The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Akeelah and the Bee (Lionsgate)
Irresistible story about a South Los Angeles 11-year-old loner (Keke Palmer) who reluctantly agrees to compete in a national spelling bee --- under the tutelage of an emotionally fragile English professor (Laurence Fishburne) against the initial wishes of her hard-working mother (Angela Bassett), who worries the endeavor will interfere with the girl's flagging grades in other subjects. Writer-director Doug Atchison handles Akeelah's journey of self-discovery and growing empowerment deftly and builds suspense on the way to a satisfying if unabashedly formulaic conclusion, helped by his first-rate leads, and inspiring messages about conquering fears, winning by honest means, the strength of community, and, above all, the beauty and potency of words. A few crass expressions and a single use of a four-letter word can't detract from an overall warm endorsement for all audiences. (Ratings: A-I, PG)
RV (Columbia)
Intermittently funny road comedy about an overworked executive (Robin Williams) who, for job-related reasons, cancels a long-planned family holiday in Hawaii and instead loads his wife (Cheryl Hines) and kids (Joanna "JoJo" Levesque and Josh Hutcherson) into a malfunctioning motor home and drives from Los Angeles to Colorado, with much comic mayhem along the way. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and with a subdued Williams in top jester form, this knockoff of "National Lampoon's Vacation" is full of silly slapstick and broad, if harmless, humor and imparts a warm message about family bonding. Some mildly crude humor, including a gross-out scatological sight gag, sexual innuendo, and scattered crass language and light profanity. (A-II, PG)
Stick It (Touchstone)
High-energy but formulaic teen sports movie about a 17-year-old former world-class gymnast (Missy Peregrym) who, after a run-in with the law, is sent by the court, as an alternative to juvenile detention, to a hard-core gymnastics academy, where a tough-love coach (Jeff Bridges) helps her get a second chance at the sport from which she had walked away. Stylishly directed by Jessica Bendinger, the film's cliched plot is thinner than the sport's balance beam and capped with an implausible ending, but Peregrym radiates perky charm and its girl-power message of second chances, fellowship and self-validation offsets its contrarian strains of thumbing your nose at the rules. Some crude language. (A-II, PG-13)
United 93 (Universal)
Tense, well-acted documentary-style drama about the hijacking of an aircraft on Sept. 11, 2001, when passengers fought back, downing the plane in the ensuing melee and preventing destruction of a probable Washington target, while air traffic controllers on the ground struggled to make sense of what was happening. Director Paul Greengrass has avoided exploitation with his dispassionate approach and the use of a no-name cast, but many will obviously find this extremely distressing. Yet as a testament to heroism and a vivid cautionary tale, the film was, on balance, a worthwhile endeavor. Harrowing suspense, violence and bloodshed (though discreetly shot with quick editing), other disturbing Sept. 11 imagery, a smattering of profanity and four-letter words uttered under extreme distress. (A-III, R) -- CNS
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