Rating: A-III (PG-13)

NEW YORK (CNS) — The following is a capsule review of a movie recently reviewed by the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Largely speculative but generally absorbing dramatization of George W. Bush (an uncannily accurate Josh Brolin) making the decision to invade Iraq and its aftermath, interspersed with flashbacks showing his undisciplined youth, initiation at Yale, courtship of wife Laura (Elizabeth Banks) and his unlikely rise to the governorship of Texas and the presidency. Director Oliver Stone and screenwriter Stanley Weiser take a cautious, surprisingly balanced approach to their central character, and the other familiar personages — Dick Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss), Condi Rice (Thandie Newton), Colin Powell (Jeffrey Wright) and others — with Bush drawn as a God-fearing leader whose actions were motivated by both his complicated relationship with his father (James Cromwell) and a rather simplistic sense of good and evil. One use of the F-word, several crude words and brief profanity, a few sexual references, fleeting strong war footage and alcohol abuse; acceptable for older teens. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.