The Life Of Chuck (2025) Film Review

From childhood to adulthood, Charles “Chuck” Krantz experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us.

The Life Of Chuck is directed by Mike Flanagan director of Oculus (2013), Hush (2016), Before I Wake (2016), Ouija: Origin Of Evil (2016), Gerald’s Game (2017) and Doctor Sleep (2019).

Mike Flanagan is a modern horror director who quickly made a name for himself throughout the years, whether it be his number of successful Netflix Series such as The Haunting Of Hill House (2018) or his mostly strong lineup of films he’s directed over the years. The Life Of Chuck is a different swing that Flanagan makes when it comes to his films and it absolutely lands. The amount of love, passion, power and thoughtfulness that is put into the film is evident by Flanagan’s writing which leads to some beautiful moments that leaves the viewer in tears.

The performances are absolutely beautiful, Tom Hiddleston plays Chuck a man whose life we follow through the various stages of his life. The whole idea of this film is never take life for granted and live every single moment. That is perfectly encapsulated through Hiddleston’s performance out of all the variations of Chuck, Hiddleston is the one who captures this the most. Hiddleston especially showcases this during a dance sequence that takes place during the middle portion of the film, its jaw dropping, full of life and is absolutely beautiful. Karen Gillan is fantastic as well, she gives a beautiful performance and works incredibly well with Chiwete Ejiofor who’s just as striking.

Finally there’s Mark Hamill who gives such a brilliant performance and might be one of the best of his career. Hamill plays Albie, Chuck’s paternal grandfather who is going through his own issues (alcoholism and depression) there’s a monologue in the film where Albie talks about the significance of math and the inherent goodness of people, it’s a striking moment of the film that when you finish watching you realize that is the core of what makes this film so fantastic, Albie is a character who captures the feel of heartbreak. You feel alone, don’t want to invest in anything and yet through it all he you feel excited to see the potential that someone has. Albie looks forward to the potential Chuck has even through all of his pain, Hamill is the film’s heart and such a powerful one.

The writing is absolutely beautiful, the theme of living every single moment like it’s your last might be a theme that’s been discussed numerous times. But there’s a reason why that’s the case, you never know what life has in store for you, lives are cut short due to various circumstances and this film perfectly captures celebrating life. It’s one of the major parts of why we are all connected even if we don’t know each other personally. Due to this, moments of seeing Chuck just have a quick chat with someone he doesn’t know or just waving feel all the more gut punching and meaningful, actions you would not really think about again have so much power in this case. While yes the usual Stephen King dialogue (I forgot to mention that this is a Stephen King adaption it’s from his compilation book If It Bleeds), does show up from time to time. That does not take away how powerful the writing remains throughout the film.

Lastly there’s Mike Flanagan’s direction which is quite raw, outside of a few moments there’s so much realness to the performances. It really does feel like you are sitting listening to someone’s life story and you were personally invited. I’ve mentioned before in my reviews that a theme I love that movies explore is looking at the daily lives of a certain person or groups of people. That’s done incredibly well here, it’s a different approach but a very welcomed one that feels just as real as many other times this has been done. That’s thanks to Flanagan’s direction who we see grow further as a filmmaker, it’s quite beautiful to see and shows how much passion he really put here.

The Life Of Chuck is a beautiful film, it’s inspiring and the type of film that feels like a warm hug. The film is a celebration of life and living in the moment something we all should do.

The Life Of Chuck is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

Poor Things (2023) Film Review.

Brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, a young woman runs off with a lawyer on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, she grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.

Poor Things is directed by Yorgos Lanthimos a director who has constantly shown time and time again that he can deliver some absolutely fascinating films such as Dogtooth (2009), The Lobster (2015), The Killing Of A Sacred Deer (2017), The Favourite (2018) and a few others. Lanthimos is absolutely one of the best directors working today and he shows that even more with Poor Things.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way that you have probably already have heard by now, but it can’t be understated how incredible Emma Stone’s performance as Bella Baxter. It’s the very definition of a career best performance that is incredibly striking, humorous and truly captivating. Stone’s acting brings so much life to Bella Baxter that truly makes her one of the best written characters from a film this year. This is easily a type of performance that could have easily went wrong in a lot of ways, but the way Stone naturally builds the character from the ground up throughout the film as Bella goes through in evolution is truly fascinating and hits every single note storywise. Bella is a character who easily wins the viewer over the very second she is introduced and want to see her explore the world she’s in as well as wanting her to reach her goals.

