The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. See Film Ratings for USCCB and MPAA ratings.

Frozen River (Sony Classics)

Two cash-strapped women in upstate New York --- one a widowed Mohawk, the other a white working-class mother of two sons abandoned by her gambling-addicted husband --- are driven to smuggle undocumented aliens from Canada across the ice-bound St. Lawrence River into the United States for pay. Writer-director Courtney Hunt's somber, understated but dramatically effective feature debut is an unflinching study of hard times, racial divisions, the plight of migrants and the lure of fast money, though it also ultimately celebrates barrier-transcending friendship, rediscovered decency and quiet, self sacrificing heroism. Human trafficking theme, some rough and crude language, and a brief strip club scene without nudity. (A-III, R)

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Universal)

Lavish but lightweight adventure sequel in which an archaeologist joins forces with his explorer father and scholar mother to prevent the titular resurrected ruler from reviving his terracotta legions to tyrannize the world, while falling for the immortal maiden who holds the secret to the monarch's destruction. Director Rob Cohen's breathlessly paced epic is long on special effects and battle sequences and, though short on wit or convincing emotion, does feature respectable family values and a positive image of a marital partnership. Moderate action violence, brief innuendo, some crass language and a couple of profanities. (A-II, PG-13)

Swing Vote (Touchstone)

Smartly made if unabashedly formulaic comedy about a beer-chugging, slovenly single father (Kevin Costner) whose civically minded child (Madeline Carroll) surreptitiously tries to vote on his behalf, leading to an anomaly where his vote will determine the U.S. presidential race between the incumbent Republican and his Democratic rival. Costner and Carroll have good chemistry, though his character's predictable reformation takes annoyingly long, but the important messages of director and co-writer Joshua Michael Stern's film --- the importance of every vote and the integrity of the political process --- are entertainingly conveyed, and the script wisely takes a nonpartisan position. Much crude language, profanity and crass expressions; heavy drinking; brief irreverence; and some domestic discord. (A-III , 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.