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

The Bank Job (Lionsgate)
Stylish but lurid fact-based tale, set in 1971 London, about a car dealer and small-time criminal who, tipped off by an old friend, organizes a gang to rob the safe deposit boxes of an upscale bank, only to find himself caught between a crime lord, allied with a militant black-power leader, and an agent of the British counterintelligence service intent on preserving royal secrets. Director Roger Donaldson's film is primarily an intelligent and engaging crime thriller, but it delves, along the way, into the seamy details of some of its characters' private lives, while also graphically portraying underworld brutality. Nongraphic sexual activity, some of it aberrant, upper female and rear nudity, torture, much rough, crude and crass language, adultery and pornography themes, drug and prostitution references, and a passing anti-Catholic reference. (L, R)

CJ7 (Sony Classics)
Generally enchanting though somewhat flawed comic fable about an impoverished, shunned Chinese schoolboy whose life is transformed when his hardworking, widowed father brings a toy home from the garbage dump that turns out to be a doglike alien critter with supernatural powers. Stephen Chow, who stars, wrote and directed, hits the mark both humorously and dramatically, and his film offers a telling critique of cut-throat materialism, though its positive message and humane, even specifically Christian, values are undercut by a few distasteful scenes focused on the alien's doggy poop. Occasional crude language, comic book violence and scatological humor, though probably acceptable for older teens. (A-III)

College Road Trip (Disney)
Unobjectionable, though uninspired, family comedy in which a wildly overprotective father (Martin Lawrence), despite the misgivings of his sensible wife (Kym E. Whitley), insists on accompanying his 17-year-old daughter (Raven-Symone) on a visit to a distant university she's considering, meanwhile trying to convince her to attend a college much closer to home and discovering along the way that his small but precocious son has stowed away for the ride, accompanied by his pet pig. Director Roger Kumble's film is generally pleasant and conveys good messages about parental concern and the need for trust, but most of the humor is too implausible to really work. (A-I, G)

Married Life (Sony Classics)
Sluggish period melodrama --- based on John Bingham's 1950s' crime novel, "Five Roundabouts to Heaven" --- in which a businessman decides to poison his wife believing (wrongly) she'll be bereft without him when he ultimately leaves her for his mistress, not knowing the latter is being romantically pursued by his best friend. Though co-writer-director Ira Sachs seems to want to explore the challenges and compromises of long-term relationships, the stilted dialogue, lumbering pace and stylized old-movie artifice undercut an ostensibly suspenseful plot, solid performances and handsome production design. Adultery, murder theme, nonmarital sexual relationships, one nongraphic sexual encounter, some sexual talk and partial male nudity. (A-III, PG-13)

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (Focus)
Colorful though uneven comedy taken from Winifred Watson's 1938 English novel about a prim governess (a fine Frances McDormand) who, after being unfairly fired, blossoms as the social secretary to a flighty American actress (Amy Adams), helping her sort out the three men in her life: her musical accompanist, a nightclub owner and a budding producer, while herself falling for a prominent fashion designer. Director Bharat Nalluri's film, though more farcical than necessary and not always hitting the mark, is nonetheless well acted and plushly designed, while the story underscores the value of seizing second chances, discerning what's important in life and being true to one's finer self, with the amoral young woman ultimately making the right decision. Brief rear and partial nudity, implied nonmarital affairs, some innuendo, moderate swearing and brief profanity. (A-III, PG-13)

10,000 B.C. (Warner Bros.)
Familiar but only fitfully involving epic taking place at the end of the Ice Age about a young tribal hunter pursuing marauding slave raiders who have kidnapped the young woman he loves, while fighting predatory birds, saber-toothed tigers and mammoths along the way. Director Roland Emmerich's often silly epic holds few real surprises, and has the sort of cliche-filled script standard for this genre, but the digital effects are quite impressive, especially the bustling pyramid-studded slave colony that brings the hero and his companions to its predictable action-packed climax. Intense but not gory action violence and killings and some pagan mysticism. (A-II, PG-13)

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.