If “Elemental” doesn’t quite have the nuance to sell its allegorical, socially-conscious storytelling, it makes up for it with earnestness and playful humor.

If characters have become so self-aware that they can analyze their own canon (with the help of a sentient algorithm, no less), then is it even a story anymore, or are we just running a simulation?

Jay Baruchel makes Mike Lazaridis torturously self-censoring, as though aware that his technical genius is no substitute for common sense; I’m reminded of the old adage, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.”

Kelly Fremon Craig’s direction of the excellent cast brings to life the many oddities among them, lending the whole affair the feeling of a boisterous family reunion.

If part of Mario’s charm has always been that a mustachioed, potbellied plumber makes for an unlikely hero, then “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” with its $100 million budget and its A-list cast, boasts a different kind of charm, but a convincing charm nevertheless.

There’s little bloodshed or violence, but the saboteurs’ mission is as tense and taut as any thriller with a high body count.

The movie requires no prior knowledge of the namesake game, but its breathless pacing demands focus, like something improvised by an enthusiastic child with a short attention span.

“It’s a Moebius strip,” Cameron’s aging, Alzheimer’s-stricken father says, holding up a flimsy strip of paper, but he could just as well be describing the movie’s narrative arc.

What begins as a harmless, if mediocre, comedy about aging gal pals going on some light adventures is brought to an agonizing nadir in Tom Brady’s presence. Seven Super Bowl rings do not a movie star make.

Why pay full price for a name-brand movie when you could see “Plane” instead?