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Movies / Upcoming / 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.

Runtime: 2 hrs 16 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $67,169,549

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 critic A-Z; Australian critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
05/27/05
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Samuel L. Jackson, who has pretty much been swaggering through recent roles, straightens up and brings a steely, dignified strength to the title role.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
01/13/05
Tracy Allerton
Tracy Allerton
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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
Ethan Alter
Film Journal International

For all Coach Carter's moralizing, it is an eminently palatable drama, and Samuel L. Jackson -- who has certainly been known to take nobility to the nth degree -- is first-rate as Carter.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
01/13/05
John Anderson
John Anderson
Newsday

Inspirational, laden with tough love, and on occasion a tad hokey. Stand and Deliver on the basketball court.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
01/26/05
Ross Anthony
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card

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

As the film grinds on, without any actual actors to work against, Jackson starts to look marooned and eventually seems to give up trying.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
01/12/05
Chris Barsanti
Chris Barsanti
Slant Magazine

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

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

The inspirational tale becomes just another by-the-numbers, cliché-ridden sports film.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
01/14/05
Debra Birnbaum
Debra Birnbaum
New York Post

Too vicious to speak to bleeding-heart liberals, too pro-academia to speak to No Child Left Behind advocates, and too preachy to speak to youths.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
01/25/05
David Blaylock
David Blaylock
Village Voice

Clearly there was a publicity hound somewhere inside the coach when he made his lockout a TV spectacle, but the movie avoids any such interesting shadows.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
01/14/05
Michael Booth
Michael Booth
Denver Post

A sports flick that's a worthy addition to the genre.

Full Review Source: Premiere Magazine | comment Comment
01/18/05
Sara Brady
Sara Brady
Premiere Magazine

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

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

[Carter's] selfless actions against a failed education system register even when the movie surrounding him turns on itself.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
01/21/05
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

An inspirational film about a high school coach who has the gall to suggest that athletes must make their mark in the classroom as well as on the basketball court.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
01/13/05
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Thumbing its way through that well-worn inspirational-educator playbook at a leisurely pace, the picture is studiously unspectacular.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | comment Comment
03/05/05
Sean Burns
Sean Burns
Philadelphia Weekly

A rather exceptionally counter-cultural "teen movie"...raises authentic youth concerns and answers them with convincing integrity.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
01/13/05
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews
 
 
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