The Life of Chuck

“The Life of Chuck” is a 2025 drama based off the novela by Stephen King with the same name. It stars Tom Hiddleston (Thor: Ragnarok), Benjamin Pajak (Past My Bedtime), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy), Mark Hamill (Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope), and Rahul Kohil (iZombie).

“The Life of Chuck” follows the life Charles Krantz starting from his untimely death all the way down to his childhood.

If you’ve read my reviews on other Stephen King movies such as, IT, you know i’m a massive fan and have read almost everything he has written, including “The Life of Chuck.” This one is in his collection “If It Bleeds.” I’ll be the first to admit I like his old stuff better, when he was in a drunken cocaine state, his work just hits harder then. I’m a little surprised they turned this one into a movie as it isn’t one of his more well-known ones. However, the guy could put out blank paper and it would get turned into a movie. I’m always a little apprehensive of Stephen King movies, because I’m always scared they won’t follow his work. So how does this one stack up?

If you’ve read it like me, you won’t be disappointed. It follows it perfectly, from start to finish, it is like his novella. The casting is great. Especially from Pajak, he nails the role of Charles as a kid, especially considering he really hasn’t been in anything up to this point. This movie is heartfelt, and touching that I believe everyone can get behind, even if you’re not a fan of the King. This is a must see movie. I give it a 9/10.

NONNAS

“NONNAS” is a 2025 Netflix original comedy/drama starring Vince Vaughn (Freaky), Lorraine Bracco (The Sopranos), Talia Shire (Rocky), Brenda Vaccaro (Midnight Cowboy), Drea de Matteo (The Sopranos), Susan Sarandon (Thelma & Louise), and Linda Cardellini (Freaks and Geeks).

An Italian man (Vaughn) loses his mom and with her life insurance money he opens up a restaurant on Staten Island. He hires a group of nonnas (Italian grandmas) to serve as his cooks. He wants to bring the world the same type of homemade meals he grew up with to honor his mother.

I’ll watch anything with Vince Vaughn in it, he’s a loveable big guy that you can’t help but love. The cool thing about this movie is it’s based on a true story. The restaurant is still going strong to this day. The acting is great, it’s hilarious and heartfelt. The bickering between the nonna’s will have you cracking up. We all know someone like them in our own lives. It will have you in your feels several times to the verge of tearing up. It’s a great heartfelt movie that the whole family can enjoy. I give it a 9/10.

DROP

“DROP” is a 2025 thriller starring Meghann Fahy (The White Lotus), Brandon Sklenar (It Ends With Us), Violett Beane (The Flash), and Reed Diamond (Moneyball).

A widowed mother who is a survivor of domestic abuse goes on a date for the first time in years with a guy she met on a dating app. He takes her to fancy restaurant overlooking the city skyline. Her night soon gets turned upside down when she starts getting anonymous messages from a stranger in the restaurant telling her she has to kill her date or her child dies. She isn’t able to tell anyone, call for help, leave the restaurant or her child dies. She must now find a solution before it’s too late.

I’ve been excited to see this one since I first saw the trailer. I went in with high hopes for this movie. It takes place in only two locations, obviously the main one is the restaurant, while the other is what is going on at her house with her son. The majority of the movie is her freaking out trying to find a way to save her son without having to kill her date. It works, it’s a great movie. It’s a great thriller from start to finish that has you guessing who in the restaurant is behind it. Which I have to admit, I didn’t see it coming. The acting is great all the way around, and it surpassed my expectations. I give it a 9/10. It’s a must see.

Novocaine

“Novocaine” is a 2025 Action/Comedy/Thriller starring Jack Quaid (Companion), Amber Midthunder (Prey), Ray Nicholson (Smile 2), and Jacob Batalon (Spider-Man: Homecoming).

Nate (Quaid) lives a normal, boring life as an assistant manager at a bank, except for one thing. He has a rare genetic disorder where he doesn’t feel pain, and hot or cold temperatures. While on the clock three masked men come in and rob the bank and take a girl (Midthunder) he likes hostage. Now Nate vows to do whatever it takes to get her back, no matter how much damage his body takes.

