• DVD Release Date:  August 29, 2006

• Theatrical Release Date:  April 28, 2006

• Rating:  PG (for some language)

• Genre:  Drama

• Run Time:  112 min.

• Director:  Doug Atchison

• Actors:  Keke Palmer, Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Curtis Armstrong

Overcoming obstacles. Feeling like an outsider looking in. Coping with the prejudices of others. These are all common cinematic themes, but when well executed, they can result in stirring entertainment. Such is the case with "Akeelah and the Bee," a rousing story of how one young girl discovers a special talent for spelling and seeks to fulfill her intellectual potential.

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8.  STRANGER THAN FICTION

• Theatrical Release Date:  November 10, 2006

• Rating:  PG-13 (for some disturbing images, sexuality, brief language and nudity)

• Genre:  Drama/Black comedy

• Run Time:  113 min.

• Director:  Marc Forster

• Actors:  Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Queen Latifah, Linda Hunt, Kristin Chenoweth, Tony Hale

Like Jim Carrey in “The Truman Show” funnyman Will Ferrell sets out to prove that he can be serious if the script calls for it in the whimsical tale “Stranger Than Fiction.”  And it’s a challenge that Ferrell pulls off with aplomb as Harold Crick, a lonely IRS agent whose life takes a dramatic turn when he begins to hear a voice in his head narrating his life. When that voice tells him his death is eminent, it creates a tricky worldview dilemma:  how do you live your life when you know you are not long for this world?

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9.  NACHO LIBRE

• DVD Release Date:  October 24, 2006