The following are capsules of movies recently reviewed by the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. USCCB and Motion Picture Association of America ratings are in parenthesis.

All the King's Men (Columbia)
Uneven remake of Robert Penn Warren's 1946 Pulitzer-Prize winner set in the 1950s, about a rabble-rousing everyman (Sean Penn) who rises from obscurity, railing against political corruption, and is elected governor of Louisiana, only to be polluted by power once he's in office; and the idealistic journalist (Jude Law) who falls under his spell. Written and directed by Steven Zaillian, the handsomely crafted morality tale --- loosely based on the life of Depression-era Louisiana Gov. Huey P. Long --- explores the means and ends of power, but Penn's passionate and committed performance is undermined by an opaque script. A violent shooting, implied adultery, a suicide, a bedroom encounter with shadowy side nudity, a provocative nightclub performance, some mildly crude language, profanity and racial slurs. (A-III, PG-13)

Flyboys (MGM)
Truth-inspired World War I action drama about a disparate group of young Americans (James Franco, Abdul Salis, Philip Winchester and Tyler Labine) who, before the United States' entry in the war, volunteer for various reasons with a French air squadron --- the Lafayette Escadrille --- during the pioneer days of aviation combat and whose idealism is chilled by their experiences. Directed by Tony Bill, the film's appealing young cast and impressive aerial dogfight sequences are wasted on an episodic and overly long script that never takes off dramatically and lacks well-developed characters. Recurring wartime violence, a scene in a brothel, a suicide, some sexual innuendo, scattered mildly crude expressions, profanity and racial slurs. (A-III, PG-13)

The Last Kiss (Paramount)
Uneven drama set in Wisconsin about four friends, each at emotional crossroads as they near 30, focusing mostly on an architect (Zach Braff) with commitment jitters whose fling with a college student (Rachel Bilson) jeopardizes his relationship with his pregnant girlfriend (Jacinda Barrett), whose own parents' (Blythe Danner and Tom Wilkinson) marriage has gone sour. In holding up a mirror to postmodern love and its accompanying anxieties, director Tony Goldwyn provides some modest observations about flawed humanity --- especially the way we learn from our mistakes and how actions have consequences --- but, on a whole, the situations are contrived and the characters read as more selfish than sympathetic. Several racy sexual encounters, some with partial nudity, lesbian eroticism with partial nudity, a tacit approval of premarital living arrangements, a gay sight gag, much rough and crude language, scattered profanity, some sexual humor and brief drug content. (L, R)

Renaissance (Miramax)
Interesting animated film set in the Paris of 2054 about a kidnapped scientist (Romola Garai), the former protege of a renowned geneticist (Ian Holm), who works for a sinister megacompany promising eternal youth and beauty, and the cop (voiced by Daniel Craig) assigned to rescue her, assisted by the woman's older sister (Catherine McCormack), who fends off the sinister forces of the company's vice president (Jonathan Pryce) with his own motives for finding her first. Director Christian Volckman's debut feature film --- basically a graphic novel come to life --- has a sometimes overly complex plot that, in its essentials, we've seen before, but the striking black-and-white design and committed acting by the prestigious voice talent hold your interest. Action violence, scenes of peril, murder, a brief nongraphic sexual scene, partial nudity elsewhere, some innuendo, and rough and crude language. (A-III, R)

The Science of Sleep (Warner Independent)
Visually clever but unsatisfying drama set in Paris about an imaginative, if dysfunctional, young man (Gael Garcia Bernal) whose timid budding romance with his kindred-spirit neighbor (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is complicated by his chronic confusing of reality and dreams. Writer-director Michel Gondry ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind") charms with inventive flights of fancy --- by turns sweet and surreal --- but the film is sabotaged by Gondry's affection for dreamlike images over coherence. In English, French and Spanish with subtitles. Recurring rough and crude language, some sexual images and lewd humor, and a few instances of brief, partial, nonsexual nudity. (A-III, R)

Office for Film & Broadcasting classifications: A-I -- general patronage; A-II -- adults and adolescents; A-III -- adults; L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling; O -- morally offensive.

MPAA ratings: G -- general audiences. All ages admitted; PG -- parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children; PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13; R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian; NC-17 -- no one 17 and under admitted.