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

Battle for Terra (Lionsgate)
Ambitious animated parable, set on a distant planet that's being invaded by aggressive refugees from earth, in which a downed human airman finds his loyalties divided when he's befriended by one of the peace-loving, tadpole-shaped locals his warmongering commander is intent on destroying. While an honorable, if at times heavy-handed, cautionary tale about prejudice, violence and environmental degradation, the battle scenes --- especially as intensified by the 3-D presentation in some theaters --- are too strong for the youngest viewers, and quasi-religious aspects of the aliens' culture may require family discussion. Moderate combat violence and a suicide. (A-II, PG)

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (Warner Bros.)
A heartless womanizing bachelor is visited by the ghosts of his playboy uncle and those of his jilted girlfriends on the eve of the wedding of his brother, and he comes to realize the depth of his feelings for his childhood sweetheart. Despite a wonderfully redemptive outcome and a strong affirmation of marriage and fidelity, this "Christmas Carol" retread is marred by far too much crude and smutty humor. Crass sexual talk and innuendo, some crude language and fleeting profanity, premarital sexual situations and a drug reference. (L, PG-13)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Fox/Marvel)
Lavish action-packed prequel explores the origins of conflicted superhero Wolverine, including his defining childhood, turbulent relationship with his brother, role in a team of fellow mutants, and tragic romance with a schoolteacher. While Wolverine generally demonstrates moral conscience, the kinetic action and violence predominate. Intense action violence, killings, explosions, patricide, fleeting rear nudity, premarital habitation, some crude expletives, crass expressions and brief profanity, limiting its appropriateness to mature teens and up. (A-III, PG-13)

USCCB 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.