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Movies / On DVD / The Secret Life of Bees
The Secret Life of Bees

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The Secret Life of Bees (2008)

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Reviews Counted:134

Fresh:78

Rotten:56

Average Rating:5.9/10

Consensus: The Secret Life of Bees has moments of charm, but is largely too maudlin and sticky-sweet.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for thematic material and some violence.

Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Oct 17, 2008 Wide

Box Office: $37,665,012

Synopsis: THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, based on the New York Times best selling novel and set in South Carolina in 1964, is the moving tale of Lily Owens (Fanning) a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory... THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, based on the New York Times best selling novel and set in South Carolina in 1964, is the moving tale of Lily Owens (Fanning) a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother (Burton). To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father (Bettany), Lily flees with Rosaleen (Hudson), her caregiver and only friend, to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by the intelligent and independent Boatwright sisters (Latifah, Okonedo and Keys), Lily finds solace in their mesmerizing world of beekeeping. [More]

Starring: Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys

Starring: Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo, Nate Parker, Tristan Wilds, Hilarie Burton, Paul Bettany

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Screenwriter: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Producer: Lauren Shuler Donner, Will Smith, James Lassiter, Joe Pichirallo
Composer: Mark Isham
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Feb 3, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Queen Latifah and Dakota Fanning head a stellar ensemble cast in this "wonderful film about family, independence and the transcendent power of love" (Minneapolis Star Tribune) based on the acclaimed best-selling novel. To escape her cruel, angry father - and discover the truth about her late mother's past - 14-year old Lily Owens flees with her caregiver and friend Rosaleen to a South Carolina town where she's taken in by the bee-keeping Boatwright sisters. Surrounded by the unexpected love, grace and spirituality she encounters there, Lily forms a bond with each of these uniquely gifted women and discovers that sometimes you must leave home in order to find it.
  • Source: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
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    Reviews for The Secret Life of Bees

    • T-Meter Critics
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    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    Can I tell you a secret? This movie is *really* good. Grab Nana and go see it!

    Full Review Source: 3BlackChicks Review | comment Comment
    08/03/09
    Kamal  'The Diva' Larsuel
    Kamal 'The Diva' Larsuel
    3BlackChicks Review

    Bees is almost too sweet, but with enduring enough performances to make a solid movie.

    Full Review Source: BET.com | comment Comment
    07/06/09
    Clay Cane
    Clay Cane
    BET.com

    (...) Hay un mérito atendible en la directora y es evitar caer en la sensiblería barata que el asunto arriesgaba.

    Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
    05/04/09
    Enrique Buchichio
    Enrique Buchichio
    Uruguay Total

    The story is a gentle depiction of harsh times that works best as a coming-of-age parable, not so well as a historical drama.

    Full Review Source: MovieTime, ABC Radio National | comment Comment
    03/06/09
    Jason Di Rosso
    Jason Di Rosso
    MovieTime, ABC Radio National

    Once again, Dakota Fanning demonstrates that, even as a teenager, she already has the acting skills and range equal to -- if not better than -- her A-list contemporaries.

    Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | comment Comment
    03/06/09
    Pauline Adamek
    Pauline Adamek
    FILMINK (Australia)

    Glossy yet ultimately shallow, this platitudinous, unconvincing drama makes The Colour Purple look like Mississippi Burning.

    Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
    03/06/09
    Eddie Cockrell
    Eddie Cockrell
    Sydney Morning Herald

    On most levels the film, which has a surprising number of unconvincing details, takes the sugary option; it shies away from the harsher realities whenever possible.

    Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment Comment
    03/06/09
    David Stratton
    David Stratton
    At the Movies (Australia)

    A dense story about a little girl and the impact her mother's death has on her makes terrific cinema in this beautifully realised film

    Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
    02/27/09
    Andrew L. Urban
    Andrew L. Urban
    Urban Cinefile

    The film has a dream-like quality above its punchy emotional core

    Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
    02/27/09
    Louise Keller
    Louise Keller
    Urban Cinefile

    The Secret Life of Bees features another buzz-worthy turn by Dakota Fanning.

    Full Review Source: Donne Tempo | comment Comment
    01/28/09
    Christian Toto
    Christian Toto
    Donne Tempo

    The source material remains affecting and the cast work hard to add dimension to a lacklustre screenplay. But sadly, it adds up to less than the sum of its parts.

    Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
    12/05/08
    Liz Beardsworth
    Liz Beardsworth
    Empire Magazine

    There’s a purity, clarity and honesty to this feminist heart-warmer’s melodramatic instincts that make it surprisingly moving and satisfying.

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    12/05/08
    Wally Hammond
    Wally Hammond
    Time Out

    Fanning and Latifah form the proficient core of this reliable if humdrum American period drama.

    Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
    12/05/08
    Daniel Etherington
    Daniel Etherington
    Channel 4 Film

    Tragedies strike and life lessons are learnt, homespun wisdom is dispensed. It’s simplistic to the point of total idiocy.

    Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment 1 Comment
    12/05/08
    Wendy Ide
    Wendy Ide
    Times [UK]

    This fairytale of the civil rights era is all honey and no sting.

    Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
    12/05/08
    Xan Brooks
    Xan Brooks
    Guardian [UK]

    It's generous-minded, and though it labours awkwardly to move you, that doesn't mean you won't be moved.

    Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
    12/05/08
    David Gritten
    David Gritten
    Daily Telegraph

    From the producer of X-Men… comes the dullest, gooiest chick-flick of the year.

    Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
    12/05/08
    Elliott Noble
    Elliott Noble
    Sky Movies

    It’ll be way too cloying for most – but the, ahem, bee’s knees for sugar fiends. Probably best enjoyed with a glass of Chardonnay and your cynicism on hold.

    Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
    12/05/08
    Total Film

    The whole thing is coated in a golden hue, as though the lens has been dunked in syrup. Males - or females with a horror of smug, sugary sentiment - should run a mile.

    Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment Comment
    12/05/08
    Christopher Tookey
    Christopher Tookey
    Daily Mail [UK]

    Idyllic tale despite the back story of racial tension and family abuse. Fanning holds her own in a great cast with Okonedo and Paul Bettany as an unbalanced father in fine form.

    Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
    12/05/08
    Mark Adams
    Mark Adams
    Daily Mirror [UK]
     
     
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