Copyright © Fandango. Coming Soon. Privacy Policy Unquestionably well-meaning, this tale of an ex-con who teaches some inner-city teens about discipline through chess treads incredibly familiar emotional terrain. “The biggest challenge of dealing with youth today is to really get their attention,” said Brown. There's not really much meat to the whole idea of some ex-con helping troubled kids learn to play chess and what have you, but themes regarding bettering yourself in order to escape from a place of oppression and danger do carry weight, being handled heavy-handedly by Jake Golberger, as director, who finds occasions of undeniable resonance in controlling sentimentality enough to touch with unexpectedly memorable dramatic highlights. Just leave us a message here and we will work on getting you verified. They could have done some genuinely fresh with this inner city of drama of limited genuineness otherwise, but in addition to being too lazy to control a lot of its structurings and melodramatics, storytelling further betrays what value there is to its narrative by conforming to many an almost embarrassingly glaring cliché, until it is hardly anything unique as an inner city drama, in spite of a few particularly cheesy touches.
Who is Eugene Brown? Young stars Malcolm M. Mays and Carlton Byrd gave it a shot, but it sounded more like an air-gun! Life of a King is the unlikely true story of Eugene Brown and his one-man mission to give inner-city kids of Washington D.C. something he never had - a future. Directed by Jake Goldberger. He told the students if you want to sell drugs, then why not go to college and become a pharmaceutical rep and sell to drug stores. Your Ticket Confirmation # is located under the header in your email that reads "Your Ticket Reservation Details". Between these very rare heights in generally problematic dramatics, if nothing else, is charm, which endears, maybe even entertains enough to draw you into some of the heart of this very human affair which is most kept pumping by very human performances. Please reference “Error Code 2121” when contacting customer service. The substance of this film, as it turns out, is very flimsy, at least in its interpretation, which is superficial, melodramatic and, well, trite, and the story's being thin in conflict and questionable in believability, in spite of its being true, is bothersome enough in concept, and yet, like I said, there is a certain freshness, or a potential for freshness in this inner city drama, perhaps even a certain potential for dramatic effectiveness. I'm not a big fan of Cuba, but I thought this was a magnificent performance. Weekend | | Top Critics (5) Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. "Life of a King" could look like a mixture of two genres because it has the uplift of a movie in which tough kids meet even tougher teachers, and combination of the underdog sports film, but it actually uses the game and the school to discuss the deeper challenges facing the most vulnerable population in United States. Please click the link below to receive your verification email. Effective emotionally, this movie will awake many sleepy souls, with a good message! Now, for every error in judgment, there is inspiration, and enough of it to save the film as pretty decent, with strong occasions, but what missteps there are actually are more extreme than I make them sound, collapsing into almost TV-grade contrivances and genericisms, with bland indie structurings.
Brown is the founder of the Big Chair Chess Club.
Well, in all fairness, this film does appear to be the unison of black and white Americans, because even though it seems to simply be about the struggles of youths of the inner city of Washington, it's so white that it's about bringing chess to the streets. The "i" in "King" is a king chess piece, the picture at the bottom appears to be some young criminals of the urban streets, and if they're going to make a definitive MLK biopic, then you know that it's going to have enough integrity to not get Cuba Gooding, Jr. (If the "King" miniseries was going to be remembered, then it was probably going to need a name bigger than that of Paul Winfield). Kenmore East High School students packed their auditorium to hear Eugene Brown speak. Showdowns. He always has such a somber and sad look on his face that perfectly fits this role. International | News |
under which this service is provided to you. The film is pretty pretty, I can give it that much, and really, I wasn't expecting to, as this seems to be the kind of film whose substance ought to be more prominent and inspired in its handling than style. Credit Photo from Eugene Brown's Facebook page. IMDb and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. A lot of people have to think about the end and they are not and it’s just good to be reminded, especially when you are a senior, going off and having to think about where you are going to college and what we are going to do next,” noted Brooks. Directed and co-written by Jake Goldberger (Don McKay), Life Of A King tells the story of Eugene Brown, who in the 1990s rebuilt his life by starting a chess club for at-risk youths. By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy | Rating: 3/5 The result has a predictably wholesome and formulaic structure, yet is redeemed through solid performances from Gooding and the youngsters, and a heartfelt sincerity that rings true. and BoxOfficeMojo.com by IMDbPro - an With Cuba Gooding Jr., Dennis Haysbert, George Dick, Thurston Hill III. Life of a King. Coming Soon. Just confirm how you got your ticket. All Critics (14) Sentimental, formulaic tale of an inspiring chess teacher. Fall TV First Look: Find Out What’s Coming, The Best Peacock Original Shows and Movies, All Upcoming Disney Movies: New Disney Live-Action, Animation, Pixar, Marvel, and More. PG-13 (Some Drug Content|Brief Violent Images|All Involving Teens|Thematic Elements), Animus Films, | Rating: 3.5/5
Once you understand and apply that to daily life, there are opportunities to escape the downward spiral. “If you keep going the way you are going, if you keep going down that dead end street, then you are going to prison and it’s a simple choice for you just to turn around and go the other way, but who’s going to be there? All Time | Think before you move. All of these lame and, to someone, offensive puns aside, Goldberger seems to have a firm enough grip on black filmmaking to make this a decent drama, though not exactly as exciting as you'd expect from a film about inner city kids... playing chess (Yeah, sounds captivating). But you have to admit that this is just an average movie with the usual clichés and predictable situations. The percentage of users who rated this 3.5 stars or higher. Life of a King is the unlikely true story of Eugene Brown and his one-man mission to give inner-city kids of Washington D.C. something he never had - a future. A man, who has turned his life around, is helping to reach troubled youth through the game of chess.
