3:10 to Yuma
If the title sounds familiar, "3:10 to Yuma" (Lionsgate) is indeed a remake and expansion of the 1957 black-and-white Western. Based on an Elmore Leonard story, the film starred Glenn Ford and Van Heflin in the roles now essayed by Russell Crowe and Christian Bale.

This intelligent and generally absorbing remake shows how impoverished 1880s rancher (and maimed Civil War veteran) Dan Evans (Bale), threatened with the loss of his land because of railroad expansion, and with a wife (Gretchen Mol) and children to support, accepts $200 to escort notorious Bible-quoting bandit Ben Wade (Crowe) to the town of Convention where, in two day's time, a train will transport Ben to prison and justice in Yuma, Ariz.

Already, in one of the film's lengthy action set-pieces, we have seen Ben holding up a stagecoach being safeguarded by Byron McElroy (Peter Fonda), a cold-hearted (and corrupt) Pinkerton official and bounty hunter. Ben is so ruthless he thinks nothing of shooting one of his own men for self-preservation.

Dan's 14-year-old son, Will (Logan Lerman), had been bitterly disappointed at his father's ineffectual actions after the family barn was set aflame. Will's disillusionment is heightened when, after the stagecoach robbery, Dan passively hands over the family's horses to the Wade gang.

So, when Ben is apprehended in town shortly after, when he tarries with saloon girl Emmy Roberts (Vinessa Shaw), Dan eagerly offers to join the posse. Not only will the assignment net Dan much-needed cash, but it may improve his standing in the eyes of his son.

Along the way, the posse must contend with Indian attacks in Apache territory, the ne'er-do-wells working on railroad construction through the mountains, and Ben's ultraloyal gang, led by wild-eyed Charlie Prince (Ben Foster) and intent on rescuing its leader.

Throughout all of this, the cleverly manipulative Ben is a prisoner in name only, as he manages not only to kill some of his captors, but works to undermine Dan's resolve, offering him even more money to set him free.

The narrative -- diffuse at first -- becomes more cohesive and gripping as director James Mangold's Western throwback builds to its climax.

The performances are fine. Crowe is a master of roguish charm, and Bale impresses again with his textured portrayal of a man hoping for personal redemption. Good as they are, Foster almost steals the movie with his electrifying bad-guy turn. There's additional superior work from Alan Tudyk, Dallas Roberts and the rest of the cast -- which includes Luke Wilson in a cameo role.

The moral issues at the heart of the story are cleanly delineated, and the Old West once again proves an ideal landscape for dramatizing that ageless theme of good versus evil.

The film contains pervasive but not graphic violence and torture, killings, profanity, rough language, a grisly bullet removal, brief rear nudity and some light sexual talk. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Balls of Fury (Rogue)
Exhausting comedy about a washed-up pingpong prodigy (Dan Fogler) who is asked by an FBI agent (George Lopez) to help catch a mysterious crime lord (Christopher Walken). Along the way the former champ turns to a blind pingpong master (James Hong) to regain his skills, falls in love with the master's daughter (Maggie Q) and eventually must play in a tournament with life-or-death stakes. Frequently crude and always preposterous, director and co-writer Ben Garant's film has some flashes of originality and gets in a few good satiric swipes, even as it revels in its own silliness. Much crude language, one instance of profanity, suggestive gestures, gross and scatological jokes, and mild gay-themed humor. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults (though it's acceptable for older adolescents). The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Death Sentence (Fox)
Mild-mannered financier (Kevin Bacon) commits capital murder against gang members to avenge the death of his son. For the first hour, director James Wan (best known for "Saw") and screenwriter Ian Jeffers follow the nuances of novelist Brian Garfield's 1975 sequel to "Death Wish" and sprinkle in mordant humor, but the last half-hour descends into splatter and heavy-handed symbolism. Rough, crude and crass language, profanity and extended scenes of bloody gun violence. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is O -- morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Halloween (Dimension)
This egregiously sadistic remake of John Carpenter's 1978 cult horror film recounts the repeated rampages of Michael Myers who, as a boy (Daeg Faerch), murders -- among a few others -- his stripper mother's (Sheri Moon Zombie) deadbeat boyfriend (William Forsythe) and his wayward older sister (Hanna Hall) and, as a man (Tyler Mane), terrorizes -- among many others -- his psychiatrist (Malcolm McDowell) and his younger sister (Scout Taylor Compton). Writer-director Rob Zombie's film is both an aesthetic crime and a mistake, wallowing in blood, gore, screams and the dying desperation of its victims. Scenes of prolonged, gruesome and bloody violence with gore; sexual activity; rear and upper female nudity; obscene gestures; pervasive rough, crude and crass language; and scatological humor. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is O -- morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Shoot 'Em Up (New Line)
Ultraviolent action film about a mysterious sharpshooter (Clive Owen) and a prostitute (Monica Bellucci) with a baby in tow, on the run from a deadly assassin (Paul Giamatti). Writer-director Michael Davis' film is played tongue-in-cheek and with flashes of genuine wit, the two leads make charismatic adversaries with Giamatti relishing his villain's role, and there's even an anti-gun subtext, but the film is fast-paced to the point of exhaustion, and the intensity of the violence and myriad sordid elements preclude endorsement. Intense visceral violence with numberless killings, torture, a graphic sexual encounter and others less explicit, partial nudity, pervasive rough language and profanity, crude expressions, innuendo and an irreverent sight gag. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is O -- morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Harry Forbes is director of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More reviews are available online at www.usccb.org/movies.