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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 rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
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Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

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

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

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
01/15/05
Boston Phoenix
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N/R

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

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Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
01/14/05
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Treats its subject in such a neutered, worshipful fashion that it ultimately does the actual accomplishment a disservice.

Full Review Source: The Stranger (Seattle, WA) | comment Comment
01/13/05
Andrew Wright
Andrew Wright
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

When critics join in accepting this junk, is it any wonder few directors bother with fresh visions?

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Mercury | comment Comment
01/13/05
Anthony Del Valle
Anthony Del Valle
Las Vegas Mercury

Not even Jackson's thundering dynamism lifts the drama from mediocrity.

Full Review Source: Dallas Observer | comment Comment
01/14/05
Bill Gallo
Bill Gallo
Dallas Observer

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

God love Coach Carter and what he's done to improve real kids' educations. But movies shouldn't feel like school, even when their subject is learning.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
01/14/05
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

If you can claw your way through some ugly material and shoddy direction, there are some good messages here that can be warmly received.

Full Review Source: FilmJerk.com | comment Comment
01/14/05
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
FilmJerk.com

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

Features bursts of humor and electrifying energy offset by speechifying and a dud of a subplot.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/14/05
Carla Meyer
Carla Meyer
San Francisco Chronicle

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

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

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

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

Even Samuel L. Jackson’s performance can’t save this glorified press release from its “been there, done that” fate.

Full Review Source: EDGE Boston | comment Comment
01/13/05
David Foucher
David Foucher
EDGE Boston

The movie's moral messages are all on target. Too bad the movie is much, much too long and Jackson gives one of his dullest performances ever.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
01/13/05
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

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
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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