A team of sports broadcasters pulled into a life-or-death hostage crisis. A fast-livin’ Brit singer portrayed as a chimp. An actor who’s a devoted malcontent who lashes out at everyone she meets.

They are a few of the intriguing characters (and one simian) you’ll meet this week on movie screens. Here’s why you should make their acquaintance.

“September 5”: At a time when it seems meatier cinematic fare is obligated to weigh in at more than two hours, there’s something most welcome about director Tim Fehlbaum’s expedient and altogether terrific 95-minute pulse-pounder. He and co-screenwriters Moritz S. Binder and Alex David’s thriller puts us dead center into the sweat-inducing control booth as ABC Sports producers and crew members scramble to cover the deadly Munich Summer Olympics that one fateful day in 1972. This ticking time-bomb account confines itself (mostly) to the inner sanctum of that harried TV newsroom where a hot-shot newbie producer Geoff (John Magaro from “Past Lives”) guides the coverage and makes both good and bad calls in the shocking aftermath of Israeli athletes getting taken hostage.

The ensuing chaos spins way out of control, making it hard to ascertain what is truth and what is fiction. Impactful decisions get hashed over quickly about how to update and convey the latest details responsibly and accurately to viewers, and It makes for an unbearably suspenseful experience. “September 5” is seamless throughout with precise editing by Hansjörg Weißbrich and powerful acting by Magaro, Peter Sarsgaard as TV honcho Roone Arledge, and Leonie Benesch as an extra-sharp German interpreter. It also gets all the production details right, from the clunky cameras to the wardrobe styles and frantic arrangement of alphabet tiles to use as descriptors on screen. It’s a gripping historical account from start to finish. Details: 3½ stars out of 4; in theaters Jan. 10.

“Better Man”: The monkey’s out of the bag, so to speak. Paramount Pictures now fully embraces the central conceit of “The Greatest Showman” director Michael Gracey’s biopic on British rock star/bad boy Robbie Williams – that a CGI chimp portrays him. While I’m still not convinced that is indeed the best route to take, I am wholeheartedly in love with this energetic, anything-goes musical about his life and troubles. Gracey entertains the hell out of us throughout this cold-water-to-the-face honest overview of Williams skyrocketing ascension to stardom (an aspiration instilled in him by his absentee showman-like father, played robustly by Steve Pemberton) in the boy-band Take That and on to his drug-fueled rants and escapades, his elusive loves, his dustups with other artists and his solo career. “Better Man” stocks itself fully with priceless, surprisingly tender moments along with numerous telling concert scenes (the Take That re-creations are outstanding, one sequence using Willams’ “Angels” will make you misty-eyed) and – best of all – a grand, show stopping number set around “Rock DJ” that sprawls out all over London’s Regent Street and will go down as one of the most effervescent, toe-tapping sequences in any film this past decade. Gracey saves the most emotional moment for the last with Willams tapping back into his  Sinatra  side, one he never wanted to let go of. It, like the rest of the film, is packed with feeling in a film that  highlights the dexterity and impressiveness of the actor behind the computerized monkey suit – Jonno Davies. His is a fleet-footed feat of physical and emotional acting, and the 32-year-old English actor – much in the same manner that Andy Serikis did playing Caesar in “War for the Planet of the Apes” – manages to bring us to tears and to care about the person inside. Details: 3½ stars; in theaters Jan. 10.

“Last Showgirl”: In “The Last Showgirl,” Pamela Anderson’s insightful but unflashy performance as Shelly, a veteran Las Vegas performer in the twilight of her career, never hits one phony note. The old-school Razzle Dazzle Show, to which Shelly has devoted herself for 30 years, to is slated to close and her future in the biz looks doubtful due to her age. Director Gia Coppola’s film, based on a sturdy screenplay from  Kate Gersten, is a somber, character-driven drama that offers Anderson a meaty role that she savors and masters in every scene — her performance is most certainly worth awards notice.

Shelly has seen it all and sacrificed a lot; but she’s also done things her own way, leading to criticism from those around her, including a college-age daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd) who comes home for awkward visits, and stage manager Eddie (Dave Bautista, proving again he has dramatic range) who has a past with Shelly. The best scenes focus on the close-knit band of female performers who form a family of their own since, often, their “blood” families don’t want anything to do with them. Shelly’s become the adopted den mother for all, even her overly bronzed cocktail waitress bestie Annette (Jaime Lee Curtis, in another unforgettable performance) who’s always struggling with finances. “The Last Showgirl” pulls back the curtain on the sexism and ageism that these women encounter but also shows on the resiliency and fighting spirit that helps them stay true to who they are. Details: 3 stars; opens Jan. 9 in theaters.

“Hard Truths”: If you had the terrible misfortune to run into Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste in a performance of staggering cobra-like artistry), the venomous lead character in another of Mike Leigh’s excellent character studies, on a daily basis you might want to sprint like Olympiad Noah Lyles to avoid her. The married, scaldingly acidic Londoner bully spews hate wherever she goes and berates all she encounters: her dentist, her cowering, bullied, bear-sized son Moses (Tuwaine Barrett), even her hard-working punching bag of a husband Curtley (David Webber). Everyone within her radius bears the germophobe’s wrath with the only one who can occasionally pierce through her bilious anger being her upbeat hair-stylist sister Chantal (Michelle Austin), a mother of two vibrant daughters. Chantal understands the reasons why Pansy lashes out and refuses to ever allow herself the chance to see the beauty that exists all around her. Leigh’s acutely aware human drama shapes itself around Jean-Baptiste’s and Austin’s tremendous performances, offering the ying to the yang and it is that we so willingly follow along, seeing just how tragic a figure Pansy is and just how compassionate Chantal is. It’s a credit to both actors for pulling this off since the 81-year-old Leigh allows his cast to create their characters, interactions and situations in a long round of rehearsals. The unorthodox process continues to produce real and raw character studies and “Hard Truths” exists on the same top shelf as his best efforts, “Naked,” “Secrets & Lies,” “Happy-Go-Lucky,” and “Another Year.” It’s certainly a tour-de-force triumph for Jean-Baptiste who is on fire in every scene and gives a fearless performance that is one for the ages. Details: 3½ stars; in theaters Jan. 10.

“The Room Next Door”: Director Pedro Almodovar abandons the sexy  to become very solemn and serious about mortality for his wandersome, oddly stilted first feature in English, an adaptation of Sigrid Nunez’s acclaimed novel “What Are You Going Through.” Almodovar’s version centers on the reunion of two female writers – war journalist Martha (Tilda Swinton) and novelist Ingrid (Julianne Moore). The former friends reconnect just as Martha receives a devastating health diagnosis, that her cancer is terminal. She doesn’t want to die alone, and after sharing sometimes meandering stories from the past  and some laughs, Martha asks Ingrid  to come with her in upstate New York to stay in an architect’s dream house. It is there that she asks Ingrid for a huge favor. While many of the Almadovar trademarks are present – the splashes of colors, the rich visuals and strong female characters – “The Room Next Door” feels rather hollow, an odd occurrence given it’s dealing with reconciling with the fact of imminent death and that it stars two of our greatest actors. But even their performances seem distant and removed in a film of occasional beauty that just doesn’t emotionally, and sadly, connect in the end. Details: 2 stars; in theaters Jan. 10.

Contact Randy Myers at [email protected].