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

The Proposal (Touchstone)
To avoid being deported back to Canada, a hard-driving New York book editor (Sandra Bullock) coerces her brow-beaten executive assistant (Ryan Reynolds) into getting engaged, but the hostility underlying their charade of love mellows during a visit to his parents' (Mary Steenburgen and Craig T. Nelson) Alaska home for his grandmother's (Betty White) 90th birthday. Brief interludes of questionable humor and a largely predictable plot aside, director Anne Fletcher's effervescent romantic comedy is mostly a valentine to family affection and against-the-odds ardor. Implied premarital sexual activity, fleeting nudity, some sexual humor, a couple of crude and a dozen crass words, at least two uses of profanity. (A-III, PG-13)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (DreamWorks/Paramount)
Overlong, mindlessly violent action adventure sequel in which a college freshman (Shia LaBeouf) and his girlfriend (Megan Fox) assist a group of friendly, shape-shifting alien robots as they battle to defend humanity against the designs of a hostile horde of similar creatures. Derived from the back story of a line of Hasbro toys, director Michael Bay's globe-trotting explosion fest offers only a modicum of human interest amid the thunderous special effects. Also shown in Imax. Pervasive action violence, brief rear nudity, brief nongraphic nonmarital sexual activity, drug use, occasional rough and crude and some crass language, and frequent sexual references. (L, PG-13)

Whatever Works (Sony Pictures Classics)
A pessimistic New York grouch (Larry David) finds his life transformed when he reluctantly shelters a homeless but irrepressibly cheerful young Southerner (Evan Rachel Wood), and they fall for each other. Though undeniably clever at times, writer-director Woody Allen's comedy of manners mocks evangelical Christians through the waif's parents (Patricia Clarkson and Ed Begley Jr.) and heavy-handedly rams home the message that, in a meaningless universe, any path to temporary fulfillment, particularly that of unbridled sexuality, ought to be pursued. Adultery, implied group sex and homosexual activity, images of full nudity, a suicide theme, some sexual humor, at least one crude and one crass word, and about a dozen uses of profanity. (O, PG-13)

Year One (Columbia)
Ramshackle road comedy in which two misfit hunter-gatherers (Jack Black and Michael Cera) set out from their prehistoric village and encounter a series of biblical figures, including Cain (David Cross), Abraham (Hank Azaria), Isaac (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and the elite of Sodom (most prominently Oliver Platt). Director and co-writer Harold Ramis' lumbering journey is fuelled by sophomoric humor and smug irreverence. Profane treatment of scriptural figures and practices, pervasive sexual and some scatological humor, implied premarital sexual activity, at least one use of the F-word, much crude and crass language. (O, 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.