42 (PG-13) Sports biopics are largely interchangeable. The sports and the players may change, but the obstacles to overcome are nearly identical. Heck, the same could be said of any biopic, musical, sport, etc. Still, something about the challenges faced by Jackie Robinson (gracefully inhabited by unknown Chadwick Boseman) as he broke the color barrier in professional baseball feels so much more singular than your average true tale of successfully bucking the odds. When signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, Robinson faced derision by his teammates, opposing players and coaches (embodied by Alan Tudyk as Phillies manager Ben Chapman) and the fans. The role of Robinson requires a special actor giving a special performance. Boseman’s is not a skilled mimicry like so many other portrayals of famous persons; he imbues Robinson with such strength of character and composure. Equally important to this tale is Dodgers exec Branch Rickey, so gruffly played by Harrison Ford, who may finally be making the transition into grand old actor. Writer-director Brian Helgeland does nothing unique as he recounts this cinematic biography, but his film reads quickly, entertainingly and informatively. What more could you ask of a biopic? 

THE BIG WEDDING (R) The Big Wedding should be celebrated as a strong candidate for worst film of the year. The Bucket List scripter Justin Zackham has delivered an Americanization of France’s Mon frère se marie where Brit Ben Barnes is acceptably ethnic enough to play one of the film’s central Hispanic characters and the opening gag combines an ex-wife stumbling upon her former spouse and his girlfriend in the midst of sex. Oh the guffaws! They can only be matched by a grown daughter throwing up on her dad. Hilarious! Seriously, The Big Wedding, in which a long-divorced couple (Diane Keaton and Robert De Niro) must act married for their adopted son’s wedding because the grown man will not tell his devoutly Catholic birth mother (Patricia Rae) that they are divorced, is populated by offensive, meanly unfunny characters (a role in which Katherine Heigl does excel) differentiated by their virginity or lack thereof. The entire family acts like a hormonal, randy teen. The sinking ship of a movie has nary one likable, nuanced character to grab onto like a life raft. And I haven’t even mentioned that Robin Williams appears as a sober, mean-spirited priest. Avoid these nuptials at all costs.

THE COMPANY YOU KEEP (R) You’ve seen a Robert Redford movie before, right? A River Runs Through It, Quiz Show, The Horse Whisperer, something? Then you know what to expect from The Company You Keep. It’s a little slow, thoughtful, possesses an even, steady tone and pacing. Fortunately, the adaptation of Neil Gordon’s novel benefits from an un-Redford-like, thriller-ish sharpness thanks to Lem Dobbs’ script (he wrote The Limey and Haywire for Soderbergh). A lawyer (Redford, as stalwart and slightly wooden as ever) goes on the run after a young reporter (Shia LaBeouf, who reminds us of his appeal) outs him as a member of the domestic terrorist organization, the Weather Underground. Naturally, the newspaperman discovers more to the story than first thought. The mystery isn’t terribly hard to solve (the clues are dropped a bit too obviously), but the decrease in tension is made up for by onscreen talent. Redford has assembled a great cast of aging greats—Julie Christie, Nick Nolte, Richard Jenkins, Stanley Tucci, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Elliot, Chris Cooper and Stephen Root. The Company You Keep isn’t hip (though one might wonder how Redford’s nearly 80-year-old fugitive doesn’t break one). It’s a natural, narrative extension of Redford’s career. (Ciné)

THE CROODS (PG) Despite its underwhelming trailers, The Croods stands out as one of the best non-Pixar animated family films released in the last few years. A family of cavemen—dad Grug (v. Nicolas Cage), mom Ugga (v. Catherine Keener), teen daughter Eep (v. Emma Stone), dumb son Thunk (v. Clarke Duke), feral baby Sandy and grandma (v. Cloris Leachman)—are forced on a cross-country road trip after their cave is destroyed by the impending “end of the world.” Fortunately, Eep meets Guy (v. Ryan Reynolds), whose developed brain filled with “ideas” might just help them all survive. Most cute family fun pics feel rehashed and overdone; The Croods does not. Its characters successfully, though unbelievably, combine the Flintstones with the Simpsons, and the voice acting, particularly by Cage, Stone and Reynolds sparkles. Cage was an inspired choice, for a role one would think is practically written for Kevin James. Most animated features, with their paint-by-numbers plot and rote, child-pleasing gags lose an adult’s attention within minutes of beginning. The Croods held my rapt attention for its entire entertaining run time and left me considering potential plots for its inevitable, disappointing sequel.

