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Based on a true story of the man who locked his boys out of the gym until they focused on their schoolwork, this by-the-numbers crowd-pleaser holds together because a steely Samuel L. Jackson refuses to notice the parade of clichés he's trumpeting (the dialogue sticks to platitudes like, "Success in here is the key to success out there"). Coach Ken Carter (Jackson) takes over an unruly team of Richmond, California basketball players and teaches them how to play--and behave--like champions. His plight, which pits him against an uncooperative school board and parents who've given up hope, holds some interest, but the film is too concerned with giving us a Big Game every twenty minutes or so. The teens all have the spark of life in them (including pop star Ashanti, who features in a surprisingly well-handled teen pregnancy subplot), though the film's plodding familiarity means it's never really rousing, adding up to simply a good-natured amalgam of Stand and Deliver, Hoosiers, Dangerous Minds, and even Dead Poet's Society (one of the tougher players actually recites some inspirational poetry).--Steve Wiecking ... Read more

Reviews (11)

The movie gets five stars
But the dvd gets only 3 from me, so it averages out to a 4 star release. I was happy when I found out one of my favorite movies was coming out on dvd. A story about overcoming differences; the white female coaching the young, black, inner-city basketball team. There's tension in the beginning because they're unfamiliar with each other, but they learn to work together and end up finding success. Yeah, it may seem like something you've seen before, yeah it may be predictable. But so what? That doesn't mean it's not good. I think the movie did a good job of making the viewer care about and root for the characters, especially Fredro Starr's character, Shorty Dowop. He showed that ruffnecks could be sensitive and have feelings as well as forties. Basically, I love the movie, but the dvd is only in full screen, not wide screen. It would have been nice to have a choice. The only extras are trailers for Race The Sun, Higher Learning and Sunset Park. A music video, filmographies or commentary would have been nice as well, but Columbia/Tristar's low frills dvd treatment prevents me from giving it a perfect score.

how do you say great movie
this movie was one of the better movies i've ever seen. as far as cute guys, great story-line, and talent go it's all that! i can't believe how ne1 could not like it. i think it sends a very positive message out about racial issues. and the movie also isn't mushy at all considering it's a drama. if u like or dis like basketball it doesn't matter because it's still a great movie no matter what! :)

Funny, Sweet, Cute
I love the movie I rated it 5 stars because I think it is a very good movie. It is so funny and I love the people who are in it! If you don't like this movie you are crazy it is so good!! I think it shows that everyone has a dramatic/sweet side, it is an awsome movie!!

The Worst of Its Kind
Yet another failure by movie producers to make an accurate film about life in the inner city. I grew up playing inner city basketball and i thought this movie was about as far from the truth as it could be. This movie presents stereotypes that categorize people into something they are not. The storyline in this movie is laughable to those of us that know better. If you did not grow up in the inner city and don't know what it's like, don't consider this movie to be a reflection of the truth.

This film tries to combine a basketball story line with life in an inner city environment. The basketball aspects are poorly done with a cast that didn't prove they could even portray basketball players. the role of the coach was totally unbelievable. The problems associated with high schoolers were blown out of proportion. Those that were fairly accurate, probably 1 or 2 out of 100 people can relate to it.

The acting is poor and so are the characters. This is a movie that takes people that can't act and attempts to get them to accurately portray people who live in that kind of culture and environment. You can tell when an actor can sell a character's personality and when a person is failing to act tough for a movie role.

The only thing that kept me watching the movie was the soundtrack. At least this movie did something right.

I don't recommend this movie, unless you want a fictional look at life in the inner city and at this kind of culture and lifestyle. If you come from this kind of environment , you will probably have a good laugh.

OK
Its an ok movie good story, but if your a true basketball fan i definatly reconmend Above The Rim it has a better story and its just a better movie overall. Good movie if your a fan of the genre. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

True, Graphic, and Compelling
Those who insult this film obviously know nothing about this lifestyle or they'd realize that everything in this movie is how it is on the streets, mainly because the book was written by a pimp/gangster/hustler who knows what he's talking about.

Now I'd like to point out the very cool things in this film. The movie starts off putting DMX in the unstoppable character position where you think he'll be the only important one in the film. But in the first 10 or 15 minutes he dies and the film takes a different direction. It switches from King David(DMX) to the wannabe writer who witnesses his murder(David Arquette) and the young man who murdered David, Michael(Michael Ealy). At the beginning of the film you consider him a villain because he killed the cocky, anti-hero that's King David. But as the film progresses you learn more about this young man and he eventually becomes the hero in a way.

Now there is a rather high body count. Overall more than twenty people are killed in this movie and I'm just estimating. There's graphic scenes of drug overdoses, a scene where a man's head is blown off by a shotgun, and the same shotgun blows a teenage girl away. A man is killed while bathing in his hot tub(the shot is in slow motion so it feels Shakspeareian in a way).

The last thing I noticed is probably something that a lot of people didn't. A small, simple city soon becomes a hunting ground and in the end every character ends up playing an important part in some way.

Main point= this is a great film, graphic but great and very important to see. Drugs are very dangerous and this film shows the consequences along with the consequences of deceit and also a film of redemption

Excellent acting and a good story.
I was impressed by the quality of the acting, even in small secondary characters, such as Ella (played by beautiful young actress, Drew Sidora). All performances were convincing, gritty and professional.

