail review – life lessons are learnt in tender, Beatrix Potter-inspired tale

A Japanese man journeys to the Lake District to honour his late wife, testing his relationship with his son in the process

‘They were trying to do 200 different poses during power cuts’: Bridget Jones director takes on The Joy of Sex

In the 1970s a ‘nude biologist brandishing a cigar’ wrote a game-changing sex manual. Now, ‘Shazza’ is putting his story on the big screen

On my radar: Sharon Van Etten’s cultural highlights

The US singer-songwriter on the Cure, The Bear, neighbourhood restaurants and spiritual solace

‘Pre-sales are bigger than Barbie’: Bridget Jones 4 set to break box office records – despite no US cinema release

The fourth instalment, Mad About the Boy, on course to become biggest homegrown hit of the year in the UK, but will only be available on streamers stateside

Joan Lindsay by Brenda Niall review – a poignant biography of the Picnic at Hanging Rock author

Lindsay was 71 when her gothic classic was published. A new book unearths the winding, often thwarted creative endeavours of her life – and delights in her late success

Dog Man review – goofy gags galore as the Franken-pooch takes on a fiendish feline

Dav Pilkey’s canine supercop creation is upstaged by the world’s most evilest cat in this energetic animated feature

Bridget Jones is a welcome reminder of a much more comfortable era

She worried about her drinking, smoking and weight – but there was never any doubt she would have a job and be able to pay her rent. It’s a very different world for gen Z, writes Zoe Williams

Once more unto the breeches: the 20 best Jane Austen TV dramas – ranked!

Colin Firth in a wet shirt! Elizabeth Bennet as a YouTuber! As the BBC marks the author’s 250th anniversary with four-parter Miss Austen, we pick her finest television outings