End of Watch ****

It feels like a ride-along in South Central L.A. The product of months of actual ride-alongs, the performances of Jake Gyllenhaal as Brian and Michael Peña as Mike in "End of Watch" have the feeling of the true article. Writer / director David Ayer (who wrote "Training Day") establishes that realism with footage from dash board police cruiser cameras, hand-held phone videos, and undercover cameras, an intimacy that extends even to the shots of the bad guys they deal with. I think it's one of Gyllenhaal's best performances, and Peña is truly outstanding in this story of two partners who share a dangerous job and are fast friends. Anna Kendrick does her usual wonderful job as Brians' girl friend, and America Ferrera nails a tough female cop role. It's a really good film marred by an unfortunately un-catchy title.

The Master *****

An alcoholic drifter in the 'forties (Joaquin Phoenix) seeks some kind of salvation from a charlatan with echoes of L. Ron Hubbard (Philip Seymour Hoffman). "The Master" is a detailed enigma, a story full of resonant details that don't quite add up. Full of astonishing performances, from Phoenix and Hoffman, for sure, but also from Amy Adams and Laura Dern among others, the movie resists easy classification. It's more a story to meditate on, grounded in well-observed details and dynamics of a "movement," but without a simple thesis. I think it's great filmmaking; others may find it boring and impenetrable.

Arbitrage ****

Featuring an award-caliber performance by Richard Gere, "Arbitrage" tells the story of Robert Miller, a high-flying financier on the level of Bernie Madoff. The movie deals with a period in which Miller must close a sale to contain a threat to his empire and juggle several personal crises, most of them his own doing. Susan Sarandon plays the wife who may be tiring of the games he plays. Taut and well-written, the movie builds suspense in a credible, rarified world.

The Words **

How do you make a movie about the power of the written word? There is something contradictory about using a visual medium to tell a story about writing, and the results, as here, are often disappointing. The device of having an author read his story about an author who takes someone else's story, and then learns the story inside the story, while as old as Scheherazade, sets up an interesting frame. Writer/director Brian Klugman does a fine job keeping the stories straight, differentiating the present, with its famous author (Dennis Quaid), the fictional present about the fictional author (Bradley Cooper), and the fictional author's appropriation of the work of another author (Ben Barnes as the younger and Jeremy Irons as older incarnations).

Parallels to the story in the present-day author's life raise the question: How much of this author's fiction is fiction, and how much is self-revelation? It's a conundrum better suited to a short story than a movie, I think. The assumption in the movie seems to be that authors are no more distinguishable than, say, movie directors; that creators and stylists can follow towering works of genius with mediocre pablum in a completely different voice and not be found out. It's an idea that doesn't hold up for a feature-length movie.

As a showcase for Bradley Cooper and Zoe Saldana, however, "The Words" is a success. Besides being an extraordinarily good-looking couple, they deliver convincing performances that are on a caliber with the veterans Quaid and Irons. From an acting standpoint, this is a fine way to spend an afternoon.

Lawless ****

Robot and Frank ***

In the not-too-distant future, a retired older gentleman with memory problems (Frank Langella) is living alone near a small town in upstate New York. His dutiful son (James Marsden), who tries to drive up weekly, gets him a personal assistance robot to help him tidy up and try to keep him healthy. Frank does not like the idea, but Robot (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard) does prove useful, and soon Frank has an idea about how Robot could help with a not-exactly-legal project. The movie is delightful, interesting, and heavy on what's going on with Frank rather than with the technology. It's a joy to watch Langella, who is on screen most of the time, bring this character to life. The writing is smart and often touching. Susan Sarandon appears as a sweet librarian and Liv Tyler as Frank's daughter. Robot is a character, but it's the human issues of independence, family ties and responsibilities that predominate. A very nice film.