Juego de honor

While basketball is used as the backdrop for the movie, Coach Carter really isn't about basketball. The real heart of the movie is in the way Coach Carter begins to turn the lives around of the players on his basketball team by showing them that someone actually cares about what happens to them after high school.

At one point in the movie Carter (played perfectly by Samuel L. Jackson) asks a player why he plays basketball and he responds with "to win the state title" - which of course gets him high fives from the rest of the team. Carter then asks the team who won the state title last year and nobody knows the answer. Carter tries to show his players that high school basketball is not about winning but about discipline, respect and the confidence to accomplish any goal.

If you are thinking about going to see Coach Carter as a basketball movie, I suggest seeing another movie, but if you want to see a truly inspiring story go see Coach Carter.

Honestly, I don't care about dates. I don't care about names, or stats, or if the writers got a bunch of stats confused. I mean did you actually watch the movie, or were you just looking at the screen for misprints on jerseys? To believe that some people can actually watch a movie and then complain that the time line is off with reality is beyond my comprehension. Who cares about the time line! It's not reality that you're watching, it's a movie. Movies, no matter how real the stories they are based on, are not real. They are altered. They are changed to make a better storyline.

If people can be dense enough to complain about names and numbers and dates, then they missed the big picture. They missed a great movie that actually conveys a real message. It's not about the sports, it's about the students. And it's not always about what you put in, it's about what you take out. It's about what you take away from the situation that you've walked into.

That's what this movie is about, not about basketball. It's about life, and how easily people give in and give up. It's about learning, and having faith that people will do the right thing. Yes, it's about public education, and a community on the edge of stupid, but there's more to it than that. You just have to stop looking, and watch.

This movie truly was excellent, right up there on the shelf next to "With Honors." But make sure you are really paying attention, otherwise, what's the point?

'Coach Carter' is based on a true story of Coach Ken Carter, a controversial high school basketball coach played by Samuel L. Jackson. Coach Carter took the coaching job under his rules. He believed that the players must maintain good grades and become a united team or they would not play. All the team players signed his contract to do just that. The team was undefeated and on it's way to the 1999 State Championship, when Coach Carter received the low grades of his players. Coach Carter received national attention when he locked the gym and benched the whole team for poor grades. Coach Carter received some praise and much more criticism for his decision. This is a good inspirational movie of what one must do to excel in sports and in life. Coach Carter taught his players that they must be committed and work hard to excel. This is good movie for people who like sports. (Paramount, Run time 2:16, Rated PG-13)(8/10)

Ken Carter (Jackson) takes over a losing California high school basketball team and employs extreme measures to turn things around.

Yes, we have seen this before: a hard-assed coach molds his players into the image he desires for them. Yes, Samuel L. Jackson pontificates a lot in here. But all coaches pontificate to a large degree and it is justified. And, yes, it is a little too long, but so what? The basketball scenes are truly something to behold. The acting all around is excellent. And, yes, this is a terrific movie.

Okay, now for the down side. Why does Carter wait until the team is 9-0 to find out his players are not living up the contract they signed with him? The players are falling behind academically and Carter locks them out of the gym until they turn things around. But, waiting until 9-0 doesn't seem to have bothered anyone. Something doesn't seem right here, but no one has questioned this aspect. Even Carter doesn't say he should have looked harder sooner. Why not?

Now, in real life Carter owned a sports store. That is probably the reason I kept seeing different uniforms for just about every different game. When some basketball game scenes opened I had to wait until Carter calls the team over to the bench to see what players were his team, and then I knew what color jerseys his team had on. Before that, the action was so fast and furious I couldn't really tell. It's not like the players' faces were widely recognizable to viewers.

This is must see movie.

I can honestly relate to this movie. I am a female athlete and all through my high school years i've seen athletes get passed because they play sports. It's mostly the guys though. We have a coach that made every boy failing a subject get a tutor. This movie reminded me a lot of him. Not many coaches put their jobs on the line for the benefit of the kids. I agree with what he did 100% and i know lots of others do too. The movie shows perfect detail of how students act in schools and out of school. I went and saw it two nights in a row and each time, i saw different things about the movie. It's a great movie and I think all coaches and teachers should see it. It shows that most athletes are passed because they are athletes, not because they have the grades.