Mark Ruffalo who plays Duncan Wedderburn also gives a career best performance, he’s absolutely hysterical and gives so many memorable moments that take his acting talent and combine it with his comedic timing incredibly well. He does such a fantastic job of playing this buffoon who wants to be taken seriously but ends up being hilarious and I mean that in the best way possible because that’s ultimately what Duncan is as a character.

Willem Dafoe and Ramy Youusef are also pretty strong here as well, although Dafoe who plays Dr. Godwin Baxter or “God” is missing through a huge portion of the film he still plays a very important part of the story and is still fantastic. You can never go wrong with having Willem Dafoe in your film and he absolutely feels like a natural fit in Lanthimos’s strange world. Youusef works incredibly well with Willem Dafoe when they are on screen together and actually do have a couple hilarious lines between one another, Youusef is also really charming and fits quite well with the rest of the cast. His character Max McCandles and his bond with Bella is really nice to watch and is actually quite comedic.

The film itself is this unhinged gothic fairytale type Frankenstein story that has so much creativity and imagination all over it, it definitely goes without saying that the film itself is beautiful. The amount of attention to detail is insane, every single frame of this film has this dreamlike look to it that you never want to wake up from due to how fascinating it looks. The film makes you want to explore each and every corner of its world, it’s truly mesmerizing and absolutely captivating to the eye. It’s a beautiful yet haunting world due to some of the creatures we see walking around which is fitting since this is directed by Lanthimos.

Speaking of which Lanthimos has directed some disturbing and quite weird films in the past, Poor Things is definitely on the more weird side of things, it’s much more abstract and the humor is definitely one of the center focuses, but it has everything that Lanthimos’s previous films had. The way Lanthimos tackles many different themes in each of his films is what makes you keep coming back to them and here is no exception. Poor Things has so many metaphors that are about Bella’s self discovery and sexual liberation that we see throughout Bella’s journey and it all ties together to present such a chaotic story that is truly beautiful and absolutely exciting. The way Lanthimos is able to grab the viewer’s attention with Bella’s journey is truly fascinating and manages to do it quite effortlessly. He’s able to do this in the most chaotic ways with tons of sex scenes that really act as character moments of their own, it’s part of how Bella slowly starts to discover herself and what she wants in the world.

I don’t want to say much else, because this is absolutely the type of film that you really need to see for yourself to really get the full impact. But just know that Poor Things is masterfully acted, written and directed. There’s so much layers to this film that I’m sure more people will slowly realize in years to come.

Poor Things is available in theaters.

10/10 A+

Tick Tick Boom is an emotional and inspiring film!

Based on the autobiographical musical by playwright Jonathan Larson. It’s the story of an aspiring composer in New York City who is worried he made the wrong career choice, whilst navigating the pressures of love and friendship.

Fun fact Jonathan Larson the man that Andrew Garfield went to the same college I did and graduated with the same degree as well (Adelphi University with a BFA)

2021 has been year filled with musicals, some of which have really stood out and remain as some of the best films of the year. While others have completely failed and have either been forgotten or end up being some of the worst of the year. Tick Tick Boom is truly one of or arguably the best musical I’ve seen this year. Andrew Garfield gives easily one of the best performances of the year, in fact this role is most definitely going to be a highlight of his career he truly captures the broadway aesthetic type of performance that makes you feel like you are there watching a broadway show. In fact the whole film itself feels like the closest to a Broadway show, from the sets, to everyone’s acting and facial expressions it really does hit the Broadway feel out of the park. Alexandra Shipp and Robin de Jesús both do a fantastic job as well, the singing voices are all beautiful and truly make this film standout. The film itself is a huge gut punch as well especially towards the end because it is indeed a sad but very inspiring story that really hits your emotions at all times. It’s a film that truly gets to you and inspires you, in some ways I can relate to this film being worried I made the wrong choice and navigating through tough pressures. Overall Tick Tick Boom is one of the best films of the year and is something that I highly recommend watching especially if your a fan of Broadway!

