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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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101 - 120 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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With the possible exception of Tommy Lee Jones, no one is better suited to dish out stone-faced, my-way-or-the-highway discipline than Jackson.

Full Review Source: San Antonio Express-News | comment Comment
01/14/05
Larry Ratliff
Larry Ratliff
San Antonio Express-News

Filled with cliches, a run-of-the-mill screenplay and the groan-inducing MTV Films formula.

Full Review Source: Des Moines Register | comment Comment
01/14/05
Jeffrey Bruner
Jeffrey Bruner
Des Moines Register

There is a lot of excitement and tension as the team progresses in the season. The only problem is the need to show every game - it suffers from overkill.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
01/14/05
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

The combination of believable ball play, solid performances and hard-nosed inspiration make for worthwhile entertainment during this post-holiday season.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
01/14/05
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Predictable, schmaltzy, and old as the hills, but so well-made that it is a sort of triumph.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
01/14/05
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

The young cast is more sure of themselves shooting hoops than showing emotion, but Jackson holds the screen so well that he gives them extra focus and presence.

Full Review Source: Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies | comment Comment
01/14/05
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

The clear irony of this genre is that it seeks to tell the story of a rebel in as conventional a way as possible.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment 1 Comment
01/13/05
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

In the film, Coach Carter orders his students to maintain a 2.3 grade point average. If he were to review his own movie, we imagine he’d propose a similar kind of deal.

Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
01/13/05
Richard Horgan
Richard Horgan
FilmStew.com

The surprises come in filmmaker Thomas Carter's refusal to wholly give in to clichés.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
01/13/05
Lindy T. Shepherd
Lindy T. Shepherd
Orlando Weekly

Coach Carter is like the coach’s players themselves: there’s more to the film than first meets the eye...

Full Review Source: Now Playing Magazine | comment Comment
01/13/05
Scott Collura
Scott Collura
Now Playing Magazine

A mealy conglomeration of high-school-sports movies, teacher-who-motivates-students movies, and inner-city-kids-have-a-tough-life movies.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
01/13/05
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

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

Nothing but the coach's gutsy move and the fact that it really happened distinguishes this movie from a litany of past basketball dramas.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
01/13/05
Mike Clark
Mike Clark
USA Today

It qualifies its thrill of victory with a very sober message: few high school athletes become NBA millionaires, many are cheated out of an education.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
01/13/05
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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

The man himself and what he accomplishes take a back seat to unnecessary subplots that drag down the movie.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
01/13/05
Paul Doro
Paul Doro
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The main problem with Coach Carter can be summed up simply: too much sermonizing.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/13/05
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

If you've spent a week with CBS' prime-time lineup, you've heard this tune a million times.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
01/13/05
Carina Chocano
Carina Chocano
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The movie's 'message' -- life is more than just sports -- is delivered with the delicacy of a piano dropped from a fifth-story window.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
01/13/05
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic

Coach Carter will be greeted with reviews that overflow with sports metaphors. Let's just say that the movie scores solidly.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
01/13/05
Philip Wuntch
Philip Wuntch
Dallas Morning News
 
 
101 - 120 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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