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Movies / On DVD / Coach Carter
Coach Carter

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Coach Carter (2005)

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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 fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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[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
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
Neil Smith
BBC
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
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
Chris Tilly
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A worthy addition to familiar triumph-of-the-underdog stories.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
03/25/08
Leigh Singer
Leigh Singer
Channel 4 Film
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
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

If only Shaq and Kobe had Coach Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) at the helm, the two fellas would be holding hands, frolicking in fields of daisies and racking up a few more NBA titles.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/14/05
E! Online

Samuel L. Jackson plays the real-life coach of a high school basketball team in this solid, unsurprising sports drama.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/13/05
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The kind of boot-strap-pulling, tear-duct-tickling, I-am-Spartacus-crowing movie-on-a-mission that might rankle more cynical movie goers but sets hearts aflutter for most everyone else.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
01/14/05
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle

Samuel L. Jackson's intense, dynamic presence lifts this film above the usual sports movie and makes it one to remember.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/17/05
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Thank goodness then for go-to guy Jackson. He takes what could have been a cardboard cliche role and puts flesh on it with his flamboyant intelligence.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
01/13/05
Bob Townsend
Bob Townsend
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

Inimitable, irrepressible and possibly the coolest man alive, Jackson ranks as the best reason to catch this Hoosiers in the 'hood. Happily, he's not the only one.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal | comment Comment
01/14/05
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

In the title role, Jackson holds himself like an exclamation point.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
01/13/05
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer

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
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Before you can say, "Gangsta's Paradise," Coach has motivated his team to focus on what's important -- winning.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
01/15/05
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

Before you can say, "Gangsta's Paradise," Coach has motivated his team to focus on what's important -- winning.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
01/15/05
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

The movie's not all didactic. It's also fun, thanks to exuberant actors Antwon Tanner, Channing Tatum, Rob Brown, Rick Gonzalez, Robert Ri'chard and other Richmond Oilers.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/13/05
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post

Nobody gives a more powerful locker room speech than Samuel L. Jackson, while decked out in spiffy suits and flashy neckties.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
01/14/05
Dixie Reid
Dixie Reid
Sacramento Bee

By the time you leave, Jackson will have you believing that his Coach Carter is a true original.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
01/14/05
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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