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27
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33
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82
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42
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20
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36
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54
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49
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78
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65
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64
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53
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53
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63
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36
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35
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51
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47
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60
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71
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70
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93
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64
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47
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54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
93
WALL-E
82
Dark Knight, The
79
Iron Man
78
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
73
Kung Fu Panda
71
Tropic Thunder
71
Horton Hears a Who!
70
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
64
Wanted
64
Pineapple Express
63
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
61
Incredible Hulk, The
60
Traitor
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
55
House Bunny, The
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
54
Get Smart
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
53
Longshots, The
53
Rocker, The
51
Mamma Mia!
51
Step Brothers
49
Hancock
47
Swing Vote
47
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
43
Meet Dave
42
Death Race
36
Space Chimps
36
Fly Me to the Moon
35
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
35
Mirrors
34
Happening, The
33
College
31
Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The
27
Babylon A.D.
24
Love Guru, The
20
Disaster Movie
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

85
Alexandra
40
America the Beautiful
66
American Teen
73
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
xx
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62
Baghead
57
Beautiful Losers
xx
Beer for My Horses
47
Before the Rains
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
56
Bottle Shock
75
Boy A
55
Bra Boys
61
Brick Lane
64
Brideshead Revisited
61
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49
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54
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86
Edge of Heaven, The
66
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52
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80
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64
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86
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83
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68
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62
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73
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54
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76
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63
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78
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50
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61
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89
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87
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74
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46
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80
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66
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72
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61
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71
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78
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51
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57
Sixty Six
57
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83
Tell No One
56
Then She Found Me
71
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72
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80
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83
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86
Up the Yangtze
79
Visitor, The
61
Wackness, The
54
What We Do Is Secret
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
64
XXY
53
Year of the Fish
xx
Young People F**king
75
Young@Heart
89
Man on Wire
87
Momma's Man
86
Up the Yangtze
86
Edge of Heaven, The
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
85
Alexandra
83
U2 3D
83
Frozen River
83
Tell No One
80
Encounters at the End of the World
80
Trouble the Water
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
80
Order of Myths, The
79
Visitor, The
78
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
78
Last Mistress, The
76
I Served the King of England
75
Young@Heart
75
Boy A
74
Mongol
73
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
72
Priceless
72
Transsiberian
72
I.O.U.S. A
71
To the Limit
71
Roman de gare
70
Love Songs
68
Girl Cut in Two, A
67
Jellyfish
66
Elegy
66
Patti Smith: Dream of Life
66
American Teen
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
64
Brideshead Revisited
64
XXY
64
Fall, The
63
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
62
Kabluey
62
Baghead
62
Girls Rock!
61
Bustin' Down the Door
61
Wackness, The
61
Man Named Pearl, A
61
Red
61
Brick Lane
57
Sukiyaki Western Django
57
Sixty Six
57
Beautiful Losers
56
Bottle Shock
56
Then She Found Me
55
Bra Boys
54
Hamlet 2
54
What We Do Is Secret
54
CSNY: Déjà Vu
53
Year of the Fish
52
Elsa & Fred
51
Savage Grace
50
Last Stop for Paul
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
47
Before the Rains
46
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
46
My Mexican Shivah
44
Henry Poole is Here
40
America the Beautiful
25
Hell Ride
xx
Young People F**king
xx
Bachna Ae Haseeno
xx
Goal II: Living the Dream
xx
Cthulhu
xx
Beer for My Horses
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Akeelah and the Bee
Lions Gate Films
MPAA RATING: PG for some language
Starring
Angela Bassett,
Keke Palmer,
Laurence Fishburne,
J.R. Villarreal,
and
Curtis Armstrong
An inspirational drama, Akeelah and the Bee is the story of Akeelah Anderson (Palmer), a precocious eleven-year old girl from south Los Angeles with a gift for words. Despite the objections of her mother (Bassett), Akeelah enters various spelling contest, for which she is tutored by the forthright Dr. Larabee (Fishburne), her principal Mr. Welch (Armstrong) and the proud residents of her neighborhood. Akeelah's aptitude earns her an opportunity to compete for a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee and in turn united her neighborhood who witness the courage and inspiration of one amazing little girl. (Lionsgate)
| GENRE(S): |
Drama
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Doug Atchison
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Doug Atchison
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: August 29, 2006
Theatrical: April 28, 2006
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
112 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Keke Palmer, a young Chicago actress whose first role was as Queen Latifah's niece in "Barbershop 2," becomes an important young star with this movie. It puts her in Dakota Fanning and Thora Cross territory, and there's something about her poise and self-possession that hints she will grow up to be a considerable actress.

90
Newsweek
Devin Gordon
Splendiferous.

88
Boston Globe
Wesley Morris
All the gears, in fact, are shamelessly visible, yet they lock smoothly and resonantly into place. If Akeelah and the Bee is a generic, well-oiled commercial contraption, it is the first to credibly dramatize the plight of a truly gifted, poor black child.