ERASED (R) Mix a cut-rate Bourne Identity with a little Liam Neeson-ish Taken action and you wind up with the bland-looking concoction called Erased. Aaron Eckhart stars as a guy who wears a suit to work and happens to be a decommissioned black ops agent. Former music video director Philipp Stolzl received higher marks for his Young Goethe in Love, but this action flick looks in dire need of a stronger script. With Liana Liberato as the endangered daughter and Olga Kurylenko.

FRANCES HA (R) Could this be Greta Gerwig’s big, Lena Dunham-ish break? She co-wrote this comedy with director Noah Baumbach (The Squid & the Whale), and judging from the trailer, it could be an indie smash. Think “Girls” on the big screen (but no Dunham). Frances (Gerwig) works for a dance troupe, though she’s not a dancer, and goes all in for her dreams. With Mickey Sumner, Adam Driver (“Girls”) and another daughter of Meryl Streep, Grace Gummer.

FROM UP ON POPPY HILL (PG) 2011. Legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki collaborates with his son Goro’s second feature. (His first was Tales from Earthsea.) As the 1964 Tokyo Olympics approach, a group of teenagers in Yokohama seek to save their school clubhouse. The English-language voice cast includes Gillian Anderson, Sarah Bolger, Beau Bridges, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bruce Dern, Christina Hendricks, Chris Noth, Aubrey Plaza and Anton Yelchin. Japan’s biggest domestic hit of 2011 won the Best Animation Film prize from the Awards of the Japanese Academy. (Ciné)

• THE GREAT GATSBY (PG-13) Like all Baz Luhrmann’s films save Moulin Rouge!, The Great Gatsby left me highly conflicted. A creative, stylistic tour de force, the film starts off kinetic to the point of claustrophobia. The constant moving and zooming camera and non-stop edits choke the air out of the first act; the film just needs to stop and catch its breath for a moment. The film doesn’t stop its constant Charlestoning until Nick Carroway (Tobey Maguire) meets reclusive millionaire Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) at one of the latter’s renowned parties. Finally, the film takes a hiccupping breath. Luhrmann’s always favored style over substance (it’s why his Romeo + Juliet is so appealingly frustrating), and the Roaring '20s are a great place to indulge his whims. However, his hyperactive visualization fill his adaptation of Fitzgerald’s classic novel with the air of parody. The film often feels like a musical with the song-and-dance numbers cut out. Still, its liveliness bests Jack Clayton’s dull 1974 adaptation starring an especially wooden Robert Redford. DiCaprio better imbues Gatsby with the decade’s decadent hopefulness. Gatsby is also one of the few films I think I would have preferred viewing in 3D.

THE HOST (PG-13) What Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight novels did to horror, she does to science fiction in The Host. (Twilight was horror without the horror; The Host is science fiction without those pesky tropes particular to science fiction.) Alien invaders have conquered Earth. Most of humanity has had their bodies taken over by an extraterrestrial tenant. (How do you know if someone’s possessed? Their icy blue Fahey eyes.) When the invaders implant a soul named Wanderer into the body of Melanie Styder (Saoirse Ronan), Melanie fights back, eventually convincing/leading Wanderer to Melanie’s human family and friends, a group of desert-living rebels led by William Hurt. Once there, Wanda, as the humans call her, falls for one boy, while Melanie continues to love Jared (Max Irons). You knew Meyer would work her love triangle (or in this case, love rectangle?) into the plot somewhere. Writer-director Andrew Niccol has had varying levels of success in the science fiction (his peak seems more and more to have been his first feature, Gattaca), and The Host’s flaws don’t belong so much to him as to Meyer. Niccol only had so much flimsy material with which to work; his resulting film feels empty, sparsely populated and worst, boring.

