Akeelah and the Bee (2006)

Kino

Love the Hard Way

Film.com's FREE movie of the week is "Love the Hard Way." Oscar-winner Adrien Brody and Charlotte Ayanna star in this drama about a thief who falls for a curious, beautiful young woman. As their intimacy grows, a slick cop (Pam Greer) is closing in.

CinemaSource

Studio: Lionsgate Studio: Lionsgate Studio: Lionsgate Studio: Lionsgate Studio: Lionsgate Studio: Lionsgate

Rating: PG

Release Date: Apr 28, 2006

Running Time: 112 mins.

Country Of Origin: United States

starring: Laurence Fishburne, Keke Palmer, Angela Bassett, Curtis Armstrong, JR Villareal, Sahara Garey, Sean Michael Afable, Erica Hubbard, Lee Thompson Young, Julito McCullum

director: Doug Atchison

Akeelah and the Bee

Akeelah Anderson is a precocious eleven-year-old girl from south Los Angeles with a gift for words. Despite the objections of her mother Tanya, Akeelah enters various spelling contests, for which she is tutored by the forthright Dr. Larabee; her principal Mr. Welch 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 unites her neighborhood.

Akeelah and the Bee musters up all the excitement it can about an underdog from the 'hood spelling impossibly difficult words. Formulaic, yes, but an admirable effort.

Story

Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) is a precocious 11-year-old girl from South Central Los Angeles, who acts tough and skips school but can actually spell like the dickens. She gains the attention of the school's principal (Curtis Armstrong), who wants her to represent the school at the regional spelling bee, but Akeelah balks,…