K-11 (2013)

Such an odd film. Man wakes up in jail, and finds himself in a strange prison cell; it appears to be a ward for gay and transgendered people. Goran Visnjic is "Saxx", and he tries to navigate survival; everyone he meets is either a friend or foe. From the start, we're shown one main corrupt officer that we can tell is going to be trouble. And we're also shown "Mousey" (Kate del Castillo), who runs the joint. The main plot here is that Saxx says he doesn't belong here, and he keeps making phone calls for help. About halfway through, we find out what he's at least accused of, but we have yet to find out if he actually did it or not. Of course, the most famous face here is "Jay" from Clerks... Jason Mewes. (yes, they are making Clerks III, so we'll see Jay and silent Bob again). We almost don't recognize him with short hair. In K-11, he's part of the drug dealing crew. Gets pretty rough, so definitely NOT for the kiddies. It's a prison, so expect anything to happen. And the ending is a little cheesy, but not bad for a first film. The sound and photography were actually very well done for a first-timer, but as she has been in the business for a while, Stewart certainly had the connections to hire professionals. ( Stewart is also Twilight star Kristen Stewart's mom!) Will definitely look for more projects from Stewart. Written and directed by Jules Stewart, based on an original story by Jared Kurt. K-11 seems to be the first project for her. Also son Cameron makes his first acting appearance. A whole lot of violence, cussing, and nudity. It is prison, after all. Not for the faint of heart.

I had super low expectations going into this film, but I surprisingly liked it.The characters feel very real and damaged. Raymond Saxx Jr.'s plight is uncomfortable and unfortunate for him.D.B. Sweeney is solid as the waste of space Lt. Gerald Johnson. Goran Visnjic gives a sympathetic portrayal of record producer Saxx who got too deep into drugs.Kate Del Castillo as Mousey is not bad. She has flashes of brilliance as the trans-gender. Portia Doubleday is unnerving and heartbreaking as Butterfly.Obviously, the film is low-budget, but I'm confused why the critics trashed it like they did. I bet some of them never bothered to watch the film. Although, this is not the type of film critics would love. It's not an amazing film, but it's hardly exploitative...so take it for what it is. I enjoyed the ending and I would watch it again if I saw it television. An interesting directorial debut for indie director Jules Stewart.

Goran Visnjic gives a sincere performance in the lead role, but really that is all that is halfway decent about K-11. And this was from actually seeing the movie and giving it a fair chance, so there goes that rather ignorant assumption. Some people probably didn't even see the trailer and saw it only for Visnjic, myself belonging in this camp. The script is confused, it is not sure whether it wants to have exploitation laughs or sombre tragedy. Instead it tries to incorporate both and neither work, the comedy being forced and can fall into the distasteful category for some and the tragedy being mawkish and you never care enough for the characters to genuinely feel it. Okay some of the grind-house punchlines are not so bad, but they are too far and between. The dialogue at best is tepid also. Another major failing is the story, it is slow and almost non-existent and you don't feel any of the tensions and fears of prison life. Part of the reason why you are not engaged with anything here is because the movie in an attempt to trying not to offend plays it too safe. There are also campy elements that are too artificially done and while the comic exaggerations are played for shocks, there was little that came across as genuinely shocking and instead it was too exaggerated and too overdone. There are cheaper-looking movies out there, however K-11 does nothing interesting with the photography or the single-room cell-block, they are just there with no signs of life. The music is pulpy and loud, but often overbears everything. I couldn't care less about who Jules Stewart's family is- that's never been an overriding factor in my judgement of movies, never has been, never will be and also it shouldn't be- what really matters is whether her involvement in K-11 worked in its favour. It didn't, it had intent sure but turned out to be every bit as confused as the script. Visnjic gives the only good performance, the rest struggle with the cardboard characters and give cartoonish caricatures in the process. All in all, apart from Visnjic- who deserved better than this- a messy movie that played it too safe and didn't know what to do with itself. 2/10 Bethany Cox

I'm no film critic, a media student yes, but I've never written a review before, to be honest I've never needed to. Usually every film I come across can be expected to have hundreds of reviews by users on IMDb, most far better than any I could ever write. Disappointed by the lack I found when reading up on K-11, I decided it was time to watch the film, and share my experience. I had the usual expectations going into this film in terms of the prison film genre. It's set in a prison, there will be violence, drugs and rape. There will be top dogs, underdogs, minions, and those just trying to survive. What I wasn't expecting from the directional debut of Jules Stewart was such a captivating story. The interesting scenario our main character Raymond Saxx finds himself in, the characters that surround him and the interesting dynamic of K-11 make for a sometimes difficult but ultimately rewarding experience. I found it an important tale to tell, unlike most films out there. It had thought and meaning behind it, and the actors truly brought the film to life. Would I recommend those of you curious about this film to watch it? That's a definite yes.