Undefeated (2012)

Pretty Good

Admirable film.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

KJ Stowers Expository Writing Whitaker 10/19/2015 ReviewUndefeated Review There is a school called Manassas High School. They were horrible in football for 6 years in a row. They tried hard to have a winning season, but they failed every year. The football head coach, Bill Courtney never gave up on his team because he wanted his players to stay out of trouble and never give up on life. He tried to make them become good men and prepare them for the real world. Bill Courtney grew up without a father. His father left him when he was four years old. A lot of coach bill's players did not have parents that attended college, but they had parents who were behind bars. This is why coach bill cared so much about his players and what they would be in life after graduating high school. Despite that fact, Manassas had a team full of poor black kids.The movie really focus on three characters throughout the whole movie. Their names are Chavis, O.C., and Money. Chavis had a big impact of the team downfall be he always brought a negative vibe to their team. He always got into arguments and fights with majority of the players on the team, and he was disobedience to the coaches. After their first lost into the following season after the six horrible season, Coach Bill had a long talk with the team and they started practicing harder than they ever practiced. Chavis was adjusting well with the rest of the team. He was always thinking about himself. Chavis ended up departing from the team for a few days.After that, Manassas went on a winning streak. I guess he thought the team was going to do keep losing without him. A few games into the season, Chavis decided to apologize to the team and become a member all over again. He was on a temporary suspension before he could play on the field again. Money was the smallest lineman on Manassas football team. He was the most physical one of them all. He was also the smartest one. He wanted to take football to another level as well as being a lawyer. In the middle of the season, Money messed up his knee and the doctor told him that he had to sit out eight to twelve weeks before he could play football again. Money didn't like the doctor's response but he still obeyed the doctor. O.C. was an all American but at the same time, He wasn't an all American. He had the skills on the football field. He just didn't have the skills in the classroom. He had bad grades and he couldn't go to college with the grades he had. College recruiters from just about every university were sending him letters everyday trying to get him to play football on the next level. O.C.'s family told him that he had to quit football because he wasn't keeping up with his grades. The coaches talked to O.C's family about him staying with one of the coaches and his family to help him improve on his grades. They tried their best to help him but he couldn't pass. Despite those facts about Chavis, O.C., zero games to winning like nine games straight. They ended up losing against Westview in the first round of the playoffs. I like how they went from a losing record to only losing two games. They accomplished a goal that they set in the beginning of the season. That goal was to make it to the playoffs. I dislike how they hand all of the slang in the movie. They could have edited the movie a little like they do any other movie. On a scale from 1-10, I rate this Undefeated an 8.It could've been a whole lot better than what it was. Another reason why i like this movie is because i like sports and this movie relates to a movie called "Hoop Dreams. The only difference is the sports in both of these movies.

Documentary review: undefeated Undefeated is a documentary that follows the Manassas tiger's high school football team that had not won a football game in over 50 years that rises from the ashes with a brand new coach that trains them better and treats them like family into what turns into a very victorious football team. This film was not a very good documentary for me because it did not have a single original thought throughout the entire film. This documentaries originality was not very high because of the story itself it is the exact same as almost any other football movie or even in some cases the same as any sport movie ever created starting out with the underdog team that is trained and pushed hard to become one of the greats. Some of the evidence I pulled from this film to make its unoriginality show is problems going on with members of the team between fights and frustration towards each other, and the father figure coach, and even to the drama in the middle of the film that could cause a possible divide in the team. In this documentary I believe that this was real I am not saying it is fake. It would be no different than going to a random high school in the country, giving it a new coach and then seeing how that team performs after the practice and the way the coach pushes them. So do not get me wrong for thinking this is a untrue movie I just do not think that it shows a lot of originality. This documentary had a lot in common with a few other sport based films such as when the game stands tall(2014) and walking on deadfish(2008) which is another good movie about a team that rises out of the ashes of defeat. If you enjoyed this movie I would recommend watching remember the titans (2000) which shows a lot of team building in this movie. I would also recommend more than a game (2009).

This is the story of the Manassas High School football team and their coach. It is a predominately black school in Tennessee. They have never had much success because they are lacking in every area, money, hope, and talent. A white coach who pretty much gives his entire life to his young charges, works to get them successful in the classroom and on the field. They have a chance to win the first playoff game in the history of the school, but he must nursemaid them in every way he can to get them to that point. They have one division one prospect, a huge offensive lineman, whose academics are at issue. He has a loose cannon kid who has spent time in prison and has just returned, carrying his baggage onto the team. There is nothing simplistic about this film. These young men have two strikes against them and this is a chance to be true team. It's hard to reproduce the heart that is in this movie. Just see it and ask yourself if it isn't one of the best sports films you've ever seen.

Oscar-award winning documentary "Undefeated" maximizes it out-take from being at the right place at the right time. The movies focuses its attention on a failing high-school American football team Manassas Tigers in Memphis, Tennessee, yet to ever win a play-off game in the rich 110 years of existence. The Manassas high-school is located in an all-black neighborhood suffering from extreme unemployment rates after the closure of the local Bridgestone plant. Most children lack parental guidance, whilst being raised by grandmothers or single parents is an all-too-familiar sight. In one reveal almost everyone in the team has close relatives convicted of various sorts of crimes with some of the most aggressive youths, like Chavis Daniels, already having spent time in correctional facilities. Into this backdrop of dire hopelessness comes Bill Courtney, a successful businessman, whose true calling and passion is coaching football teams. Having offered six years of his time on pro-bono formation of Manassas Tigers, this year is supposed to be his swansong. His key weapon is the brute force of O.C. Brown, the most talented player on the team, however his educational struggles pose question as to whether he will be able to continue to college with his education. Meanwhile miniscule right-back Montrail 'Money' Brown, a well-versed and perspective youth, hopes to finish his career in football (as being too small to succeed in pro gaming) on a high. Will the school be able to break the 110 year play-off jinx?Molded into the all too familiar underdog sports story of a team of misfits conquering the odds, it is easy to understand the Academy's decision. Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin spent a significant amount of time filming the ordeals of Bill Courtney and his challenged youth team, capturing a spectacular moment in time, when the group turn from perennial whooping boys into the dominant regional outfit with a knack for big comebacks. Given this extraordinary backdrop the film directors come off with rich material to form a documentary. Even though the ease in which the story fits the mold of narrative genre films feels somewhat suspect and forced at times, the viewing is really pleasurable. Plus, despite everything else you know this is real life and although the directors hint at outcomes along the way, you never truly know what will happen, giving it a unique, engaging quality, so desperately lacking in features. Full of heart, passion and a hopeful outlook this really does seem like the kind of stuff the Academy would go for. Worthwhile watch, even if the year in question had superior documentaries to choose from.