Tick Tick Boom is available on Netflix!

10/10 A+

Kristen Stewart becomes Princess Diana in “Spencer” a dreamlike and nightmarish mesmerizing piece!

The marriage between Princess Diana and Prince Charles has long since grown cold. Though rumors of affairs and a divorce abound, peace is ordained for the Christmas festivities at the queen’s estate. There’s eating and drinking, shooting and hunting. Diana knows the game, but this year, things will be profoundly different.

Spencer might seem like a biographical film on the surface but when you watch the film it truly is a one of a kind experience, Kristen Stewart has evolved so much as an actress, she’s certainly come a long way since Twilight and has always been one of my favorite actresses. Her portrayal of Princess Diana is her best performances and is quite honestly one of the best performances I’ve seen in a film and that’s no exaggeration. She captures every single detail about Princess Diana especially the looks and mannerisms, which add much more power to her role. The writing is absolutely flawless, it goes beyond being a biographical film. The writing becomes hypnotic to the ears, with a dreamlike to state to it while also feeling incredibly raw. Speaking of which you can not convince me that Spencer isn’t part horror, one of the major points of Spencer was to show how Isolated Diana felt from the royal family. Spencer does this in a very nightmarish but fascinating way that gets pretty psychological. The filming combined with the location also feels like a dream mixed with a nightmare, there’s this sense of loneliness you get from Kristen Stewart’s portrayal of Princess Diana. You really understand why she felt isolated and why she wanted out of the royal family, Pablo Larraín’s direction is absolutely fantastic. He brings much fascinating elements to the film such as dreams, sense of loneliness, nightmares and rawness that hits you like a truck. Spencer is a powerful film that’s effective from beginning to end, Kristen Stewart truly deserves Best Actress at the Oscars because this is the type of role you just don’t see anymore. Make sure to watch Spencer because this is truly something special!

Spencer is currently in theaters!

10/10 A+

A Christmas Gift From Bob is a charming movie for the holidays!

A struggling street musician finds himself the target of an animal welfare investigation that threatens to take away his beloved cat at Christmas.

A Christmas Gift From Bob is the sequel to the 2016 film A Street Cat Named Bob which was one of my favorite films from 2016 and was overall one of my favorite films of the 2010s. A Christmas Gift From Bob is a very traditional good defeating evil type Christmas story but what the movie uses to it’s advantage is Luke Treadaway as James Bowen and Bob The Cat himself (who sadly passed away last year) relationship and portraying it very well. A Street Cat Named Bob showed just how much Bob changed James Bowen’s life, while A Christmas Gift From Bob does have a lot of Christmas movie elements, we still get more to the story of James and Bob. How they look out for each other, the acting and writing are both surprisingly well done. There are hiccups during the first act of the movie and it strangely took a bit to get going, but when you get passed the first act the movie is very charming, meaningful and heartwarming. It’s a celebration for James and Bob! While A Christmas Gift From Bob might not be as good as it’s predecessor its still a very charming and heartwarming movie that I do highly recommend.

R.I.P. Bob

A Christmas Gift From Bob is now available on all VOD Platforms!

7/10 B

Titane is a masterful terrifying experience from director Julia Ducournau!

Following a series of unexplained crimes, a father is reunited with the son who has been missing for 10 years.

