Arbitrage (2012)

A hedge fund magnate's elaborate house of cards - a life built up around his lies, his sham business dealings and his secret all-round rottenness to his core - teeters on the brink of collapse in this corporate thriller that is uncomfortable viewing mostly because people like the fictional Robert Miller, played by a steely, silver fox Richard Gere, really do exist and really do have the power to behave the way they do.

★★★★☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEW

The East (2013)

Probably created with an Alias/12 Monkeys tv series in mind, this drama is about an uncharismatic ecoterrorist group whose daft eating habits, awkward bathing rituals, dullard Charles Manson lookalike leader and soapbox politics are supposedly so intoxicating they cause the undercover agent infiltrating the group (Brit Marling) to question her loyalties.

★☆☆☆☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEW

Sound Of My Voice (2011)

As a pilot episode for a tv series about a couple who infiltrate a cult to expose a sham guru, this is an intriguing two hours that raises interesting ideas for further exploration, but as a freestanding feature film it is badly lacking, with too little running time and too many story threads that are left hardly resolved, and it isn't surprising to read that this was originally intended as a trilogy.

★★☆☆☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS