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    <title>Akeelah and the Bee's Recent Activity - Spout</title>
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      <title>Film:Akeelah and the Bee</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/films/Akeelah_and_the_Bee/258514/default.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<table width='100%' style='font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><tr><td><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t81910vpksd.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' /></td>
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<strong>Title:</strong> Akeelah and the Bee<br/>
<strong>Year:</strong> 2006<br/>
<strong>Director:</strong> Doug Atchison<br/>
<strong>Plot:</strong> A young girl learns to believe in herself and value her intelligence in this critically-acclaimed, family-friendly drama. Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) is an 11-year-old being raised by her mother, Tanya (<a href="/players/P_____4466/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Angela Bassett</a>), who was left on her own after the death of her husband. While Akeelah is a very bright girl, she's hardly a star student and seems afraid of acting like a bookworm around her friends and classmates. However, Akeelah's teacher sees genuine potential in her student and encourages her to enter the school's spelling bee, convinced Akeelah has the brains and the talent to win. Akeelah applies herself and emerges victorious in the local competition, but discovers the going gets tougher when she goes to a statewide bee, studying for the regionals under the aegis of strict English teacher Dr. Larabee (<a href="/players/P____23625/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Laurence Fishburne</a>), who consents to act as her coach  A college professor who was a spelling-bee champ as a child, Larabee is a stubborn taskmaster who questions Akeelah's ability and commitment, but in time he develops a respect for his pupil and helps her prove her talent as she climbs the ladder to the National Spelling Bee. Meanwhile, Tanya feels intimidated when she finds the contests are dominated by children from wealthy families and privileged backgrounds, and argues that the competition may not be in Akeelah's best interest, believing instead that homework should be the one and only priority in Akeelah's life. It soon becomes apparent that if Akeelah has any intention of entering the national spelling bee championships in Washington, D.C., she will not do so with Tanya's permission or blessing. This marks the first onscreen reunion of Bassett and Fishburne since their Academy Award-nommed performances as Ike Turner and Tina Turner in Brian Gibson's 1993 biopic, <a href=/films/37988/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>What's Love Got to Do with It</a>. 
 ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide<br/>
<strong>Times Tagged:</strong> 23<br/>
<strong>Number of Lists:</strong> 14<br/>
<strong>Number of blog posts:</strong> 4<br/>
<strong>SpoutRating:</strong> 2<br/>
</td></tr></table>]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:05:15 GMT</pubDate><spout:Title>Akeelah and the Bee</spout:Title><spout:Year>2006</spout:Year><spout:Director>Doug Atchison</spout:Director><spout:Plot>A young girl learns to believe in herself and value her intelligence in this critically-acclaimed, family-friendly drama. Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) is an 11-year-old being raised by her mother, Tanya (&lt;a href="/players/P_____4466/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Angela Bassett&lt;/a&gt;), who was left on her own after the death of her husband. While Akeelah is a very bright girl, she's hardly a star student and seems afraid of acting like a bookworm around her friends and classmates. However, Akeelah's teacher sees genuine potential in her student and encourages her to enter the school's spelling bee, convinced Akeelah has the brains and the talent to win. Akeelah applies herself and emerges victorious in the local competition, but discovers the going gets tougher when she goes to a statewide bee, studying for the regionals under the aegis of strict English teacher Dr. Larabee (&lt;a href="/players/P____23625/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Laurence Fishburne&lt;/a&gt;), who consents to act as her coach  A college professor who was a spelling-bee champ as a child, Larabee is a stubborn taskmaster who questions Akeelah's ability and commitment, but in time he develops a respect for his pupil and helps her prove her talent as she climbs the ladder to the National Spelling Bee. Meanwhile, Tanya feels intimidated when she finds the contests are dominated by children from wealthy families and privileged backgrounds, and argues that the competition may not be in Akeelah's best interest, believing instead that homework should be the one and only priority in Akeelah's life. It soon becomes apparent that if Akeelah has any intention of entering the national spelling bee championships in Washington, D.C., she will not do so with Tanya's permission or blessing. This marks the first onscreen reunion of Bassett and Fishburne since their Academy Award-nommed performances as Ike Turner and Tina Turner in Brian Gibson's 1993 biopic, &lt;a href=/films/37988/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;What's Love Got to Do with It&lt;/a&gt;. 
 ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide</spout:Plot><spout:TimesTagged>23</spout:TimesTagged><spout:taglevel>Tag Target (&gt;10)</spout:taglevel><spout:Numberoflists>14</spout:Numberoflists><spout:NumberOfBlogPosts>4</spout:NumberOfBlogPosts><spout:SpoutRating>2</spout:SpoutRating><spout:FilmCoverURL>http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t81910vpksd.jpg</spout:FilmCoverURL><spout:SpoutFilmDetailURL>http://www.spout.com/films/Akeelah_and_the_Bee/258514/default.aspx</spout:SpoutFilmDetailURL><spout:type>Film</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Akeelah Spells A Good Time For The Whole Family</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/erico_77375/archive/2007/7/22/15522.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t81910vpksd.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/58384/default.aspx'>erico_77375</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/erico_77375/default.aspx'>erico_77375 Blog</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 7/22/2007 5:36:59 AM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> Just recently, I was checking the movie listings in my local newspaper when I had seen that RV, the latest Robin Williams film, was given a &quot;Seal Of Approval&quot;, by a major family-oriented association. In this particular film, in just the trailers showed a stupid dad, whiney kids, and a scene involving father and son getting showered by fecal matter, I kid you not. When it came to Akeelah and the Bee, there was no such approval, which was how I knew this was going to be an excellent family film.Akeelah and the Bee is a fascinating film that understands children, social classes, and the stresses that both go through on a daily basis. We learn to love these characters and want to know them better. And we cheer them on as though we&#39;re right beside them. That&#39;s not just a mark of a great film.Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) is an incredibly bright 11-year-old who has to find new ways of compensating for her intelligence to keep her grades low. She&#39;s afraid of being seen as a freak for being smart in an urban school that respects violence more than intelligence. Her teacher&#39;s aren&#39;t fooled for one minute and almost blackmail her into competing in her school&#39;s spelling bee. She wins very easily (which isn&#39;t saying much, since the other kids are either playing dumb or not), but she captures the attention of a visiting Dr. Larabee (Lawrence Fishbourne). In front of everybody, he asks her to spell some words that are much more difficult, and she rises to the challenge. He thinks she has what it takes to go to the National Spelling Bee and is willing to help her get there. But her mother (Angela Bassett) isn&#39;t so keen on this. Her reasons are Akeelah&#39;s grades, which to anybody really paying attention to her can see come from being bored more than a lack of trying. Unfortunately, her mom has other issues she has to face and cannot pay much attention to her.She makes friends of other spelling bee types from the nicer neighborhoods around L.A. One is Javier (JR Villareal), a boy who has a serious crush on her. The other is Dylan (Sean Michael Afable), whom gains her sympathy when she sees how badly his father treats him in their last attempt for victory at the Nationals. As she gets closer to the Nationals, she starts taking on the role of a champion for her neighborhood. Even the local hoods go out of their way to help her in one of the most fascinating scenes in this film. But it is in Larabee that Akeelah finds a father figure since her real father had died much earlier in her life. I love how the film reaches in her heart to see her father in short flashbacks, since it was his love of words that spur his daughter to love them too. But Larabee has a secret pain he shares as well, and one that only in his journey with Akeelah will he be able to come to terms with. Usually in this instance, I would consider this contrived. With this film, it&#39;s the real foundation of their bond and I feel it from both of them.What makes this story so strong is how earnest all these characters are. They talk like how I would think they talk, Akeelah acts like an 11-year-old would act. And all of the events that occur, as they should, nothing feeling forced or ill placed. It comes close to melodrama in a few places, but holds back just enough to see it on the inside, except for Akeelah, since she&#39;s at that age where it&#39;s supposed to come out.The performances all-round are prefect. Angela Bassett has always been Hollywood&#39;s best-kept secret since she brings more power into one scene than Halle Berry can put into five features. As Akeelah&#39;s overburdened mother, I felt an amazing amount of sympathy for her and never see her as an obstacle, resembling how other films like to consider parents. She just wants to keep Akeelah on the right path. Fishbourne also brings his A-Game here, although his Larabee does have that Zen-quality one might see in his Morpheus. But it is newcomer Keke Palmer that I must applaud. This is an Oscar-Worthy Performance if there ever was one. She makes us not only care for Akeelah, but love her and root for her. Every word she gets right keeps the audience applauding for her and Palmer allows us to see a girl who is trying make the best of a stressful situation. She doesn&#39;t hog scenes like other actresses, but allows her other co-stars, especially the non-star type, have their moments and supports them. I don&#39;t know if there&#39;ll be another performance I&#39;ll be talking about like this anytime later this year.Director Doug Atchison deserves applause for his LACK of flashy filmmaking. This is a character story if there ever is one. He puts his faith in his actors and his faith pays off in dividends. He uses quite a few montages to get through the training sequences. Those are important and all of them look different from each other. And I applaud his decision to not allow the film to build suspense at the end, but to bask in these characters and let what should happen just happen. A lesser filmmaker would try to put us pin and needles until the very end. Instead, the final word is spelled in a montage of all of Akeelah&#39;s teachers helping her out one last time. But back to what I was talking about concerning these American family associations that are giving approval to movies. Why do they pick movies that seem to revel in misbehaving children and incompetent parents? Why praise Daddy Day Care and ignore Millions? Akeelah is an uplifting film that makes you feel good coming out, where you&#39;re glad to have spent money to see it, but can also bring the kids along to see it too. There are a couple of naughty words said, but considering that this film is more than a little populated by magnificent words and ideas, I think the pros definitely outweigh the cons. Kids are more likely to be encouraged to spell rather than swear. And they might find a deeper respect for words and ideas coming out of this film.All in all, Akeelah and the Bee is a splendid piece of cinema more than worthy of your consumption. This film is not only most likely to be Best Family Film of the Year, but a film will be buying for my future kids to see.<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 22 Jul 2007 09:36:59 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>erico_77375</spout:postby><spout:postto>erico_77375 Blog</spout:postto><spout:postdate>7/22/2007 5:36:59 AM</spout:postdate><spout:body>Just recently, I was checking the movie listings in my local newspaper when I had seen that RV, the latest Robin Williams film, was given a &amp;quot;Seal Of Approval&amp;quot;, by a major family-oriented association. In this particular film, in just the trailers showed a stupid dad, whiney kids, and a scene involving father and son getting showered by fecal matter, I kid you not. When it came to Akeelah and the Bee, there was no such approval, which was how I knew this was going to be an excellent family film.Akeelah and the Bee is a fascinating film that understands children, social classes, and the stresses that both go through on a daily basis. We learn to love these characters and want to know them better. And we cheer them on as though we&amp;#39;re right beside them. That&amp;#39;s not just a mark of a great film.Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) is an incredibly bright 11-year-old who has to find new ways of compensating for her intelligence to keep her grades low. She&amp;#39;s afraid of being seen as a freak for being smart in an urban school that respects violence more than intelligence. Her teacher&amp;#39;s aren&amp;#39;t fooled for one minute and almost blackmail her into competing in her school&amp;#39;s spelling bee. She wins very easily (which isn&amp;#39;t saying much, since the other kids are either playing dumb or not), but she captures the attention of a visiting Dr. Larabee (Lawrence Fishbourne). In front of everybody, he asks her to spell some words that are much more difficult, and she rises to the challenge. He thinks she has what it takes to go to the National Spelling Bee and is willing to help her get there. But her mother (Angela Bassett) isn&amp;#39;t so keen on this. Her reasons are Akeelah&amp;#39;s grades, which to anybody really paying attention to her can see come from being bored more than a lack of trying. Unfortunately, her mom has other issues she has to face and cannot pay much attention to her.She makes friends of other spelling bee types from the nicer neighborhoods around L.A. One is Javier (JR Villareal), a boy who has a serious crush on her. The other is Dylan (Sean Michael Afable), whom gains her sympathy when she sees how badly his father treats him in their last attempt for victory at the Nationals. As she gets closer to the Nationals, she starts taking on the role of a champion for her neighborhood. Even the local hoods go out of their way to help her in one of the most fascinating scenes in this film. But it is in Larabee that Akeelah finds a father figure since her real father had died much earlier in her life. I love how the film reaches in her heart to see her father in short flashbacks, since it was his love of words that spur his daughter to love them too. But Larabee has a secret pain he shares as well, and one that only in his journey with Akeelah will he be able to come to terms with. Usually in this instance, I would consider this contrived. With this film, it&amp;#39;s the real foundation of their bond and I feel it from both of them.What makes this story so strong is how earnest all these characters are. They talk like how I would think they talk, Akeelah acts like an 11-year-old would act. And all of the events that occur, as they should, nothing feeling forced or ill placed. It comes close to melodrama in a few places, but holds back just enough to see it on the inside, except for Akeelah, since she&amp;#39;s at that age where it&amp;#39;s supposed to come out.The performances all-round are prefect. Angela Bassett has always been Hollywood&amp;#39;s best-kept secret since she brings more power into one scene than Halle Berry can put into five features. As Akeelah&amp;#39;s overburdened mother, I felt an amazing amount of sympathy for her and never see her as an obstacle, resembling how other films like to consider parents. She just wants to keep Akeelah on the right path. Fishbourne also brings his A-Game here, although his Larabee does have that Zen-quality one might see in his Morpheus. But it is newcomer Keke Palmer that I must applaud. This is an Oscar-Worthy Performance if there ever was one. She makes us not only care for Akeelah, but love her and root for her. Every word she gets right keeps the audience applauding for her and Palmer allows us to see a girl who is trying make the best of a stressful situation. She doesn&amp;#39;t hog scenes like other actresses, but allows her other co-stars, especially the non-star type, have their moments and supports them. I don&amp;#39;t know if there&amp;#39;ll be another performance I&amp;#39;ll be talking about like this anytime later this year.Director Doug Atchison deserves applause for his LACK of flashy filmmaking. This is a character story if there ever is one. He puts his faith in his actors and his faith pays off in dividends. He uses quite a few montages to get through the training sequences. Those are important and all of them look different from each other. And I applaud his decision to not allow the film to build suspense at the end, but to bask in these characters and let what should happen just happen. A lesser filmmaker would try to put us pin and needles until the very end. Instead, the final word is spelled in a montage of all of Akeelah&amp;#39;s teachers helping her out one last time. But back to what I was talking about concerning these American family associations that are giving approval to movies. Why do they pick movies that seem to revel in misbehaving children and incompetent parents? Why praise Daddy Day Care and ignore Millions? Akeelah is an uplifting film that makes you feel good coming out, where you&amp;#39;re glad to have spent money to see it, but can also bring the kids along to see it too. There are a couple of naughty words said, but considering that this film is more than a little populated by magnificent words and ideas, I think the pros definitely outweigh the cons. Kids are more likely to be encouraged to spell rather than swear. And they might find a deeper respect for words and ideas coming out of this film.All in all, Akeelah and the Bee is a splendid piece of cinema more than worthy of your consumption. This film is not only most likely to be Best Family Film of the Year, but a film will be buying for my future kids to see.</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Kiss Akeelah in the Asphalt Jungle Fountain</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/dibot/archive/2007/7/18/15191.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t81910vpksd.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/17539/default.aspx'>dibot</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/dibot/default.aspx'>dibot Blog</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 7/18/2007 11:45:00 AM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> The filmspotting noir marathon started out very strong. I was loving every movie. But the last two films left me a bit cold. The Asphalt Jungle is very famous, directed by John Huston ("Prizzi&#39;s Honor"), nominated for four Oscars, but I couldn&#39;t get into it. It&#39;s very well done. The cinematography is gorgeous, but I just didn&#39;t care about any of the characters, or even the story really. Maybe because this is a heist film instead of a detective story. And I don&#39;t always enjoy a heist. But at least all of the women weren&#39;t evil. So that&#39;s a plus. But at the same time, there wasn&#39;t a femme fatale.I enjoyed Kiss Me Deadly a bit more. Possibly because it was so strange. Detective Mike Hammer picks up a scantily clad female hitchhiker. She asks him to remember her if she doesn&#39;t make it. So when their car is overtaken, leaving her dead and him unconscious, he sets out to unravel the mystery. Though I can&#39;t say I really liked any of the characters in this film, either, I was at least intrigued by their stories. And the ending is very bizarre.Akeelah and the Bee is a pretty much by-the-numbers drama about a girl from a poor urban neighborhood who tries to win the National Spelling Bee. And though I could see every plot point coming from a mile off, I still enjoyed it. Keke Palmer ("Medea&#39;s Family Reunion") is super precious as Akeelah and Lawrence Fishburne ("Bobby") keeps the teacher role from becoming terribly cliched. This would be excellent family viewing.Though Darren Aronofsky ("Requiem for a Dream")&#39;s The Fountain totally tanked at the box office, I was immediately drawn into it visually. Then I found myself emotionally invested in the story as well. Though I&#39;m not sure exactly which parts were meant to be story and which parts were real life, it didn&#39;t matter. Hugh Jackman ("Happy Feet") totally sells every minute of each story. And did I mention the stunning visuals?<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:45:00 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>dibot</spout:postby><spout:postto>dibot Blog</spout:postto><spout:postdate>7/18/2007 11:45:00 AM</spout:postdate><spout:body>The filmspotting noir marathon started out very strong. I was loving every movie. But the last two films left me a bit cold. The Asphalt Jungle is very famous, directed by John Huston ("Prizzi&amp;#39;s Honor"), nominated for four Oscars, but I couldn&amp;#39;t get into it. It&amp;#39;s very well done. The cinematography is gorgeous, but I just didn&amp;#39;t care about any of the characters, or even the story really. Maybe because this is a heist film instead of a detective story. And I don&amp;#39;t always enjoy a heist. But at least all of the women weren&amp;#39;t evil. So that&amp;#39;s a plus. But at the same time, there wasn&amp;#39;t a femme fatale.I enjoyed Kiss Me Deadly a bit more. Possibly because it was so strange. Detective Mike Hammer picks up a scantily clad female hitchhiker. She asks him to remember her if she doesn&amp;#39;t make it. So when their car is overtaken, leaving her dead and him unconscious, he sets out to unravel the mystery. Though I can&amp;#39;t say I really liked any of the characters in this film, either, I was at least intrigued by their stories. And the ending is very bizarre.Akeelah and the Bee is a pretty much by-the-numbers drama about a girl from a poor urban neighborhood who tries to win the National Spelling Bee. And though I could see every plot point coming from a mile off, I still enjoyed it. Keke Palmer ("Medea&amp;#39;s Family Reunion") is super precious as Akeelah and Lawrence Fishburne ("Bobby") keeps the teacher role from becoming terribly cliched. This would be excellent family viewing.Though Darren Aronofsky ("Requiem for a Dream")&amp;#39;s The Fountain totally tanked at the box office, I was immediately drawn into it visually. Then I found myself emotionally invested in the story as well. Though I&amp;#39;m not sure exactly which parts were meant to be story and which parts were real life, it didn&amp;#39;t matter. Hugh Jackman ("Happy Feet") totally sells every minute of each story. And did I mention the stunning visuals?</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Akeelah is a good feel-good</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/ktincu/archive/2006/9/28/3081.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t81910vpksd.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/2208/default.aspx'>ktincu</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/ktincu/default.aspx'>ktincu Blog</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 9/28/2006 10:31:00 AM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> I was so not surprised to get sucked in by all the "feel good" feelings while watching Akeelah and the Bee. It has all the necessary trappings:  - a school official who believes in the potential of an underprivileged child - a stressed out, overworked mom who eventually learns to support her child's dreams - a friendship between a working class black girl and an upper middle class Hispanic boy - the eventual friendship between the black girl and a highly driven Asian boy - a brother who "got out" of the neighborhood and another who is "sinking in" (but shows signs of hope by the film's end) - a successful man who can't get beyond his own demons until a smart and sassy little girl comes into his life - school bullies who are the losers in the end - reasons to cheer  In general, many people in Akeelah's world are obstacles that eventually come around. It doesn't get more feel-good than that.   But amazingly, this film did not annoy me. In part, it's because Akeelah is such an engaging, endearing character. Even more so, though, it's because I watched the film with three girls, ages 6, 8 and 10. Not only were they completely rapt with attention through the whole film, they promptly began playing "spelling bee" as soon as the film was over. During dinner they even suggested that it would be fun each night at dinner to always spell the last word of any sentence spoken by any person at the table. (We let that go on for about 5 minutes before putting an end to the madness.)  Overall, I think this is a good family film. Kids sometimes need the cliches and feel-good trappings to get into a film and get what would otherwise be too-subtle messages. My kids haven't seen Spellbound yet, but I'm not sure they would be quite as inspired by it (even though it is a much better film). They didn't love Mad Hot Ballroom the way I expected because there were too many interviews (i.e.: slow parts). Ah kids. There's no accounting for taste.  For more on my feelings about Akeelah's ties to Starbucks Entertainment, read my SpoutBlog post.  <br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 28 Sep 2006 14:31:00 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>ktincu</spout:postby><spout:postto>ktincu Blog</spout:postto><spout:postdate>9/28/2006 10:31:00 AM</spout:postdate><spout:body>I was so not surprised to get sucked in by all the "feel good" feelings while watching Akeelah and the Bee. It has all the necessary trappings:  - a school official who believes in the potential of an underprivileged child - a stressed out, overworked mom who eventually learns to support her child's dreams - a friendship between a working class black girl and an upper middle class Hispanic boy - the eventual friendship between the black girl and a highly driven Asian boy - a brother who "got out" of the neighborhood and another who is "sinking in" (but shows signs of hope by the film's end) - a successful man who can't get beyond his own demons until a smart and sassy little girl comes into his life - school bullies who are the losers in the end - reasons to cheer  In general, many people in Akeelah's world are obstacles that eventually come around. It doesn't get more feel-good than that.   But amazingly, this film did not annoy me. In part, it's because Akeelah is such an engaging, endearing character. Even more so, though, it's because I watched the film with three girls, ages 6, 8 and 10. Not only were they completely rapt with attention through the whole film, they promptly began playing "spelling bee" as soon as the film was over. During dinner they even suggested that it would be fun each night at dinner to always spell the last word of any sentence spoken by any person at the table. (We let that go on for about 5 minutes before putting an end to the madness.)  Overall, I think this is a good family film. Kids sometimes need the cliches and feel-good trappings to get into a film and get what would otherwise be too-subtle messages. My kids haven't seen Spellbound yet, but I'm not sure they would be quite as inspired by it (even though it is a much better film). They didn't love Mad Hot Ballroom the way I expected because there were too many interviews (i.e.: slow parts). Ah kids. There's no accounting for taste.  For more on my feelings about Akeelah's ties to Starbucks Entertainment, read my SpoutBlog post.  </spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: If I watch one spelling bee movie...</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/pammyk/archive/2006/4/18/900.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t81910vpksd.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/2224/default.aspx'>PammyK</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/pammyk/default.aspx'>Pammyk's thoughts</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 4/18/2006 12:06:00 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> If I watch one spelling bee movie, should it be Akeelah and the Bee (2006) or Spellbound (2002)?<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 18 Apr 2006 16:06:00 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>PammyK</spout:postby><spout:postto>Pammyk's thoughts</spout:postto><spout:postdate>4/18/2006 12:06:00 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>If I watch one spelling bee movie, should it be Akeelah and the Bee (2006) or Spellbound (2002)?</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:sad</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/sad/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/sad/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>sad</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 170</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 96</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 226</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:35:46 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>170</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>96</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>226</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:sweet</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/sweet/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/sweet/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>sweet</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 108</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 90</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 170</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:28:46 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>108</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>90</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>170</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:moving</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/moving/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/moving/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>moving</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 286</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 68</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 160</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:15:30 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>286</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>68</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>160</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:predictable</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/predictable/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/predictable/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>predictable</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 40</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 37</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 52</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 10 Apr 2009 01:32:00 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>40</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>37</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>52</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:charming</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/charming/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/charming/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>charming</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 45</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 30</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 56</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:04:54 