Short Takes: Movie reviews

Condensed from Daily News movie critic Gary Thompson's reviews, unless noted otherwise.

EPIC. Competent animated story of girl (voice of Amanda Seyfried) transported into magical world of woodland creatures. (PG) B

FAST AND FURIOUS 6. Paul Walker, Vin Diesel and gang battle Euro thugs, including old friend Michelle Rodriguez. (PG-13) B

HANGOVER 3. Wolfpack on the trail of stolen gold. Not many laughs. Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis. (R) C

LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED. Offbeat romcom pairs breast-cancer survivor (Trine Dyrholm) with rich widower (Pierce Brosnan) in a picturesque Italian setting. (R) C+

WHAT MAISIE KNEW. Unusual child's-eye-view of divorcing parents (Steve Coogan, Julianne Moore) and their bitter domestic war. (R) B

FRANCES HA. Funny profile of young woman (Greta Gerwig) cut adrift when best friend (Mickey Sumner) gets engaged. (R) A-

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS. J.J. Abrams' crackerjack resurrection of the franchise continues with an entertaining, fast-moving installment that stays true to the essential yin and yang between Kirk and Spock. Trekkies will love it. (PG-13) B+

KON-TIKI. Dramatization of Thor Heyerdahl's historic 1947 raft voyage gets big-screen treatment. It's a handsome, old-fashioned adventure that's lavishly photographed, with some of the at-sea image magic of "Life of Pi." (PG-13) B

THE GREAT GATSBY. Baz Luhrmann's big 3-D extravaganza (with Jay-Z as musical host) is another swing and miss at Fitzgerald's notoriously unfilmable novel. With Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby and Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan. (PG-13) B-

PEEPLES. Affable Craig Robinson gets his chance to be a leading man in this unfortunately lame "Meet the Parents" clone from the Tyler Perry comedy factory. The movie is a brisk 88 minutes, but half a dozen good jokes aren't enough to carry it. (PG-13) C

SOMETHING IN THE AIR. French filmmaker Olivier Assayas' urgent yet shambling tale of revolution, set in 1971. The real revolution in the young characters' lives is that they're growing up. Not rated (nudity, sexuality, drug use, obscenity, violence and pervasive smoking) C+ Reviewed by Daily News wire services.

IRON MAN 3. Robert Downey Jr. teams up again with Shane Black, the writer-director who revived his career in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang." Together they revive the franchise, delivering a fun, twisty story - with a big contribution from Sir Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin. (PG-13) B+

MUD. Great slice-of-life Southern tale of a fugitive (Matthew McConaughey) who enlists two teens to help him build a boat. (PG-13) A-

PAIN AND GAIN. Director Michael Bay can't find the right tone in this satiric tale of steroid-abusing psychos. Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Anthony Mackie. (PG-13) C

THE BIG WEDDING. Every romcom cliche is thrown into this star-packed, but barely watchable, family wedding comedy. (PG-13) D

OBLIVION. Tom Cruise stars as an omega-man mercenary preparing to depart an Earth evacuated of all humans. Or is it? Gorgeous but goofy sci-fi. (PG-13) B-

42. Family-friendly treatment of the Jackie Robinson story works too hard at being inspirational but does a solid job of telling an important story. (PG-13). B

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES. Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling shed glamour for substance in the ambitious, sorrowful family epic. It's a serious art film, so the stars do their fine work while sporting bad hair. (R) B

THE CROODS. Animated 3-D comedy about a Neanderthal-ish dad (Nicolas Cage), a hotshot Homo sapien (Ryan Reynolds) and a family of cave-dwellers facing environmental catastrophe. (PG) B