After seeing the previews for this one, I knew I had to see it. It’s a unique movie that blends the perfect amount of action, comedy, and violence. The acting is great all the way around. Quaid nails the nerdy white guy superhero part. It reminds me a lot of the movie “Kick-Ass.” It’s a fun watch start to finish. I give it a 9/10.

Deadpool & Wolverine

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is a 2024 Marvel Superhero/Action/Comedy movie and also the third installment in the Deadpool series. This one stars Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), Hugh Jackman (X-Men), Emma Corrin (The Crown), Matthew Macfadyen (Succession), and Channing Tatum (The Lost City).

Deadpool is back and this time he’s trying to save his timeline and world from being erased out of existence. To do so he must seek out the help of one of the mightiest heroes, Wolverine.

You either love or hate the Deadpool movies, I don’t think there’s no in-between. He’s foul mouthed, sarcastic, breaks the fourth wall, and kills people. In my opinion what’s not to love? This is one of the year’s most anticipated movies, and it also is the highest grossing R rated movie of all time. So how good is it?

If you’re a superhero fan or just a fan of Deadpool, it’s amazing. It is chalked full of celebrity/superhero cameos, that make it worthwhile in its own right. The fight scenes are perfect, not only do we get to see Wolverine and Deadpool fight side by side, but also, we get to see them fight each other. This may be the only movie we’ll get to see that. Plus, Gambit finally gets his time on the big screen. The typical sarcasm, and humor breaking the 4th wall still hold up. It’s definitely worth seeing, I give it a 9/10.

Knock at the Cabin

“Knock at the Cabin” is a 2023 thriller/mystery directed by M. Night Shyamalan based on the book ” The Cabin at the End of the World” by Paul Tremblay. It stars the big man himself Dave Bautista (Glass Onion), Jonathan Groff (Mindhunter), Rupert Grint (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone), Nikki Amuka-Bird (Old), Abby Quinn (Mad About You), and Ben Aldridge (Pennyworth).

Two husbands and their adopted daughter are vacationing at a cabin in the woods off the beaten path. They haven’t been there long, when a knock comes at the door. It’s four strangers who tell them the fate of the world is in their hands. They must sacrifice one of themselves or the world will end.

I love M. Night Shyamalan, he’s one of my favorite directors. His movies are thought provoking, unique and a lot of times leave you speechless with the surprise twist. This one is pretty much the same, not as much of a surprise twist and you would expect from him, but the rest is true. This is another home run for him. I like both Dave Bautista and Jonathan Groff, both are great actors. It’s also good to see Bautista branch out and do a serious roll versus the big, dumb, muscular, funny guy roll that he normally plays. Which he nails. It’s a two-hour movie, and the whole thing takes place in one location, the cabin. So, it’s set up to be a nightmare if written poorly, but this one is executed really well and doesn’t feel like two hours at all. Plus, it throws some tear jerkers in there as well. The only thing I didn’t like about the movie is the camera angles. Majority of the scenes are zoomed way in and only catch on person in the frame at a time, I’m guessing it’s done for dramatic effect, but I didn’t care for it. Overall, it’s a must see and I give it a 9/10.

The Black Phone

“The Black Phone” is a 2022 horror movie based off Joe Hill’s short story. It stars Ethane Hawke (Training Day), Mason Thames (For All Mankind), Madeleine McGraw (American Sniper), and Jeremy Davies (Twister).

Denver 1978, a man known as the grabber is going around and abducting kids. 13-year-old Finney Shaw is his latest victim. An old disconnected black phone and a small mattress is the only things in the soundproof basement he is kept in. The victims before him who were taken and killed by the grabber call Finney through the black phone to try and help Finney survive and escape.

I’ve been excited to see this one since I saw the first trailer for it. It was different than I was expecting. It was more of a crime thriller mixed with some paranormal element’s vs a horror movie. Don’t get me wrong, it is filled with its fair share of creepy parts and jump scares though. It does a great job of keeping you on the edge of your seat and your heart pounding, just a little different than I was expecting. Hawke, Thames, and McGraw all play wonderful roles. It’s scary, creepy, nail biting, and heart felt all rolled into one. It’s definitely worth seeing. I give it a 9/10.