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>45</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>30</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>56</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:courage</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/courage/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/courage/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>courage</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 1054</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 28</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 80</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:24:48 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>1054</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>28</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>80</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:wealth</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/wealth/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/wealth/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>wealth</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 749</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 26</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 70</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 20 Sep 2009 05:18:07 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>749</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>26</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>70</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:summer</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/summer/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/summer/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>summer</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 260</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 19</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 31</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:13:15 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>260</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>19</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>31</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:la</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/la/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/la/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>la</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 24</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 16</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 27</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:57:36 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>24</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>16</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>27</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:well-acted</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/well-acted/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/well-acted/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>well-acted</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 32</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 12</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 43</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:16:39 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>32</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>12</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>43</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:inspiration</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/inspiration/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/inspiration/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>inspiration</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 395</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 8</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 13</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:24:51 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>395</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>8</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>13</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:neighborhood</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/neighborhood/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/neighborhood/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>neighborhood</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 189</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 7</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 8</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:07:07 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>189</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>7</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>8</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:spelling</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/spelling/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/spelling/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>spelling</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 13</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 6</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 6</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:54:28 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>13</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>6</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>6</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:mourning</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/mourning/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/mourning/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>mourning</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 7</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 5</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 9</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:51:36 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>7</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>5</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>9</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:spellingbee</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/spellingbee/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/spellingbee/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>spellingbee</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 10</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 5</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 5</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 07 Nov 2006 14:01:20 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>10</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>5</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>5</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
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