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10/18/08
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Coach Carter (2005)
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Reviews Counted:34
Fresh:20
Rotten:14
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.
Theatrical Release:Jan 14, 2005 Wide
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... [More]
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Ri'chard, Rob Brown, Debbi Morgan
Director: Thomas Carter
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Reviews for Coach Carter
Top CriticThis 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.
03/25/08
Top CriticSaved by bursts of energy and inventiveness.
07/05/05
Top CriticCarter gives every sports-drama cliche a chance to play. No bad idea is benched.
01/27/05
Top CriticToo 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.
01/25/05
Top CriticOne of those highly effective conventional pictures that remind us that conventionality isn't always a bad thing.
01/14/05
Top CriticThe appeal lies in the genre's mixed marriage of liberal sensibilities to conservative values, a happy American union that simultaneously acknowledges the fact of social injustice while insisting on the need for individual responsibility.
01/14/05
Top CriticThe basketball footage is often thrilling, the camera whooshing through the action like a darting point guard.
01/14/05
Top CriticNo one will be surprised to learn that Jackson's Coach Carter is a shining slab of steel-rod charisma.
01/14/05
Top CriticFeatures bursts of humor and electrifying energy offset by speechifying and a dud of a subplot.
01/14/05
Top CriticThe movie may consist of formulaic elements, but it excels on the strength of its cast and the sincerity of its message.
01/14/05
Top CriticThe inspirational tale becomes just another by-the-numbers, cliché-ridden sports film.
01/14/05
Top CriticBy the time you leave, Jackson will have you believing that his Coach Carter is a true original.
01/14/05
Top CriticIt's not only a sports movie with the usual big games and important shots, but also a coach movie, with inspiring locker room speeches and difficult moral decisions.
01/14/05
Top CriticThe 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.
01/14/05
Top CriticIn this film, basketball is not a metaphor; it's a hard-played game that requires skill, conditioning, intelligence and effective teamwork.
01/14/05
Top CriticWhile there's no denying its positive message, there's also no denying that it offers absolutely nothing fresh or innovative.
01/14/05
Top CriticNo arguing with the message: The movie's eager to tell its audience (especially young viewers) that there's life beyond a basketball court, and they ought to prepare for it.
01/14/05
Top CriticClearly 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.
01/14/05
Top CriticHow do you put this message across without it seeming medicinal? Sure, MTV is among the movie's producers, but what 11th grader wants to spend a Friday night being hit with such a blunt instrument?
01/14/05
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