IDENTITY THIEF (R) Unfortunately, stars Melissa McCarthy (an Oscar nominee for Bridesmaids) and Jason Bateman are better than this more-annoying-than-funny odd couple road comedy. With two kids and another on the way, Sandy Patterson (Bateman) is struggling to make ends meet. Having his identity stolen by friendless Diana (McCarthy) only further aggravates his financial distress. In desperation, Sandy travels to Florida to bring his tormentor to justice. Inexplicably and unnecessarily on their heels are a couple of drug enforcers (Genesis Rodriguez and Tip “T.I.” Harris) and a mean ass bounty hunter (a pretty much wasted Robert Patrick). Strangely, the gags work best when Bateman’s straight man and McCarthy’s manic criminal bond rather than fight. Too bad the mean-spirited comic scenarios cooked up by screenwriter Craig Mazin (Scary Movies 3 and 4 and The Hangover: Parts II and III) lack originality. The punch lines lack the subtlety that brings out Bateman’s greatness. Director Seth Gordon (The King of Kong and Horrible Bosses) and his hilarious stars have done and will do comedy better.

IRON MAN 3 (PG-13) Happily, Shane Black has taken over the Iron Man franchise from Jon Favreau (Black also co-wrote the script), and it’s mostly a blast right out of 1987. I dig Black’s vision of Iron Man 3 as a buddy movie; I just wish his Stark had suited up more. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) may be the rare superhero alter ego that is more interesting out of costume, but watching him investigate a mystery in Small Town, Tennessee (child sidekick in tow) felt more like episodic television than the initial, post-Avengers solo adventure. The climactic showdown where a hoodied-and-Polo’ed Tony and Rhodey (Don Cheadle) run around a cargo ship with guns drawn was way more Lethal Weapon 2 than Iron Man 2. Armor them up, and you have yourself a cool twist on the 80s' buddy concept Black helped pioneer. The Iron Man franchise goes 0 for 3 on villains; none are in Iron Man’s league. The potential of The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) is wasted with a twist that, while amusingly executed, leaves the film villainously bereft. Such minor quibbles don’t devalue Iron Man 3’s entertainment worth; it’s one high quality blockbuster (terrifically pulpy, worth watching credits included).

JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (PG-13) Another reteaming of director Bryan Singer with his Public Access/Usual Suspects/Apt Pupil/Valkryie scripter, Academy Award winner Christopher McQuarrie, should be more exciting, intriguing and lasting than Jack the Giant Slayer. While far from a bad fantasy film, this retooled telling of the classic children’s stories, Jack the Giant Killer and Jack and the Beanstalk, does little to fire the imagination once the credits roll. We all know the story: young Jack (Marcus Hoult, whose romzom Warm Bodies showed loads more creativity) gets some magic beans, from which a giant beanstalk grows. At the top of the leafy, green ladder is a land full of giants who have a taste for human flesh. Of course, this new telling has to involve a love interest, headstrong Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson), who Jack sets out to rescue. The mostly British cast is top-notch—Ian McShane as the king, Ewan McGregor as the king’s number one guardsman, Bill Nighy as the voice of the lead giant—and Stanley Tucci’s always a swell villain. Jack the Giant Slayer will kill an afternoon pleasantly enough (and better than last summer’s fairy re-tale Snow White and the Huntsman), but the special effects-acle lacks any lasting magic.

• MUD (PG-13) Boasting a star-studded cast of Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Sam Shepard, Ray McKinnon, Michael Shannon, Sarah Paulson and Joe Don Baker, Jeff Nichols’ third feature offers this promising rising filmmaker with his best chance of widespread success. A coming of age tale set in the disappearing wilds of the small town south, Mud aims high, as Nichols attempts to channel Mark Twain, and hits the target square in the bull’s eye. Two teens—Ellis (Tye Sheridan, Tree of Life) and Neckbone (newcomer Jacob Lofland)—discover a boat in a tree. They also discover McConaughey’s Mud, a fugitive living in the boat in the tree, while he waits to escape with the love of his life, Juniper (Witherspoon). Ellis also feels the sting of family troubles and first love/first heartbreak. Mud watches like a work of modern literature, capturing the last gasps of a dying culture as one boy becomes a man. As one of 2013’s more challenging films, Mud dethrones its closest competitor, The Place Beyond the Pines, as it reminds me of early David Gordon Green, before all his releases blended into the same, artless marijuana-addled haze.

