King Jack (2015) Reviews

• Well made and authentic

  wilkinsonalan2016-07-01

  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.

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• I didn't think I'd like it, and I was right. I *LOVED* it. Not bad at all.

  darian-caplinger2016-08-14

  Jack has had a hard life. He lost a father who adored him (offscreen), and finds himself the victim of a bully who himself used to be the whipping boy of Jack's older brother Tom. Jack's mother has a sister with of psychiatric problems, and it's inferred she attempted to commit suicide, and the husband of the sister calls to see if Jack's family can care for Jack's 12 year-old cousin, Ben. At first, Jack is pretty cold towards Ben, but they soon warm to each other and even manage to have a little fun before the bully interferes. What comes after is a pretty decent flick with an ending that will leave a smile on your face.

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• Stellar indie-drama

  Seth_Rogue_One2016-05-26

  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.

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• Electric Look at a Young Boy's life in a rough perspective!

  TomShortell2015-05-21

  I attended Tribeca Film Festival 2015 to screen 'King Jack', this was followed by a QNA with director Felix Thompson along with the cast and crew. I had only read a brief summary for this film before viewing as I wanted to be spontaneous. From start till finish it really kept my mouth open. King Jack is played by Charlie Plummer, the story follows a boy growing up in a suburban area. Normally day consists of neglect and bullying. Due to his aunt becoming sick, his cousin Ben played by Cory Nichols has to stay with Jack and his family and this is the last thing that Jack needs right now. With problems already occurring in Jack's life, his cousin gets involved with Jack as he deals with his reality. This movie beautifully analyses the use of friendship and finding that point were you have a real emotion towards someone. Turning that mood where you have no feelings to one that allow you to open up. This perfectly describes a young boy's childhood in these kind of circumstances. As a directorial debut Felix Thompson completely won me over with a rather funny first shot involved with a garage until the beautiful ending that concluded a magnificent film that I will most certainly catch again.

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• Really sensitive and effective

  Red_Identity2016-07-24

  This is definitely another one of those realistic, quiet independent dramas that surfaces around. Just like many of those dramas, this one is really good. The actors at the core are really effective at bringing to life their characters and succeed at not making them walking stereotypes. It helps that they have a really good script to work with, one that doesn't gloss over many of the issues that plague childhood but also a director who is very aware of these problems and just how the cycle of bullying can continue on, and where it may originate from. Really good film, definitely recommended for many of those fans who already seek out films like this

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