King Jack

I understand that this is the Director's first outing. I feel the movie is impeccable. It is empathetic and authentic. In the majority of movies, there is a protagonist that you fundamentally like. It takes the entire movie to get to this point and is comparatively brave in this regard.

Whilst it pulls few punches, it is sensitively undertaken and I feel it could be watched by a comparatively young audience.

If you have never been bullied, you are extremely fortunate. If you are being bullied - you need to discover a strategy that works for you that counters that desolate feeling of victimisation.

A small. well-crafted, well-acted, well-photographed movie. A fabulous first outing for the Director.

This little flick has 'indie' written all over it and I am a big fan of indie movie makers. These films are usually superior in content, substance, and acting when compared to the big budget movies. Well not all indie flicks, but the movies made by directors who love the craft. With that said, my opinion of 'King Jack' comes up a bit short.

The plot revolves around Jack and his visiting cousin Ben. Both are tweens and are unpopular in school and Jack has an attitude. The setting is a lower middle class worker neighborhood with a mix of ethnic people. There are three older boys that bully Jack and Ben. The plot becomes predictable with the conflict between Jack and the bully's and Jacks interest in two young girls. Ben is along for the ride through no effort of his own and he suffers the wrath of the three bully's. By movies end both Jack and Ben have been pretty well beaten up by the bully's. Life in hell town is rough and unforgiving but both boys perceive and learn a tough lesson about loyalty, family, and friendship.

This little movie is adequate in it's craft, well photographed, and edited. But the story is old and has been done more than once. If you want to watch some very good young actors as believable characters this is a fine choice. But as it unfolds you'll be able to see what's about to happen next.

Acting was good, soundtrack was good (though at times more uplifting than the moment deserved), tone was good, but overall it was too gritty for what it was, and there wasn't enough character growth or reason for the character growth. I don't know, maybe that's just the way "slice-of-life" movies tend to be. But it seemed possibly too overtly brutal - my dad watching it with me just walked away half way through when it became clear this was going to be just a lot of violent bullying, uncomfortable teen coed angst/drinking/fighting/smoking etc.

Overall I respect the movie - it was well done and I'll tell people about it, but I'm not about to full-heartedly recommend it or watch it again.

This is best described as a 'coming of age' film I'd say. Whatever that really means. Ever notice that these films, if artily shot and well acted can get away with a lot?

This is in that category. What does it get away with? Well, a lead character who I think you're supposed to root for who really isn't all that likable. If you're not really meant to root for him the film is just a short glimpse of his life that doesn't really mean a great deal or lead anywhere. It's just a series of crappy events that he lives through for a few days.

Hazy summer shots skillfully photographed and easy on the ear melancholy songs help glide you along. But for me at the end I'm just wondering, well, why? Is there a point? No? Well at least it looked pretty.

You may as well watch 'Mud' for a masterful example in this genre

A well acted drama about life in a American small-town for a teenage boy outcast.

What I like is that it holds nothing back, the characters feel very much real and the dialog is explicit and the darker themes are portrayed as ugly as they are in real life.

So although it is a movie about kids, it's not necessarily FOR kids. In fact some scenes are rather disturbing and of adult matter so one could argue the complete opposite.

The style of the movie is a bit reminiscent of David Gordon Green's indie-dramas and it will be interesting to see what the director Felix Thompson will do next, hopefully this movie will be his big break, it's certainly worthy of attention.

Good soundtrack as well.