OBLIVION (PG-13) The new Tom Cruise action, sci-fi spectacle is a doozy of a looker. Everything from the set design to the vehicle design to the music (scored by M83) is stylishly crafted and a visual/aural knockout. After fighting off an alien invasion via nuclear destruction, humanity has moved off-planet to Titan, a moon of Saturn. Two people, tech Jack Harper (Tom Cruise, who is arguably the best preserved man on the planet) and his communications liaison Victoria (Andrea Riseborough), have been left behind, tasked to protect the giant hydroreactors that power Titan using remnants of the alien invaders. But Jack's world is turned upside down by the arrival of a NASA scientist (Olga Kurylenko) of whom Jack has been dreaming, and by the discovery of human survivors, led by Malcolm Beech (Morgan Freeman). Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski co-scripted Oblivion from his own graphic novel, and despite its derivative pieces, the whole narrative coheres rather well. It's the rare video game-inspired movie that I enjoyed watching alone; I never once thought I'd rather be playing Oblivion. This late-April, pre-summer salvo has set the blockbuster bar higher than expected; hopefully summer 2013's entrants can clear it. Hear that, Iron Man 3?

PAIN & GAIN (R) Sure, bagging on Michael Bay is a fun pastime of cinematic snobs. I’ve taken my share of digs at his more galling efforts (the technically marvelous, emotionally destitute Pearl Harbor and the offensively assaultive Transformers 2/3). Add Pain & Gain to the list of Bay films I’ll defend (Armageddon, The Rock, Bad Boys). With the subtlety of an 18 wheeler, Pain & Gain chronicles the true story (of which we are constantly reminded) of three bodybuilders—Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg), Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson) and Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie)—who turn to crime in order to achieve the American Dream. If you were hoping Bay had a quirky indie crime caper in him, he doesn’t. P&G detractors will find many of the (whether you like him or not) auteur’s flaws on display. The film is too long, sledgehammeringly artless and mindnumbingly dumb. It’s a film created in the image of its characters and equally as appealing as those amateur criminals thanks to Wahlberg, Johnson and Mackie. Would I have preferred a shorter, pulpier, Elmore Leonard/Carl Hiaasen version of this tale (or better yet, an award winning documentary)? Yes. Will I accept this musclebound, meathead movie? Certainly, but only once.

• PEEPLES (PG-13) The directorial debut of Tina Gordon Chism, the writer of ATL and Drumline, might as well be called Meet the Peeples. Stop me if this plotline sounds familiar. A guy, Wade Walker (Craig Robinson, who makes more out of his time in the spotlight than most comic actors would), in love with a girl, Grace Peeples (Kerry Washington, Django Unchained), who is way out of his league, seeks to please her domineering father, federal judge Virgil Peeples (David Alan Grier, whose believability as Washington’s father does more to make me feel my age than the increasing gray of my beard). The “chocolate Kennedys,” as Wade calls the Peeples, have their own problems, which lead to sub-sitcom problems and hijinks. Wade’s brother, a doll doctor (Malcolm Barrett), refers to a “black ‘Three’s Company,’” a fairly fitting description of the entire movie. I wouldn’t be shocked to see producer Tyler Perry turning this flick into his latest TBS sitcom. Imagine the hilarity of the Browns-Peeples crossover. No seriously, you’ll have to imagine the laughs because they won’t exist. I wonder how well this comedy will do minus Perry’s moralistic sermonizing.

A PLACE AT THE TABLE (PG) This new documentary from the same production company that released Food, Inc. examines the hunger pangs felt by millions of Americans every day. Thankfully, filmmakers Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush also offer solutions. The inimitable Jeff Bridges appears as himself, as do five-time James Beard Foundation Medal winner Tom Colicchio, Ken Cook and Raj Patel. A Place at the Table was nominated for the Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize. The music is coolly provided by The Civil Wars and T Bone Burnett. (Ciné)

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES (R) The Place Beyond the Pines is an easy film to laud and an easier film to critique, but a tough film to recommend. At two hours and twenty minutes, writer-director Derek Cianfrance’s follow-up to Blue Valentine is constructed like three short stories, all connected by one major event involving a stunt bike rider (Ryan Gosling), a young cop (Bradley Cooper) and their sons. An ambitious character study of fathers and sons, The Place Beyond the Pines isn’t an easy watch but is ultimately more rewarding than arduous. (Ciné)

