Paul Andrew Willams’ “Bull,” a world premiere from this year’s Fantasia, is not just about a guy who is particularly monstrous and violent in his pursuit for blood-gushing revenge. The movie itself is snarling, cold as ice, and fully set in its ways. Watching it is the experience of understanding an entire head space, of…

In the documentary “Searching for Mr. Rugoff,” filmmaker Ira Deutchman offers a compelling biographical portrait of a highly influential New York movie theater owner and independent film distributor that is, by extension, a study of the importance and complexities of creative film marketing. Yet in a broader sense, the film also delivers a fascinating and…

The plot of Anne Fontaine’s “White as Snow” is indistinguishable from that of old-school porn flicks that based their scripts on fairy tales because the stories were in the public domain and the jokes wrote themselves. It has solid performances by an eccentric ensemble cast, charming moments of banter, and sex scenes that seem shockingly frank by American…

“Beckett” wants to be one of those paranoid thrillers from the 1970s, where the hero finds himself in an untenable situation surrounded by those he cannot trust. Films like “The Parallax View” and “Three Days of the Condor” immediately spring to mind as examples. If you value your time, you’ll go for one of those…

The Taiwanese drama “Days” is the sort of ethereal arthouse collage some critics will dismiss as a museum installation in movie drag. Believe me, I get it: “Days” doesn’t have a linear narrative or subtitled dialogue. Instead, it has a slow rhythm and a subdued aesthetic that only an arthouse devotee could love. To enjoy…

The Aretha Franklin biopic, “Respect” ends with footage of the real Queen of Soul bringing down the house at the Kennedy Center Honors tribute to Carole King. Re plays the piano and sings “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” the composition King co-wrote. At the climax of this performance, Re tosses her fur…