The writing is original, rich, and effective, ramping up tension until it reaches a graphic, brutal crescendo in the third act.

While the sprawling storytelling can be disjointed at times, and some topics fall short of intrigue, “The Oldest Person in the World” offers several impactful moments to reflect meaningfully on aging. Green follows through on his compulsion and explores a fascinating subject with curiosity, while introducing us to an equally fascinating group of individuals from around the world.

There’s a century worth of experiences packed into this room to glean from, and nearly all of it is an enthralling exercise.

One of the most impactful documentaries in recent years.

Like the titular woman herself, the film from co-directors Judd Apatow and Neil Berkeley is equally hilarious and unafraid to be very, very real, beckoning viewers in like a close friend and rewarding them with laughs and profound insight.

The jokes are plentiful in quantity but certainly not in quality, and the shiny, cheap-looking filmmaking itself doesn’t make it any easier on the eyes than it is on the ears. And while it certainly has a heart, thanks in huge part to the talented ensemble of funny performers, it doesn’t have the brains or the nerve to be clever or daring in its comedy.

A handful of compelling sequences of physical action cannot save a narrative weighed down by a mundane plot, pedestrian characters, and an intolerably sluggish filmmaking style.

Stephanie Ahn offers an evocative portrait of the immigrant experience, moving beyond surface observation to investigate the visceral, internal world of children raised in the crosshairs of cultural expectation and personal identity.

The Shitheads is one hell of a ride, with nonstop laughs and absurd, shocking turns around every corner.

Rare are comedies this funny and this mature. Its rich themes hit home, especially for anyone in a long-term relationship.

Raimi’s efforts as director do a lot to bring out a campy tone amid the violence, which makes for an engaging ride. The commitment from McAdams and O’Brien goes a long way toward elevating their characters, and watching their changing dynamic unfold is intriguing. Yet these elements are fighting against a script that weighs down the other inventive aspects of the performances and filmmaking. The narrative is too broad and can’t sustain itself over this runtime.

The Wrecking Crew simply relegates itself to the walls of screensaver cinema, destined to be ambient background noise.

Those who yearn for a return to Brat Summer will find themselves happily bumpin’ that, but any viewers who feel nothing at the sight of the color tennis ball green would do well to pass.

Even with relatively minor quibbles, it’s hard not feel appreciation that a contemporary movie made in an uncompromised fashion about such a cinematically unpopular topic as sex exists at all. Hopefully, Araki doesn’t take another 12 years off and continues to probe into other areas of modern human interaction.

Wilson manages to weave in a nearly non-stop barrage of jokes into the 100-minute runtime, while still keeping the tone lowkey. Though the film starts to lose steam toward the end, feeling as though it might have struggled to fill the feature runtime, it never stops being funny.

It’s easy to identify the ingredients that would make “Bunny” fodder for a compelling situation. The characters, premise, and comedic setups are all there to drive up the tension while also crafting engaging set pieces to witness. Unfortunately, it all amounts to very little.

The film is full of vibrancy and joy, enveloping us in an energetic community of the arts.

Wasteman might be one of the bigger surprises this year at the Toronto International Film Festival and certainly one to keep your eyes on.

There’s certainly entertainment value in “Mercy,” especially in a late-film chase captured largely via dashcam, and in the film’s gamified version of criminal court, which has a video-game-like appeal. But with a concept so close to the real world, you need to engage with the ideas to connect with the audience beyond the surface, truly.

“Fiume o Morte!,” a reference to D’Annunzio’s slogan “Fiume or death!,” is a brilliant, subversive takedown of fascism, ruthless in its pushback against this embarrassing chapter.

Unidentified uses the familiar framework of a murder mystery to tell a deeply political story about autonomy, visibility, and the high cost of speaking up. Even when the plot stumbles, the message never does.

The Rip is serviceable largely due to the well-worn chemistry between Affleck and Damon. It delivers exactly what’s expected, leaving viewers mildly satisfied in the moment, but unlikely to think about it again long after the credits roll.

Holland conjures up some genuinely Kafkaesque images and dialogue exchanges that feel like exactly the biopic Kafka deserves, and in those moments, “Kafka” is quite thrilling. Unfortunately, though, Holland’s surfeit of ideas results in a film that simultaneously feels like too much and not enough; too much deviation from standard biopic formula and not enough connective tissue to make everything cohere.

Even with crafts that, at worst, could be described as serviceable, the narrative and performances are so captivating that they more than compensate.

Lacking focus in the writing and direction, the film ultimately falls short of crafting a satisfying journey for the viewer to follow.

Sure, the characters are paper-thin and do many things that defy all logic and common sense, but that’s part of the fun. Primate is bad in many of the ways you’d expect, but it’s better in many ways you won’t. It’s the best kind of January surprise.

A flimsy plot and uninteresting characters would be tolerable if the dramatic moments of intense destruction were more intriguing. Instead, the palette is wholly bland and lifeless, unsupported by the framework of the storytelling and performances. A handful of impressive scenes come nowhere close to saving this picture. It’s disappointing that one of the most unexpectedly entertaining films of the last few years has led to a banal, forgettable project.

Zak Hilditch has crafted a harrowing, unsettling zombie movie that totally enmeshes the audience in its collapsing world.