If Drew Sidora manages her career the right way, we may see a lot more of her acting talents in the future. She reminds me of Drea De Matteo (of "The Sopranos" fame)perhaps for the way she was made up.

The story is interesting, adding new twists to old schemes. It is somehow a little bit difuse, but that is because it mixes with two other plots.

The movie is worth buying and I am glad I did. I will see it many more times.

Couldnt make it past half the film
I like DMX but this movie just plain blows. Did someone use an old camcorder to film it? The lighing, sound and everything totally sucked. It's not even a full hour and a half long. I think I made it about 40 minutes and shut it off.

Boring
I thought this would be more of an action film instead of DMX and Mr. Courtney Cox trying to act and hold together a film that is completely boring and predictable.
The directing is also annoying because most of the scenes seem to be filmed on a trampoline with the occasional camera dropping on its side, which I dont understand what effect he was going for besides irritating me.
Overall this isn't even worth renting much less buying. Don't know why the others gave it such high marks besides the fact that they are all stupid

A movie with a great story and a great bad guy
This movie is very good people. Some of you(like Mook, you ol' dumbass) hate this movie from the start because DMX stars in it. Ok so are you saying that he did not portray a very good bad guy. Of course he did. The directing was also very good taking you to the grittiest part of New York. This movie left me thinking "Damn DMX played a ruthless mean gangster." Ernest Dickerson, I thank you for making this film. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Lots of plot holes, but definitely fun to watch...
If you know what I mean. This movie features decent acting (not horrible, mind you. I've seen horrible), fat Italians, angry Hispanics, and very nice looking ladies that work at a strip club, but don't strip, do lapdances, etc. Kenya Moore (Passion) had the best performance out of everybody and did very believable and dramatic cry scenes. She really knows how to cry!

The rest of the movie is filled with a ton of plot holes, though, like how Passion, out of nowhere, just pulls out fake I.D.'s for her friends (Sunshine and Midnight) who refuse to help her find the killer of her brother, but then all of sudden just decide to do it and they all suddenly know how to jack cars. Also, when Passion's brother tried to talk his friend out of jacking cars (who was very into doing that), he easily agreed and went to tell their employers, the Italians (who seem to do nothing but sit and eat), that they quit. There is also a lot more, but it would just take up this whole page. Conclusively, all of the characters in this movie are unbelievable, melodramatic, and they act out of character many times creating a lot of plot holes.

But why 4 stars? The presentation of this movie was so that it didn't feel like a big problem! It didn't feel distracting at all and was easy to just go along with. Also, all the girls looked nice (except for Blueberry or whatever. She was too skinny). The movie was still enjoyable and it was fun to watch how all the characters interact with one another and how they react to different situations.

But beware, though, if you are looking for a movie with a great story and well developed and BELIEVABLE characters. There isn't any. You are really going to have to be an open-minded and easy-going person to enjoy this movie.

LOW budget but Kenya is gorgeous
This film looks like it was shot for only 50 dollars and a hub cap. The film looks grainy and it looks like it was shot on 16MM film. The only good thing about this movie is to see the gorgeous Kenya Moore, damn she looks good. If you just wanna see her I would get this movie. But be warned there is no nudity in this movie. Ted Lange is in the movie as a bartender,
I guess he thinks he's still on the Love Boat.

I wasted 2 bucks renting this, and 1:30 hours of my life
This is a bad movie, really bad. You know you're in trouble when durring the opening credits you see 2 of the stars of the movie listed as producers (we're not talking Ron Howard & Ton Hanks here) The story is laughable, the acting is really weak, but then again the writing is bad so I can't blame the actors.
Was this a straight to video release? The production values are NILL! It really hurts me to say all this, because Kenya Moore is in it. I'm not sure if she's a good actor or not, because I've never seen her in a well written role. But man oh is she beautiful! She is also the executive producer here. The story has a ton of holes in it. At one point Kenya and 2 of her stripper friends (they dance at a strip club but all 3 are againt, and don't actually strip) are talking, she is crying over a tragedy. She says she wants revenge, pulls out 2 fake ID's, gives them to her friends and asks if they are in. They pause a second and both agree. Now mind you there are fake ID's & "revenge" involved. AND... Neither asked exactly what she was refering to. They just agreed like that.

Not to give the movie away, but the 3 strippers who don't actually strip become car thiefs for the town mob boss. Who, shockinly, is a fat Italian who seems to sit around his warehouse all day eating pasta.

As bad as the movie started, it never got better. And the final 10 minutes are about THE WORST I remember seeing. The ending takes the cake for beliving so unbeliable. I didn't see it coming at all, but then again I didn't really care enough to try and figure it out. I am not kidding when I say overall this movie has the calibur of a first film made by a group of high school students. I will give the movie 1 of the 2 stars because it was totally independant, and they did do a better job then I could. Which really isn't saying much... And I'll give it the other star I did because Kenya is in it, and she is a sight to behold. Note this is R rated, there is some explicit langauge, but no real violence, and no nudity. The "strip club" scenes. the dancing females have Bikinis on. ... Read more