LORD OF WAR ★★★

(Comcast Free Movies) A slick, provocative act of advocacy entertainment. Andrew Niccol’s gunrunning drama presents us with a charismatic arms merchant played by Nicolas Cage, who rises to the top of the black-market heap from the 1980s through the early 2000s. Niccol gives the devil his due here, and his moral outrage is balanced by a storyteller’s skill: There are laughs, but they jam in your throat. Costarring Jared Leto and Bridget Moynahan. (R; runs through Oct. 10)

THE RECRUIT ★★½

(Starz on Comcast) A serviceable spy thriller that stumbles over one too many plot twists, one too many shots of its hero typing desperately at his computer, and a romantic subplot that’s nice to look at but silly. Whenever you’re about to throw in the towel, though, along comes Al Pacino, barking like a mongrel as a wily CIA schoolmaster who recruits young pup Colin Farrell into double-dealing agency shenanigans. (PG-13; runs through Dec. 27)

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ALICE CREED ★★★

(Starz on Comcast) Eddie Marsan and Martin Compston kidnap rich girl Gemma Arterton. Simple, no? No. Writer-director J. Blakeson’s highly assured thriller has nearly as many whopper plot twists (two) as it does actors. Not exactly ‘‘Reservoir Dogs’’ or ‘‘A Simple Plan’’ — the efficiency of Blakeson’s filmmaking masks the implausibility of his premise — it’s strong enough to remind you of them, and in a good way. (R; runs through 2013)