In 2017 Julia Ducournau released her directional debut film Raw which was a very disturbing film and quite a fantastic one, now this year she released Titane which is also very disturbing but what makes Titane standout from other disturbing films is it ends up being quite sweet and in someways wholesome. First let’s talk about performances Agathe Rousselle and Vincent Lindon easily give some of the best performances of the year, the rawness, power and just overall talent their performances show is quite amazing, they both truly capture the viewer’s attention and bring you into the film. Everyone else in the film does a fantastic job as well, each giving really interesting performances that add to the overall film, the atmosphere is very interesting while it is suspenseful and definitely does keep you wondering what’s going to happen next, it’s the type of atmosphere you wouldn’t think of when you think of the word disturbing. In some parts of the film it’s a wholesome type atmosphere that actually gets you to feel for each of the characters, the writing is masterful it’s filled to brim with interesting dialogue, emotional scenes that actually punch you in the gut and disturbing scenes that will most definitely disturb you. The music is pretty incredible as well, it adds so much to the film and adds to the weirdness as well! Lastly there’s Julia Ducournau’s direction is hands down some of the best direction I’ve seen in a film in quite some time, every scene feels important and adds so much to the story, the themes that get explored such as gender-bending and psychopathic violence are done incredibly well with care to them. There’s a ton of quiet moments between the characters are some of the most powerful, the body horror aspect takes things in a entirely new direction that the subgenre really hasn’t explored yet. It’s truly a masterfully directed film that reminds me of why I love film so much. Titane doesn’t just rely on gore or violence to be disturbing, it has many different themes that it explores wonderfully and throws in some wholesome scenes in it to make it standout from a lot of disturbing films. Titane is truly a fantastic film that I highly recommend going in knowing as little as possible, at the time of writing this Titane is my favorite film of 2021 so far and I’ll be shocked if that changes!

Titane is now in theaters!

10/10 A+

Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter To Los Angeles: A Billie Eilish Concert Experience is beautifully put together with many different styles blended into one.

Grammy Award-winning and chart-topping artist Billie Eilish will make her Disney+ debut with “Happier than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles,” a cinematic concert experience.

There really isn’t a whole lot to this one so I’ll keep this short, I’m glad these concert movies aren’t going away because this one has to be among one of the best. It’s a beautifully put together film of Billie Eilish’s music from her “Happier Than Ever” album, the editing is top notch as well as filming. Both combined truly give it a beautifully hypnotic look to it, Robert Rodriguez is actually one of the directors the other director being Patrick Osborne. Both of which combine their styles to truly give something quite beautiful, the animated portions are quite gorgeous and give all types of emotions as well. The songs are all fantastic, Billie Eilish is one of the most interesting singers currently working today and it really shows here, she’s incredibly talented and gives her songs their own identity. Overall this is a very strong concert film that although is only 65 minutes long is still a beautiful experience that must be seen!

Happier Than Ever A Love Letter To Los Angeles is now available on Disney+

10/10 A+

Zola (2021) Movie Review!

Zola, a Detroit waitress, is seduced into a weekend of stripping in Florida for some quick cash — but the trip becomes a sleepless 48-hour odyssey involving a nefarious friend, her pimp and her idiot boyfriend.

It took me a bit to finally sit down and decide what rating to give Zola, I’ve been thinking about it for 2 weeks now and the more I think about it the more I love it. Zola was one of my most anticipated films it was originally supposed to release in 2020 but due to COVID it was delayed to this year. Zola is based on a Twitter thread by Aziah Zola King and quite a popular one in fact it’s one of Twitter’s most iconic moments of the site, anyone who has a Twitter account probably has some sort of idea about the thread. The film itself is absolutely beautiful, the first thing I noticed which I was certainly not expecting from Zola is that it was filmed on a 16mm camera giving this film a 70s or 80s look to it. Which does bring a very interesting element into the film which is a past vs modern type feel to it. The modern part being the story is taking place in modern times while the filming is the past part as I said before, the performances are all fantastic! Taylour Paige and Riley Keough have fantastic chemistry between one another they both give these raw performances that are both shocking yet fascinating at the same time. Colman Domingo continues to show why he’s one of the best actors working today, he truly delivers on every single level and fits in extremely well with the rest of the cast. Nicholas Braun’s performance is really strong as well, he plays this awkward type which I feel he absolutely nailed those types of roles I find to be very hard to portray but this is definitely one of the most raw of it’s kind. The writing is incredible there’s so many scenes that truly standout the writing is strong, chaotic, energetic and very interesting as well. The music fits the scene that’s currently happening, it’s truly beautifully done a very nice touch is the song at the end which I won’t spoil! The detail in Zola is truly something special, combine that with the 16mm camera I mentioned before and you have yourself a film that goes out of it’s way to make sure the audience has as much detail as possible! Overall Zola is a fantastic film that is quite masterful Janicza Bravo did a fantastic job in the directors chair, because this film gave so many strong performances some of the best of the year. Zola is one of the best films of the year, definitely check this one out!