83
Baltimore Sun
Chris Kaltenbach
A movie like this could easy slide into Shirley Temple territory, showcasing a child actor so full of sweetness and light and good, old-fashioned spunk that audiences wince. But Palmer, whose enthusiasm and energy never seem forced, avoids all those traps; her Akeelah is never less than believable.

83
Entertainment Weekly
Scott Brown
Blessed with excellent turns by Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne, this feel-gooder revels in its hip-to-be-square hyperliteracy, and neatly exceeds its own PSA-ness, practically amounting to a black, preteen "Good Will Hunting."

80
Dallas Observer
Jim Ridley
A sweet-natured, immensely likable family film.

80
The New York Times
Lawrence Van Gelder
The innate suspense and charm of the spelling bee, along with a trio of crack performances, turn what is in essence a formulaic sports picture into something more satisfying: an underdog tale that manages to inspire without being sappy.

80
Chicago Reader
Andrea Gronvall
This small gem about a South Central LA girl with a gift for spelling restores luster to the family genre.

80
Film Threat
Felix Vasques Jr.
A film like this has to be seen. It's beautiful, it's encouraging, and it really inspires its audience to commit to something positive.

75
San Francisco Chronicle
Ruthe Stein
Akeelah and the Bee connects where it counts most, on an emotional level. Only a curmudgeon could watch this feisty but vulnerable youngster rack up victories against all odds without tearing up.

75
Philadelphia Inquirer
Carrie Rickey
In its final act, Akeelah is as exciting as any Final Four matchup. What it may lack in cinematic art it compensates for in abecedarian adrenaline guaranteed to pump the pulse and the spirits of viewers from 10 to 90.

75
Premiere
Sara Brady
The climactic spelling bee sequence is as tautly written and edited as any gridiron drama, and Palmer's performance here is truly gripping.

75
New York Daily News
Jack Mathews
I'm not sure how tolerable this would be without Palmer's charm, because this is a formulated script where everything is tied up in perfect bows, just like life isn't.

75
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh
Sentimental, manipulative, predictable and utterly charming.

75
Christian Science Monitor
Peter Rainer
A slight but winning heart-tugger.

70
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
A genuinely sweet and determinedly inspirational family film that features a charming young actress in the title role. It's a successful feel-good movie, but it would make you feel even better if it didn't push quite so hard for its desired effects.

70
Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
By turns funny, affecting tale.

70
LA Weekly
Chuck Wilson
While it can't have been easy to find action points for a drama about vocabulary drills, Atchison comes up with a steady stream of plot-propelling business, including Akeelah's flair for jump rope, a skill that serves her beautifully in a clinch moment.

70
The Hollywood Reporter
Michael Rechtshaffen
Effectively anchoring the picture is Keke Palmer's lovely lead performance as Akeelah Anderson.

70
Variety
Justin Chang
This earnest weepie plays like "The Karate Kid" with a pro-literacy agenda, pushing all the right emotional buttons yet hitting quite a few wrong ones in the process.

70
Village Voice
Benjamin Strong
It helps that newcomer Keke Palmer nails it as the 11-year-old prodigy, avoiding cuteness and conveying more angst than all the pasty freaks in "Spellbound" combined.

67
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Nathan Rabin
As the conceptually similar documentary "Spellbound" proved, spelling bees are innately dramatic. But that doesn't keep Atchison from constantly pushing the film toward theatrical moments instead of letting the drama arise organically from the story.

67
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sean Axmaker
You can't help but root for Akeelah as she reclaims the pride in her talents and her achievements. That's an idea worth spelling out to a young audience.

63
USA Today
Claudia Puig
You could be cynical about the first movie produced by the coffee colossus Starbucks. But there's nothing cynical about Akeelah's story of courage and determination.

63
New York Post
Kyle Smith
So warm and well-meaning that you may find yourself wanting to like it more than you really do.

63
Chicago Tribune
Michael Phillips
Predictable, corny and formulaic...Yet this latest triumph of the spelling-bee spirit, like last year's earnest, flawed film version of "Bee Season," features a film-saving performance where it counts most: from the kid playing the kid with big brain and even bigger heart.

63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Rick Groen
Normally, such saccharine inspiration only manages to clog the heart, not warm it. But there's a true original in this den of clichés and her name is Keke Palmer.

60
Empire
Anna Smith
There's charm in this simple underdog tale, but clunky plotting and characterisation mean it has 'telemovie' written all over it.

50
Portland Oregonian
Marc Mohan
It's unfortunate that the lack of originality in plot and character keeps Akeelah and the Bee stuck firmly in "After-School Special" territory.

50
Austin Chronicle
Marrit Ingman
It is a rewarding tale for public educators, parents, and kids with big dreams.


The average user rating for this movie is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 53 User Votes
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