Happy MLK Day family! Wanted to share a quick review of a movie I had the pleasure of viewing locally yesterday called Life of a King. I do not know how many areas it is playing this week, you can click here to check yours, but it certainly warrants a view if you can catch it in the theaters. Based on a true story, the film highlights Eugene Brown, portrayed by Cuba Gooding Jr. (Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Red Tails), who created an inner city chess club to inspire and prepare disenfranchised youth towards future goals.
It is a heartwarming film, to say the least, propelled by great performances from Dennis Haysbert (Dear White People, LUV) , LisaGay Hamilton (Grey’s Anatomy, Law & Order: SVU), Richard T. Jones (Why Did I Get Married, Hawaii Five-O) and newcomer Malcolm M. Mays. And it goes without saying, but Cuba certainly is dynamic in the lead role. There were some predictable elements in the movie, for instance I knew one character was headed for a tragic ending, however it didn’t subtract from the amazing true-life story being highlighted. I was engrossed in Mr. Brown’s passion to help kids in poor communities “envision the end game” and take accountability for their lives. The film is a true tale of inspiration fit for a King Day weekend opening.
“Life of a King” is being sold on Blu-Ray, and will be released on DVD on February 11, but I strongly suggest you see it in theaters if possible and take a teen or two with you! 🙂 The movie is PG-13 and has a 101 minute running time.
Please share a comment or two when you see the film and let me know your thoughts! Check out the film synopsis and trailer below, and you can learn more about the Big Chair Chess Club and Eugene Brown here.
Until next thought family, Thomasena
“Life of a King” synopsis
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. He discovered a multitude of life lessons through the game of chess during his 18-year incarceration for bank robbery. After his release and reëntry into the workforce, Eugene developed and founded the Big Chair Chess Club to get kids off the streets and working towards lives they never believed they were capable of due to circumstances. From his daring introductory chess lessons to group of unruly high school students in detention to developing the Club and the teens’ first local chess competitions, this movie reveals his difficult, inspirational journey and how he changed the lives of a group of teens with no endgame.
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