The Outfit

“The Outfit” is a 2022 crime drama/thriller starring Zoey Deutch (Why Him?), Dylan O’Brien (Teen Wolf), Mark Rylance (The BFG), and Johnny Flynn (Emma.).

An expert cutter gets dragged into a dangerous situation when a mobster stumbles into his shop after being a shot. He must now tread carefully and try to outsmart the mob in order to survive the night before things spiral out of control.

This is a great period film, it takes place in 1956 in Chicago, in a cutter’s shop. Which before this film I would have called him a tailor, but he makes it very clear anyone can be a tailor, a tailor only sews buttons. He’s a cutter. The whole hour and 45-minute movie takes place in one spot, the cutter’s shop. So not a whole lot of action, so the movie has to rely on one thing, it’s writing. If it doesn’t have strong writing it would be unbearable, because it only takes place in one spot, it’s almost all dialogue. This one is brilliantly written. It keeps you guessing the entire time with twists and turns, and after the 20 minute mark it will have you hanging on the edge of your seat. It has a real “The Usual Suspects” feel to it where the answer is in front of you the whole time but you don’t realize it. For the writing alone I give it a solid 9/10. If you didn’t catch it in theaters, it’s streaming exclusively right now on Peacock.

Scream (2022)

“Scream” is the fifth installment in the horror film series “Scream”. This is one is a sequel/remake, or as I learned the term from this movie a requel. They bring back some of the original cast from the first one which includes Neve Campbell (Wild Things), Courteney Cox (Friends), and David Arquette (Never Been Kissed). Outside the originals it also stars Melissa Barrera (In the Heights), Jack Quaid (The Hunger Games), Mikey Madison (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Jenna Ortega (You), and Dylan Minnette (The Open House).

Twenty-Five Years after the original killings in Woodsboro, Billy Loomis’s daughter is drawn back to Woodsboro after a new Ghostface attacks her sister. Now she must find out who the killer is before it’s too late.

This is about a movie, in a movie, while trying to make a new movie, a little inception, right? Ghostface is from the Stab movies which is based off the Woodsboro murders, and the new Ghostface emerges to fix the last stab movie with a series of murders. Sounds a little confusing, but the writing is very solid, and it’s not as confusing as it sounds. It is full of twists and turns, that keeps you guessing who the killer is. The classic characters also come back and serve a purpose, just not put in for money purposes. Also, Jenna Ortega plays a great part as one of the leads, she’s a great actress. I was actually surprised at how good and well done, this one was. It’s been ten years since the last Scream, and this is the best one in the franchise. I give it a solid 9/10.

Mother/Android

“Mother/Android” is a 2021 Sci-fi/Thriller starring Chloe Grace Mortez (Kick-Ass), Algee Smith (Judas and the Black Messiah), and Raul Castillo (Night Teeth).

Somewhere in the future, possibly the near future, Androids are programmed to wait on, and serve man. They are programmed with a function that won’t allow them to hurt humas. When something disrupts a signal, Androids lose this function, and now seek to kill off all human life. A mother who is 9 months pregnant, and her boyfriend must make it from central MA to Boston in hopes of safety. They must cross “no mans land” in order to get to Boston, an area that is filled with Androids.

This one reminds me of ” I Am Legend” mixed with “Mother.” Instead of zombies and Will Smith, you get robots, Chloe Grace Mortez, and Algee Smith. The “Mother” part comes in, with the way it transitions between scenes, when it gets to a climax of a scene it suddenly ends and is in the future in the next scene. “Mother” does the same thing. This is one of the only things I didn’t like about this film. “Mother” was just garbage all the way around.

Another thing I didn’t like, it has a few cheesy parts, like for instance when Chloe Grace Mortez is in a wheelchair holding off a flood of Androids with one hand holding back a chain link gate, I mean come on. Other than those couple of things this movie is a very solid film. It doesn’t have much love on IMDb, but it is very good. It hooks you in and will have you on the edge of your seat the whole time, and throws in some twists you won’t see coming. I also promise the ending will have you all in your feelings. Solid acting from Chloe Grace Mortez, and Algee Smith. Raul Castillo is one of the cheesy parts. I give it a 9/10, you can catch this one on Hulu.