Short Takes: Condensed movie reviews

SHORT

TAKES

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

JOHN WICK. Keanu Reeves stars as hitman who kills the mobsters who killed his dog in action movie with a sense of humor and a stuntman's heart: real fights, no robots, muscle cars. (R) B

DEAR WHITE PEOPLE. Writer-director Justin Simie takes his popular Youtube video and Twitter feed and turns it into a canny, complex, funny campus comedy about racial identity. (R) B

BIRDMAN. Michael Keaton plays a washed up movie star trying to prove himself on Broadway, alongside Ed Norton. It's technically daring, a brilliant feat of acting - and funny, too. (R) B+

WHIPLASH. J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller are terrific as abusive teacher and suffering pupil in jazz-driven drama with phenomenal closing scene. (R) A-

OUIJA. Duller-than-dull dead-teenager flick. Frankly, the board game is scarier. (PG-13) F Reviewed by Daily News wire services.

FURY. Violent, literally visceral story of WWII tank crew (led by Brad Pitt) on what amounts to a suicide mission. (R) B+

ST. VINCENT. Winning comedy stars Bill Murray as disreputable old man put in charge of innocent kid, nicely played by local actor Jaedon Lieberher. (PG-13) B

THE BOOK OF LIFE. Dazzling, Mexican-accented kids' cartoon is so colorful it almost reinvents the art form. Charming and funny, too. (PG) A- Reviewed by Daily News wire services.

THE BEST OF ME. High school lovers reunited by fate - actually, by Nicholas Sparks - in soapy romance. (PG-13) C

ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY. In wholesome Disney comedy, family slapsticks together through thick and thin. With Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner as dad and mom. (PG) B

THE JUDGE. Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall lead fine cast stuck with bad script. (R) C+

DRACULA UNTOLD. Origin story has decent special effects, anemic scares. (PG-13) C Reviewed by Daily News wire services.

PRIDE. Wifty comedy tells true story of solidarity among rural miners, urban gays in Margaret Thatcher's England. (R) B

GONE GIRL. Stop trying to game it, folks. Ain't no way you're going to guess the big plot twist in this intricate thriller about a husband (Ben Affleck) suspected of killing his wife. (R) B

ANNABELLE. Silly prequel involves demon doll. (R) D Reviewed by Daily News wire services.

THE EQUALIZER. As a vigilante with day job in home-improvement store, Denzel Washington puts the hammer down on villains. Also the pruning shears.(R) B

THE SKELETON TWINS. Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig play siblings trying to reconcile. They're fantastic, but be advised: It's not a comedy. (R) B

THE MAZE RUNNER. Rote young-adults-save-the-future feature. Not for arachnophobes. (PG-13) C- Reviewed by Daily News wire services.