Based on a true story, Coach Carter is about a basketball coach who turns around the fortunes of a Californian high school team, only to close the gym when the boys' studies fall behind. It's a role tailor-made for Samuel L Jackson, since it suits his ability for tough talk when it matters.

Carter arrives at the school when the team is the laughing stock of the league - imagine Chelsea's Jose Mourinho as a basketball coach and you'd not be far off - and sets up a strong set of rules that the boys must abide by. These include wearing a jacket and tie to games, doing well in other classes and sitting in the front row, always turning up promptly for training, etc. Anyone who crosses him is given gruelling physical penalties, which helps retain discipline and heighten fitness.

You can't question what happens. This is not a Hollywood rag to riches fable; it's a real story about a real man. The basketball scenes are well shot, creating a taut atmosphere where you root for the team in tense matches.

Yes, it's about the American dream and some may feel it follows a familiar pattern, but not to the letter. As a sports movie about motivational techniques and conduct on and off the court, it has much to recommend it. Based on a true story, Coach Carter is about a basketball coach who turns around the fortunes of a Californian high school team, only to close the gym when the boys' studies fall behind. It's a role tailor-made for Samuel L Jackson, since it suits his ability for tough talk when it matters.

Carter arrives at the school when the team is the laughing stock of the league - imagine Chelsea's Jose Mourinho as a basketball coach and you'd not be far off - and sets up a strong set of rules that the boys must abide by. These include wearing a jacket and tie to games, doing well in other classes and sitting in the front row, always turning up promptly for training, etc. Anyone who crosses him is given gruelling physical penalties, which helps retain discipline and heighten fitness.

You can't question what happens. This is not a Hollywood rag to riches fable; it's a real story about a real man. The basketball scenes are well shot, creating a taut atmosphere where you root for the team in tense matches.

Yes, it's about the American dream and some may feel it follows a familiar pattern, but not to the letter. As a sports movie about motivational techniques and conduct on and off the court, it has much to recommend it.