The enduring hope in the goodwill and potential of children were almost contagious, even without the scenes with the high intensity and hyper realism so popular today.
Cinemark Just below that it reads "Ticket Confirmation#:" followed by a 10-digit number. Forgot your password? As much as the film drags, however, it saves a good bit of time at the expense of extensive development, which leaves holes in certain character backgrounds and motivations, and draws thin roles when characterization does kick in, molding almost trite types who do not reflect the peak of contrivances. Just keep your eye on the endgame... everything will fall into place. Brown was invited to speak at the Tonawanda school following a fall field trip to Washington D.C. Ken-East Science Teachers Bob O’Connor and Tim Freeman showed the students the movie “Life of King”, then they had a chance to visit his chess house and had a chance to meet Brown. Even if the story is faithful to the way the events played out in real life - and the official description is that the picture is a "dramatic retelling" - Life of a King couldn't feel more formulaic. A man, who has turned his life around, is helping to reach troubled youth through the game of chess. Eugene Brown delivered an inspirational speech to Kenmore East High School in Tonwanda students Tuesday.
The film is adequately compelling and hopelessly melodramatic with its storytelling, typically a manner that simply lacking in a sense of genuineness, and all too often near-startlingly unsubtle with its heavy-handed dialogue, sentimental scoring, and blatant dramatics, delivered all in a desperate attempt to flesh out a story of only so much consequence. Based on the true story of ex-con-turned-youth-mentor Eugene Brown, director and co-writer Jake Goldberger's drama is earnest to a fault and hits all the inspiring notes you'd expect. He started playing chess while serving time in a federal prison for a bank robbery. © IMDb.com, Inc. or its affiliates. “Best advice is to try to engage them. | Rating: 2.5/5 This 10-digit number is your confirmation number. Solid performances-especially from star Cuba Gooding Jr.-elevate the film slightly above the familiar trappings of its genre. I can go a while with cracking jokes about how bland this plot seems to be, but storytelling does go limp at times in which material meanders, backed by a certain thoughtfulness to Jake Goldberger's direction that is not justified by subtle writing, and is therefore blanding. Though ostensibly based on a true story, the film feels like it has been finessed, exaggerated, and beaten into formulaic fiction. Well, that was kind of racist, because, yeah, this isn't really the long-anticipated MLK biopic... that everyone will actually remember (Remember "King"? Kenmore East Seniors Maggie Brooks and Taylor Windsor agree with Brown's message. company. | Rotten (8). WBFO's Focus on Education Reporter Eileen Buckley says Brown's true-life-story was portrayed in the 2013 film "Life of a King" staring actor Cuba Gooding Junior. and the Terms and Policies, Steakhaus Productions, Gooding gives a strong performance, but viewers might be better off seeking out the...documentary Brooklyn Castle, which focuses on the championship chess team at an inner-city New York middle school. This is an art work which highlights the facts that this most vulnerable population has brains, soul, heart and character. “I thought that was great because I think there are different mind sets, depending on where you are.
Brown explains that his troubles started during his youth while attending schools in Washington, D.C. Now he uses the chess game to inspire and teach young children and teens to 'set a course' for better outcomes.
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