On Helen Mirren’s 80th birthday, Kate Stables hails her extraordinary 2006 metamorphosis into Queen Elizabeth II – “a human submarine with her emotions and personality largely submerged”.

More hidden gems, chosen by critics and filmmakers including Steven Soderbergh, Jane Schoenbrun and Asif Kapadia. Inside: B. Ruby Rich on Sorry, Baby, Peter Sellers at 100, Stephanie Rothman’s ...

The Congolese director blends a bit of Speed (1994) and Saw (2004) for a lightweight but exciting story of two unlucky Americans who wake up in Dakar with bombs strapped to their chests.

Tragedy draws successful German orchestra conductor Tom back to his complicated family in a bleak three-hour saga from Matthias Glasner that finds hope in the darkest of places.