Zola is now available in theaters!

10/10 A+

The Mitchell’s Vs The Machines (2021) Movie Review!

A quirky, dysfunctional family’s road trip is upended when they find themselves in the middle of the robot apocalypse and suddenly become humanity’s unlikeliest last hope.

Part of the reason it took me a bit to review The Mitchell’s Vs The Machines is because I truly didn’t know what to give it (in the best way possible) it’s such a fantastic film that actually blew my mind. Which myself and many other people were certainly not expecting, Mitchell’s Vs The Machines was stuck in release date limbo for a little bit due to COVID-19 eventually Sony and Netflix decided to partner up and it was released on Netflix! Which I truly think was a very wise decision giving this fantastic film more of an audience, anyway let’s talk about the film! First off the characters are quite incredible, I was really impressed with how fleshed out they were, how relatable they were especially the father and daughter relationship between Katie and Rick. It feels very realistic and truly dives deep into it, the movie makes you feel for them both showing each side and how they feel. It’s truly an incredible breath of fresh air to see this type of family relationship done right, Abbi Jacobson and Danny McBride absolutely nail it with the voice acting they truly bring so much emotion, depth and passion to their roles and show their talent! One thing I didn’t know until after watching was Monchi the pug character was actually voiced by Doug The Pug which I find to be quite great. Speaking of which usually animal sidekicks for the main characters in a lot of animated movies tend to be annoying or just flat out bad. Monchi is one of those rare exceptions, I found myself laughing and actually really liking the character! The animation is absolutely beautiful it has this style to it that feels very unique, it’s incredibly fast paced with a lot of different graphics and color all blended into one beautifully done film. It’s truly a wonderful film that captures the eye really well, the humor is also really great as well! The movie doesn’t heavily rely on pop culture jokes to be funny it’s funny in it’s own way and is just so much fun. Lastly the film does a perfect job of combining the several emotions throughout the film and the character development, the end result is just beautiful and something that truly brings you into the film! Overall The Mitchell’s Vs The Machines is one of the biggest surprises of the year and truly one of the best films so far this year, make sure to watch this one!

The Mitchell’s Vs The Machines is now available on Netflix!

10/10 A+

Saint Maud (2021) Movie Review!

Follows a pious nurse who becomes dangerously obsessed with saving the soul of her dying patient.

Saint Maud has been one of my most anticipated films for the longest time now, it finally came out last month and I’ve thought about this film for awhile now. Saint Maud delivers in every single way possible, what I especially love about it is it was something I completely did not expect all. It was a completely different type of horror that has really not been done, It feels more like a drama but has so much horror elements! The performances here are all fantastic Morfydd Clark does a fantastic job in the leading role, she delivers a raw and an incredibly haunting performance that give me chills. The same can be said for Jennifer Ehle truly a haunting performance. The direction from Rose Glass (one of the most coolest names by the way) did such a beautiful job with this film. Glass truly knows how to set a atmosphere and make the film visually disturbing. The narrative is incredibly powerful it ranges from tacking the idea of belief it shows how much it can damage a person when the people who love you the most don’t respect those beliefs. There’s also a fantasy element or escapism feel to it, showing how Maud attempts to escape the current situation she’s in but ultimately she can’t. There’s tons of grief and powerful scenes that blend so well together, the final act is where you are put in this perspective that Maud must go through what is about to happen. It’s truly some of the most haunting and quite powerful scenes in a film I’ve seen in a long time. With a runtime of 84 minutes long it’s quite impressive how much Rose Glass managed to put into this film and not make it rushed at all. Saint Maud gives you so much to think about it’s a masterful film that truly challenges the viewer into questioning what are beliefs. Combine all of those elements with some raw writing and beautifully haunting direction you got yourself a perfect horror film. I highly recommend this one.

10/10 A+