Each week, BDN film critic Christopher Smith will review the latest DVD releases

“Akeelah and the Bee”: For all its manipulations, “Bee” is a fine movie, one nicely suited for families, with a terrific central performance by Keke Palmer as 11-year-old Akeelah, a South Central, Los Angeles lass with loads of potential but little belief in herself that she can realize that potential. It’s her teacher who recognizes that Akeelah is a knockout speller, then her principal (Curtis Armstrong), and finally the man who becomes her mentor, the Zen-like Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne), who agrees to guide Akeelah on her new path, even though he’s struggling with his own. Angela Bassett is Akeelah’s single mother, Tanya, who is too busy being angry at her own situation to take her daughter’s gift seriously. What the movie gets exactly right is its knowledge that for some, realizing their first major, public accomplishment has nothing to do with throwing a touchdown, getting on base or finishing a marathon. For someone like Akeelah, correctly spelling a difficult word can prove the early zenith of their young lives. This, along with Palmer’s winning performance and the movie’s tight sense of community, makes the underseen “Akeelah and the Bee” a worthwhile movie, indeed. Rated PG. Grade: B+

“The Bone Collector: HD DVD”: What’s maddening about the movie is how close it comes to being a good movie. Now on HD DVD, the film initially has the immediacy of a jolt, but then it quickly mellows, becoming an uneven pastiche of other thrillers. Director Phillip Noyce seems almost repelled by what he has unleashed – a serial killer loose in the bowels of New York who collects human bones. In scene after scene, Noyce holds back, unwilling – or unable – to give audiences what they want: a film that digs and claws and bites its way under their skin. Throughout, the film is peppered with terrific scenes immediately followed by corny bits of dialogue, improbable situations, an obvious misunderstanding of police work. As a team, its stars – Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah – are solid. Far less effective is Michael Rooker as Capt. Howard Cheney, who is horrible in a role that demands strength and subtlety. Instead, Rooker is a swaggering laughingstock, choosing caricature and cliche over character and credibility. Rated R. Grade: C+

“The Devil’s Rejects: Blu-ray”: If you dig this sort of gross-out throwback to the horror movies of the ’70s, by all means, accept “The Devil’s Rejects.” Now available on Blu-ray, the movie is what it is, it stays true to the genre, and in this case, that’s pretty much all you can ask of it. From director Rob Zombie, the film features its share of murdering-hillbilly-Mansonesque rejects who go on a tear. They are every bit as awful as they are amusing. The film is a movie for fans of such B-movie horror classics as “Motel Hell,” “Cannibal Holocaust,” “Street Trash,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “I Spit on Your Grave.” All are outlaw horror movies that exist on their own terms, raising the dead with a rebel spirit that can be entertaining if you’re of a mind for this sort of thing. Since this sort of thing features this sort of dialogue: “Gimme some sugar, b**** – and make it sweet,” those who are offended by Zombie and his offbeat cult of films should definitely stay resist. All others? Enjoy. Rated R. Grade: B

“Invasion: Complete Series”: From Shaun Cassidy, creator of the terrific yet doomed television series “American Gothic,” comes “Invasion,” another terrific yet doomed television series that never found its niche. The invasion here is two-fold – the hurricane that slams into Homestead, Fla., and the alien presence that takes hold in its aftermath, with some of the residents mysteriously becoming shells for the otherworldly while others remain human. Eddie Cibrian, Lisa Sheridan, William Fichtner, Tyler Labine and Kari Matchett star. Ripples of Katrina obviously abound, but so do echoes of “Lost” and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” Good show. Grade: B+

“Stir of Echoes: HD DVD”: This strong, character-driven story, now on HD DVD, opens with a boy who sees dead people, but don’t fear – it’s not a rehash of “The Sixth Sense.” The film wisely and swiftly shifts its focus to the boy’s father, Tom Witzky (Kevin Bacon), a gruff jerk hypnotized by loopy sister-in-law Lisa (Illeana Douglas) in an effort to open his mind. No one is prepared for the consequences. Almost immediately, Tom’s mind is open to the paranormal. Like his son, Jake (Zachary David Cope), he now can see the spirit of a dead girl named Samantha (Jenny Morrison) living in their home. It is how Samantha died that gives the last half of “Echoes” its seamless cinematic verve. It joins such classics as “The Shining,” “The Omen” and “Carrie” in that it resists cheap scare tactics and is content to tell an absorbing story about people forever changed by the paranormal. There never is a moment when Koepp isn’t working for his characters or his story. Rated R. Grade: A-

“Veronica Mars: Complete Second Season”: Sure, Pluto recently got all the attention, but “Mars,” set in Neptune, Calif., is where it’s at. This second season of the show finds 17-year-old gumshoe Veronica (Kristen Bell) working alongside her detective father, Keith (Enrico Colantoni, superb), to uncover the cause of a tragic school bus accident that leaves everyone onboard dead. Was it just an accident – or was it something more sinister? That’s the season-long question. Swirling in the subplots is Veronica’s love life, her friendships, the appearance of her alcoholic mother and a hive of mini-mysteries solved along the way. This sharply written show with its notable wit doesn’t just nail the hierarchical high school experience, which is tricky (and dark and depressing) enough, it also has a deep understanding for the years that accompany it, which is the real reason “Veronica Mars” is such a necessary part of the television universe. Grade: A