Justin Chang

His latest movie, The Life of Chuck, is both a continuation of this trend and a bit of a departure from it. It's based on a 2020 King novella that draws on horror conventions without quite becoming a full-blown horror story. King's work can be unabashedly sentimental as well as genuinely scary. And this movie is a mystery with a maudlin streak.

His latest movie, The Life of Chuck, is both a continuation of this trend and a bit of a departure from it. It's based on a 2020 King novella that draws on horror conventions without quite becoming a full-blown horror story. King's work can be unabashedly sentimental as well as genuinely scary. And this movie is a mystery with a maudlin streak.

It hopes you'll be scratching your head at the beginning and brushing away tears by the end. The life of Chuck is divided into three acts, told in reverse chronological order. In the first act, a narrator, voiced by Nick Offerman, explains that the apocalypse is underway. The world is being devastated by fires, floods, and earthquakes.

It hopes you'll be scratching your head at the beginning and brushing away tears by the end. The life of Chuck is divided into three acts, told in reverse chronological order. In the first act, a narrator, voiced by Nick Offerman, explains that the apocalypse is underway. The world is being devastated by fires, floods, and earthquakes.

It hopes you'll be scratching your head at the beginning and brushing away tears by the end. The life of Chuck is divided into three acts, told in reverse chronological order. In the first act, a narrator, voiced by Nick Offerman, explains that the apocalypse is underway. The world is being devastated by fires, floods, and earthquakes.

Coastal parts of the U.S., including California, are collapsing into the ocean. The internet is shut down, seemingly for good, and humanity seems about ready to shut down as well. A few folks are trying to hang on for as long as they can. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Marty, a small-town schoolteacher, and Karen Gillan plays Felicia, a hospital nurse who has seen many of her patients die by suicide.

Coastal parts of the U.S., including California, are collapsing into the ocean. The internet is shut down, seemingly for good, and humanity seems about ready to shut down as well. A few folks are trying to hang on for as long as they can. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Marty, a small-town schoolteacher, and Karen Gillan plays Felicia, a hospital nurse who has seen many of her patients die by suicide.

Coastal parts of the U.S., including California, are collapsing into the ocean. The internet is shut down, seemingly for good, and humanity seems about ready to shut down as well. A few folks are trying to hang on for as long as they can. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Marty, a small-town schoolteacher, and Karen Gillan plays Felicia, a hospital nurse who has seen many of her patients die by suicide.

Marty and Felicia were once married and remain good friends. In this scene, Marty talks to Felicia on the phone, the phones still work, and tries to offer some reassuring perspective. He explains the concept of the cosmic calendar, which imagines the history of the entire universe compressed into a single year.

Marty and Felicia were once married and remain good friends. In this scene, Marty talks to Felicia on the phone, the phones still work, and tries to offer some reassuring perspective. He explains the concept of the cosmic calendar, which imagines the history of the entire universe compressed into a single year.

Marty and Felicia were once married and remain good friends. In this scene, Marty talks to Felicia on the phone, the phones still work, and tries to offer some reassuring perspective. He explains the concept of the cosmic calendar, which imagines the history of the entire universe compressed into a single year.

Even as everything around them crumbles, Marty and Felicia notice something strange. Wherever they look, they see an image of a man named Charles Krantz, on billboards, TV screens, and even windows, accompanied by the words, 39 great years. Thanks, Chuck. It's a surreal and unnerving sight. No one seems to have any idea who this Chuck guy is. But as the first act winds to a close, we meet Chuck.

Even as everything around them crumbles, Marty and Felicia notice something strange. Wherever they look, they see an image of a man named Charles Krantz, on billboards, TV screens, and even windows, accompanied by the words, 39 great years. Thanks, Chuck. It's a surreal and unnerving sight. No one seems to have any idea who this Chuck guy is. But as the first act winds to a close, we meet Chuck.

Even as everything around them crumbles, Marty and Felicia notice something strange. Wherever they look, they see an image of a man named Charles Krantz, on billboards, TV screens, and even windows, accompanied by the words, 39 great years. Thanks, Chuck. It's a surreal and unnerving sight. No one seems to have any idea who this Chuck guy is. But as the first act winds to a close, we meet Chuck.

He's played by Tom Hiddleston, and he's dying of cancer. What's going on here? An answer begins to emerge in the second act, which takes place several months before the first one. The world isn't ending yet. Everything seems fine. Chuck, an accountant who looks reasonably healthy, is out walking in a busy town square, where he encounters a busker, played by the drummer, the Pocket Queen.

He's played by Tom Hiddleston, and he's dying of cancer. What's going on here? An answer begins to emerge in the second act, which takes place several months before the first one. The world isn't ending yet. Everything seems fine. Chuck, an accountant who looks reasonably healthy, is out walking in a busy town square, where he encounters a busker, played by the drummer, the Pocket Queen.

He's played by Tom Hiddleston, and he's dying of cancer. What's going on here? An answer begins to emerge in the second act, which takes place several months before the first one. The world isn't ending yet. Everything seems fine. Chuck, an accountant who looks reasonably healthy, is out walking in a busy town square, where he encounters a busker, played by the drummer, the Pocket Queen.

An impromptu dance number follows, in which Chuck shows off some serious moves, while a crowd looks on in amazement. It's great to watch Hiddleston cut loose, and Flanagan directs the scene with real verve. From there, the third and final act rewinds further back to Chuck's childhood and teenage years, during which he's raised in a quiet suburb by his grandparents.

An impromptu dance number follows, in which Chuck shows off some serious moves, while a crowd looks on in amazement. It's great to watch Hiddleston cut loose, and Flanagan directs the scene with real verve. From there, the third and final act rewinds further back to Chuck's childhood and teenage years, during which he's raised in a quiet suburb by his grandparents.

An impromptu dance number follows, in which Chuck shows off some serious moves, while a crowd looks on in amazement. It's great to watch Hiddleston cut loose, and Flanagan directs the scene with real verve. From there, the third and final act rewinds further back to Chuck's childhood and teenage years, during which he's raised in a quiet suburb by his grandparents.