In Theaters

A quick look at films opening in theaters this week.

Bernie
(Millennium); Directed by Richard Linklater

Jack Black stars in an oddball true-crime story about a Texas mortician who woos and kills the crabbiest, richest old lady in town (Shirley MacLaine). “Jack Black is worth the price of admission,” wrote THR‘s Todd McCarthy from the L.A. Film Festival. The too-mild-mannered film is “an opportunity for Black to sink his teeth into a role unlike any he’s ever played.”

Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale
(China Lion); Directed by Wei Te-Sheng

The true story of Taiwan’s aboriginal people almost wiped out by the Japanese is “stunning to look at, authentic to a fault and a little tedious to follow,” wrote Deborah Young from Venice.

Sound of My Voice 
(Fox Searchlight); Directed by Zal Batmanglij

Two infiltrators seek to expose a San Fernando Valley cult leader (Brit Marling). “A terrific and engrossing venture into speculative fiction,” wrote Kirk Honeycutt from Sundance.

Elles
(Kino Lorber); Directed by Malgoska Szumowska

Juliette Binoche plays a middle-class journalist investigating student prostitutes in this French-Polish-German co-production. “Reasonably well made on a shoestring,” wrote Kirk Honeycutt from the Toronto International Film Festival.