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Movies / On DVD / Coach Carter
Coach Carter

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Coach Carter (2005)

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64 %
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Reviews Counted: 141

Fresh: 90

Rotten:51

Average Rating: 6/10

Consensus: Like a good point guard, Samuel L. Jackson is the clear leader on the floor in a film that critics say transcends its formula trappings to be inspirational. However, some have said the film is too preachy and too long.

Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for violence, sexual content, language, teen partying and some drug material.

Runtime: 2 hrs 16 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:25-02-2005

Synopsis: In the tradition of LEAN ON ME and DANGEROUS MINDS comes COACH CARTER, an inspirational drama starring Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson portrays real-life figure Ken Carter, who graduated from... In the tradition of LEAN ON ME and DANGEROUS MINDS comes COACH CARTER, an inspirational drama starring Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson portrays real-life figure Ken Carter, who graduated from California's Richmond High only to return there years later, in 1999, and take over as head coach of the boys' basketball team. Unfortunately, the troubled school he remembered as a teenager is an even more insufferable place in his adulthood. Determined to make a change in his players' lives, Carter makes each young man sign a contract that ensures he will maintain a 2.3 GPA, attend every class, and wear a jacket and tie on game day. Of course, the players reject the contract at first, but when they realize that they don't have any other choice, they give in. And when it appears that their tough-as-nails coach is actually turning them into winners on the court, they embrace their coach's philosophy even further. But when Coach Carter receives the incomprehensibly awful progress reports of his players, he does the unthinkable: he benches the entire team. Directed by Thomas Carter (SAVE THE LAST DANCE), COACH CARTER is a sensitive drama that features an impassioned performance by Jackson, as well as the impressive young cast (most notably Rob Brown, Rick Gonzalez, and Robert Ri'Chard). [More]

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Ri'chard, Rob Brown, Debbi Morgan

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Ri'chard, Rob Brown, Debbi Morgan, Ashanti, Antwon Tanner, Ramsey Gbelawoe

Director: Thomas Carter

Director: Thomas Carter
Screenwriter: Mark Schwahn, John Gatins
Producer: Brian Robbins, Mike Tollin, David Gale
Studio: Paramount Pictures

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Reviews for Coach Carter

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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A worthy addition to familiar triumph-of-the-underdog stories.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
03/25/08
Leigh Singer
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

On paper a routine sports yarn. On screen, thanks to Jackson refusing to phone it in, far more satisfying than you might expect.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Simon Braund
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Although this is an inspirational genre pic that pushes all the requisite buttons throughout, you can’t help but feel that rather than benching the team, director Thomas Carter should have benched a few of those ham-fisted sporting clichés instead.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Chris Tilly
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Jackson] is, of course, born to shout things at teenagers on basketball courts and he delivers all the time-honoured usual speeches with his customary brilliance

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
02/26/05
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Over long and deeply manipulative, Coach Carter should nonetheless be praised for its far-from-fashionable celebration of personal advancement through academic achievement.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
02/08/05
Neil Smith
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Entertaining ... but you do wish they'd tell the tale without funnelling it through Hollywood's inspirational movie assembly line.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
01/16/05
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Samuel Jackson returns to form behind a long string of disappointing performances as an ethically minded basketball coach at a tough inner city high school in Richmond, California.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
04/16/09
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

While the film is over the top at times, Coach Carter has a big heart that doesn't shy away from challenging the American education system.

Full Review Source: Movie Views | comment Comment
12/30/08
Ryan Cracknell
Movie Views

How terribly ironic that the story of an educator who dared to challenge the mental capacity of his students can produce a film that so shamelessly spoon-feeds its audience.

Full Review Source: DVD Review | comment Comment
12/22/08
Felix Gonzalez Jr.
DVD Review

By making the choices the filmmakers did here, we get a movie that may not be profound, but it's both highly entertaining for its sports and fascinating for its social issues.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
12/11/08
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

...the movie is more concerned with the characters than with the sport. So it's a movie for anyone to enjoy.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
12/11/08
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
10/18/08
Ebert & Roeper
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

This is supposed to be about setting high standards, yet it's full of fudged ultimatums; in the end I couldn't be sure whether its morality was complex or just confused.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
03/25/08
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader

There's a kick butt performance from Samuel Jackson, the master of the take-no-prisoners motormouth school of acting, even if it is only a high school gym.

Full Review Source: Long Island Press | comment Comment
03/24/07
Prairie Miller
Long Island Press

Far from groundbreaking--in fact, it doesn't have an original bone in its body--but as inspirational sports movies go, it's not half-bad.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/01/07
Ethan Alter
Film Journal International

Samuel L. Jackson shouts, yells, bellows, and screams his way through the fact-inspired film

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
10/06/06
Nathan Rabin
AV Club

Its main flaws are an overabundance of sports-movie clichés and hackneyed phrases, but at least the final game doesn't have a predictable ending; I'll give it that much.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
09/11/06
Mark Moring
Christianity Today

Cinematographer Sharon Meir and film editor Peter Berger brilliantly capture the magic, thrills and extraordinary talent of the fear-inspired players, putting their hearts and souls into the game.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
S. James Wegg
Film Threat
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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