SAFE HAVEN (PG-13) One thing I enjoy about reviewing movies is having a readymade excuse for watching sappy romances like Safe Haven. I’ve been curious as to what the big mystery is since the first trailer; plus, Julianne Hough is really attractive. Unfortunately, the latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation, set in another North Carolina paradise, is one solved mystery away from just being one couple’s two hour how we met story. Pretty, young Katie is on the run from a constantly drunk, really sweaty cop (“Revolution” star David Lyons). Lucky for her, a hot widower, Alex (Josh Duhamel), with two cute kids is ready to love again. Wondering how this romance is ultimately different from Sleeping with the Enemy? Then prepare for the laughable, Shyamalan-esque, climactic twist. Still, Safe Haven is competently, if unexcitingly, made by Academy Award nominee Lasse Hallstrom, but The Notebook need not worry. Its legacy as the gold standard for this sort of Sparks-ian cinematic page turner is under no threat.

THE SAPPHIRES (PG-13) Based on a true story, this comedy follows four Australian Aboriginal women and their manager as they form a singing group in 1968 and tour Vietnam to perform for the troops, featuring feel-good musical numbers mixed with political conflict. (Ciné)

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK (R) 2012. After being released from a state mental hospital, Pat (Academy Award nominee Bradley Cooper) meets Tiffany (Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence), who lost it after the death of her husband. Instead of exacerbating each other’s unhealthy flaws, the relationship between these two cracked souls heals both, much to the surprise of everyone, including Pat’s parents (dual Oscar nominees Robert De Niro and Animal Kingdom’s Jacki Weaver). Silver Linings Playbook has an awkward edge that makes even the smallest successes so much sweeter. David O. Russell’s fiery demeanor and beautiful writing certainly ignites his actors; Cooper and Lawrence give two of the year’s most generous and honest performances. Silver Linings Playbook should not be missed.

SNITCH (PG-13) The new actioner from The Rock, né Dwayne Johnson, is a lot more serious than you’d expect a movie from a former stuntman, director Ric Roman Waugh. (Knowing cowriter Justin Haythe wrote Revolutionary Road should mitigate some of the surprise at Snitch’s serious side.) Construction bigwig John Matthews (Johnson) will do anything to lessen his son Jason’s jail time after a drug arrest. Matthews convinces one of his ex-con employees, Daniel (Jon Bernthal, late of “The Walking Dead”), to introduce him to a drug dealer, Malik (Michael K. Williams, aka Omar Little aka Chalky White), in order to cut a deal with federal prosecutor Joanne Keeghan (Susan Sarandon), who could use a big bust to boost her congressional campaign. Refreshingly, Johnson spends most of the movie in desperate dad mode as opposed to real life action figure. Appearances be damned, Snitch is no '80s action rehash; the movie’s got too much gravitas for Ah-nuld, even in his prime. All these kind assessments get smashed by the ridiculous 18-wheeler chase with the drug cartel that concludes the picture. Oh, well. The first hour and a half’s better than expected.

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (PG-13) J.J. Abrams (recently picked to helm Star Wars VII) continues his reboot of Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek universe. Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and his crew—Spock (Zachary Quinto), Bones (Karl Urban), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Sulu (John Cho) and Chekhov (Anton Yelchin)—go after a terrorist (Benedict Cumberbatch, best known for the BBC’s “Sherlock”) that many people are wistfully hoping to be Khan, the antagonist from the best Trek movie, Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan. We’ll find out soon enough.

STORIES WE TELL (PG-13) Sarah Polley follows up her Academy Award nominated Away from Her with this extraordinary looking, quite personal documentary about her own family. Using Super 8 footage and family interviews, Polley seeks to uncover the mystery of her parentage. Apparently, her dad isn’t really her dad, and she uses her chosen medium to find the truth. Stories We Tell has won several Canadian Film Awards and was an official selection of the Sundance, Venice, Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals.

TO THE WONDER (R) Terence Malick’s already back! A director notorious for the long waits between his artistically acclaimed, not necessarily popular films returns with a new film directly on the heels of 2011’s Tree of Life. Gorgeous Mont Saint-Michel plays a central role in this romantic drama about Marina (Olga Kurylenko) and Neil (Ben Affleck). After returning to Oklahoma from France, problems arise as Marina befriends another exile, a priest (Javier Bardem), and Neil reconnects with an old friend (Rachel McAdams). (Ciné)