Stand and Deliver

Rating:
Summary: a great feelgood flick
Review: A great movie to watch if you are feeling down-based on a true story of East LA math teacher Jaime Escalante who inspired 18 of his students to sit for the National Advance Placement Calculus Exam,despite the fact that the school faculty don't think the students will be smart enough to pass it and most of the students parents are unsupportive given that they see little value in education. Olmos is a delight as Escalante, a man who throws in a well paid job in computing to pursue his first love of teaching, and fearlessly puts everything on the line to demand he can teach his students calculus because "basic math is too easy" for them. Great performance also from Lou Diamond Phillips as a student torn between 'the hood' and the promise of a 'straight' future. I have seen this movie many times and each time am struck by the fact that these kids were so lucky to have this kind of teacher. It's pretty realistic in terms of school life and commendably explores the pressures of the students also(largely a cast of unknowns but all turn in great performances)As I said its a true story. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: DOESN'T QUITE DELIVER THE GOODS
Review: Despite a very strong cast, laudable aspirations and almost universal critical acclaim, "Stand and Deliver" is ultimately a noble near-miss. Though based on the real-life classroom success of teacher Jaime Escalante and the Latin-American students whom he led to new heights of academic achievement, the film is badly undercut by a surprising lack of conviction. The classroom scenes are tame and the interaction between Escalante and his supposedly hapless students lifeless. The alleged troubles of his students are painted in such broad strokes that they quickly disappear into the background, making the kids'eventual triumph seem trite and cinematically inevitable rather than inspiring. A tighter script and more imaginative direction would have made this a much better film. As it is, this is more of a light documentary than a movie, and pales next to similar films like "Lean on Me" and "The Blackboard Jungle."

Rating:
Summary: Stands tall.
Review: Good movie about the importance and value of education. Almost every high school student should see it.

Rating:
Summary: Stands tall.
Review: Good movie about the importance and value of education. Almost every high school student should see it.

Rating:
Summary: Contrary to the "impossible odds" reviews
Review: I did not see this movie at all about overcoming impossible odds. I find that to be insulting, quite frankly. More importantly, I find it to be about just how possible it is to obtain goals. You have to work hard to take advantage of the opportunities before you. Not every kid Mr. Escalante has had as a student has passed the AP Calculus exam. The ones that made it were the ones that wanted it bad enough and were willing to work hard enough to take advantage of what he could offer as a teacher. That's the best story ever, and the one I think this movie demonstrates peerfectly. This will be a required film for my kids.

Rating:
Summary: A most inspirational movie, a must see!
Review: I first saw this movie years ago, it kind of reminds me of that movie "dangerous minds",Except on a lighter note. I have to say this movie was quite inspirational though. It shows just how important hard work of any kind can be when wanting to achieve ones best. I personally felt a sense of victory as well as the people in the movie did. I must say that this movie is a must see for those of us who did see dangerous minds.

Rating:
Summary: A great inspirational film for young and old latinos
Review: I first viewed this film when it was first shown on American Playhouse on public television. It was a great film then and it still is now. I taped it from t.v., but I finally got my own personal copy. This film appealed to me as a student and it continues to inspire me now as an adult!Whenever I see it I get the drive to be best that I can be! James Olmos and Lou Diamond Phillips give great performances as well as the other "Stand and Deliver" kids.This film also appealed to me because it caught the essense of the latino community,something that I can relate to. I loved the movie so much that I even bought the soundtrack. This film teaches that all things are possible as long as you have the "ganas"...the "desire" to learn and improve!

Rating:
Summary: Very good movie!!!
Review: I give this movie four stars out of five, because it is very good entertainment and also very inspiring, but the reason I take one star off is that, the film is, from the standpoint of the real world, naive in certain respects. How is that so? Well, Mr. Escalante wants his students to be serious about doing well in school, and the scene which I will never forget is when he says to the student "All you see is the turn in the road; you don't see the road ahead." From my own personal experience, and I'm sure for many people watching this film, is that life has its own agenda; you may be 100 percent completely serious about following a path, but whether life wil allow you to take that path is another story entirely. Another reason is that people are complex as hell; illogicality, immaturity, lack of common sense, and a host of other human factor roadblocks are part of the real world. If you have spent all your time in academia (such as a field as mathematics), and if you encounter this human factor, more often than not, you are unlikely to deal with it effectively. When I was that age (16 and 17), I had encountered human factor roadblocks, and because of spending so much time in books and academia, I was unable to deal with it effectively. Don't get me wrong; this film is a classic. In summary form, watch this film and understand and respect its messages, but because of the capriciousness of the real world, take it with a grain of salt.

Rating:
Summary: A great movie to watch for anyone facing a challenge.
Review: I had the opportunity to see Jamie Escalante, Marva Collins, and others in person in the Houston, Texas area. I viewed "Stand and Deliver" before I saw these Giants of Learning. Having seen both the real people and "Stand and Deliver" was a gift. The video was great, however, I would have to say that I am disappointed that the DVD is not dubbed in Spanish or subtitled in Spanish. Maybe it was not in the studios budget, however, if they had an oversight initially, they could make a strong comeback and come out with a multilingual (including spanish) subtitled and dubbed DVD version. Overall I liked this movie because it said that many challenges can be met and overcome with a change in attitude, togetherness, and effort. Being a trainer of people from various backgrounds, educational levels, and mindsets, I can relate to this movie in terms of Math, Technology, and Learning, in general.

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: I had to watch STAND AND DELIVER in my World Geography class and it was an absoleutly good film that anybody would enjoy. The movie is based on true events that did take place in Eastern Los Angeles with teacher Jaime Ecalante. The movie is about teacher Jaime Escalante and the way he teaches kids that go to Garfield high advanced math to get college credit from the Calculus AP exam. In order to do this he teaches the kids over the summer and even on saturdays and during the school year they come into school an hour later and they stay until five. When the kids get their exam scores back and something a little queer is seen with the tests is when the plot picks up. I won't give any more information except that you must watch this movie. It will be enjoyed by all.