The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

"The Ice Harvest" (Focus)

Rancid black comedy taking place all in one night about a crooked Kansas lawyer (John Cusack) and his sleazy accomplice (Billy Bob Thornton) who embezzle $2 million from a local mob boss (Randy Quaid), but whose plans to skip town are stymied by a Christmas Eve ice storm and a series of double-crosses. Despite some pungent performances, director Harold Ramis' adaptation of Scott Phillip's mordant novel is a misanthropic mix of barbed cynicism and sordid nastiness. Recurring bloody violence, several scenes in a strip club involving partial nudity, brief pornographic images, drunken recklessness, pervasive nihilism, vulgar and irreverent humor, excessive rough and crude language, as well as some profanity. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is O -- morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted.

"Just Friends" (New Line)

Leaden romantic comedy about a former overweight "loser" (Ryan Reynolds) turned suave and successful ladies man, who, while waylaid in his New Jersey home town, pursues the affections of his high-school best friend and crush (Amy Smart), who back then only saw him through platonic eyes. Despite ending on an admirably sentimental note, director Roger Kumble's film is full of forced and witless humor that alternates between staggeringly unfunny and mean-spirited. Much cruel slapstick violence, some lewd sexual situations and humor, an erotic image, a crass sight gag, a brief same-sex kiss, an instance of rough language and some sexually crude remarks. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

"Rent" (Revolution)

Imaginative expansion of the late Jonathan Larson's long-running Broadway musical -- an updating of "La Boheme" -- about the lives and loves of New York's East Village artists, several of them HIV-positive. Director Chris Columbus has remained largely faithful to the original -- and many of the original cast members reprise their roles here -- while the dissolute lifestyles of some of the characters take second place to the overriding themes of love, connection and fellowship, and the film encapsulates a significant cultural era. Implied drug use, same-sex relationships, suggestive dancing and movement, some rough and crude language and an anti-establishment outlook. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

"Syriana" (Warner Bros.)

Intermittently engaging but mostly confusing political thriller which explores corruption in the international oil industry through a mosaic of interlocking stories involving: a veteran CIA operative (George Clooney); a reform-minded Arab sheik (Alexander Siddig); an energy analyst (Matt Damon) grieving the death of his son, and a Washington lawyer (Jeffrey Wright), hired to facilitate a shady merger between two Texas oil giants. Directed with unvarnished realism by Stephen Gaghan, the well-acted film touches on important moral questions about the global pursuit of wealth, but strains for narrative coherence under the weight of its convoluted multiple plots. Strong violence, including a graphic scene of torture, and some rough language and profanity. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted.

"Yours, Mine & Ours" (Paramount)

Inferior remake of the 1968 Henry Fonda-Lucille Ball charmer about a widowed naval officer (Dennis Quaid) with eight children, and a free-spirited widow (Rene Russo) with 10, who marry years after being high school sweethearts, and the comic complications that arise from merging the families. Despite a heart-tugging ending, director Raja Gosnell relies on too much unrealistic slapstick and though Quaid gives an accomplished performance, Russo is utterly bland, making the original a far better bet all around. Some mild innuendo. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-I -- general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG -- parental guidance suggested.