Margin Call (15)

HHHH

Dir: JC Chandor

With: Stanley Tucci, Kevin Spacey

Running time: 106 minutes

ONCE in a while an unassuming little film sneaks through the mass of new releases and finds its mark. JC Chandor's Wall Street drama is such a find.

First to spot its worth were Kevin Spacey, Stanley Tucci and the rest of a quality cast. It's a dream piece for actors, being the kind of yarn that's full of gabby, Glengarry Glen Ross-style speeches.

More than that, as a tale of capitalism going badly awry, it's a film that couldn't have timed its release better.

A true horror story for our times.

The Darkest Hour (3D) (12A)

H

Dir: Chris Gorak

With: Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby

Running time: 88 minutes

CHRIS Gorak's Moscow-set tale of electric aliens burns with all the intellectual ferocity of a five-watt bulb.

Matters become very silly, very quickly, as two young software designers from America (Emile Hirsch and Max Minghella) arrive in Russia only to find themselves in the middle of an alien invasion.

Cue lots of running through deserted streets and painfully contrived plot twists. If not within the film's young target audience, you'll pray for a power cut in the cinema.

Tatsumi (15)

HHH

Dir: Eric Khoo

Voices: Tetsuya Bessho, Motoko Gollent

Running time: 96 minutes

ERIC Khoo's portrait of Yoshihiro Tatsumi, who made manga an art form for adults, is as stylish and innovative as the man himself.

Tatsumi tells his own story while Khoo interrupts proceedings to bring five of the artist's stories to life.

Dealing with life in postwar Japan – alienation, loneliness, poverty, post-nuclear trauma and all – the stories are definitely not for children, as the 15 certificate suggests.

A beautifully drawn walk on the wilder side of comic books.

Filmhouse, Edinburgh.