The Couch Critic
The Couch Critic is your laid-back guide to movies and TV shows that deserve your attention—or maybe don’t. Nathan dives deep into storytelling, character development, and cinematic style with a sharp eye and a wry sense of humor. Whether it’s a blockbuster hit, a hidden gem, or a cult classic, Nathan’s relatable approach ensures every episode feels like a cozy chat with a friend who just happens to love film. Perfect for casual watchers and cinephiles alike, The Couch Critic brings thoughtful critique without the fluff. Grab your favorite snack, settle in, and let Nathan guide you through the world of screen entertainment.
The Couch Critic
In the Depths of Darkness: An Analysis of 'Sound of Freedom'
Get ready for a riveting journey as Natey navigates the depths of a hard-hitting, faith-based thriller - Sound of Freedom. This is no ordinary movie review. This episode peels back layers of this cinematic narrative, revealing its pivotal message that addresses the heinous reality of human trafficking. As Natey deftly dissects the movie, its stellar cast including Jim Caviezel, Mira Sorvino, Bill Camp, and Jose Zuniga, and its profound symbolism, you'll find yourself immersed in an experience that's more than just a film critique. Despite his minor quibbles about the film's length and Caviezel's acting, he is wholeheartedly convinced that the film's message is a clear call demanding our undivided attention.
Dive deeper into the episode as Natey draws a compelling parallel between a scene in the movie and Jesus wrestling darkness for humanity, highlighting the film's transcending impact. Marvel at Angel Studios' laudable efforts in crafting this powerful narrative and their initiative to democratize access to the movie. Be warned though, this episode indeed traverses through some intense topics. But, it's these very topics that underline the urgency for us to confront and combat human trafficking. Let's lend our ears, hearts, and support Sound of Freedom and the cause it stands for.
One's a movie buff, one watches movies, just enough. Together, fun will be had by all. This is Nady and Katie at the Movies. Hello everyone, and welcome to a brand new episode of Nady and Katie at the Movies. I am your host, nathan, aka Nady, of course, and on this episode it is just me. That's right, a solo episode with yours truly, nady. And on this episode I will be reviewing the faith-based thriller about human trafficking.
Speaker 1:The movie is Sound of Freedom. Now, this movie has been out for a while. It actually came out on July 4th, which was perfectly timed because the title of the movie is Sound of Freedom. As I stated, this movie is about human trafficking, so it is a very heavy movie to watch. But, of course, before I jump into it, i have to go over the synopsis. The Sound of Freedom is the incredible true story of former government agent Turn Vigilante, who embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue hundreds of children from sex traffickers. Sound of Freedom stars Jim Caviesal as Tim Ballard. Jim Caviesal has been in movies such as The Passion of the Christ and on the television show Person of Interest. This movie also has Mira Servino as Catherine Ballard. She was in Do You Believe and The Final Cut Bill Camp plays Vampiro He was in Joker and 12 Years a Slave and Jose Zuniga Plays Roberto. He was in Twilight and Mission Impossible 3.
Speaker 1:When I first heard about this film, it was produced or distributed by Angel Studios. This is the studios that made such things as The Chosen and other faith-based material, so I was really intrigued by it. I really enjoy The Chosen. I enjoy other things that they've come out with. Jim Caviesal is a very good actor, in my opinion.
Speaker 1:Elizabeth and I went to go see this movie. She and I had also watched Person of Interest, which is a television show that he had been a part of, and, of course, we all know Jim Caviesal as Jesus and Passion of the Christ, and so this film was one that I really, really wanted to go see. I wanted to support it because I believe the message that it presents is something that everyone needs to hear, everyone needs to watch, and so this episode is going to be super short because I didn't really have that many dislikes, because I believe the message is so important. The acting in this movie was superb. If you know me, you know that I've said before that I'm not really a big fan of Christian films, because I believe that the quality is never up to standards that I believe that they should be. That was not the case with Sound of Freedom. Going back to The Chosen, i believe the acting on that show is also very well done. This studio really cares about the quality of what they present And the fact that this studio took of this film, sound of Freedom, that apparently took five years to make.
Speaker 1:They tried to sell it to other studios like Amazon. They tried to sell it to streaming services like Netflix, and those places would not touch this film because they said it was bad for business. And I believe that the message of human trafficking is far more important than what you think people would would gravitate towards. It is something that is a disease in the world and it needs to be eradicated. It needs to be taken down. And, as a father of two children who are so young and then you hear how so young the children in human trafficking are if you don't feel that this needs to be taken care of, there's something wrong with you.
Speaker 1:I know that I was posting about this in a Facebook group and people were saying how it's a propaganda film, how it's QAnon, how it's this, how it's that and basically it's because they don't believe, they don't agree with Jim Caviesal's political stances. Put that aside. Put that aside and focus on the message. Even Jim Caviesal, at the end of the film, says this movie is not about him. It's not even about who he's portraying Tim Ballard, who everyone should consider a real-life superhero. But this movie is not about him. It's about the children who are in this situation and how dire it is for them to be saved from this situation.
Speaker 1:I was just in awe of this film and there was one part in particular that really got to me and I could feel the sense of symbolism that they were trying to portray. And they may not have been, but I feel like there was a symbolism there. And it's near the end of the film where he finally gets to where he wanted to be and he's faced with this evil kingpin who has been taking advantage of this girl, who he had been trying to save the entire film, and he starts fighting and almost wrestling with this guy. And I don't know if they did this on purpose with casting Jim Caviesal, someone who has portrayed Jesus before, but it reminded me of the fact that Jesus wrestled darkness to save each and every one of us and it was just a powerful moment. That again, i don't know if that was the purpose, the point, but it was a beautiful symbolic moment in this film That Jesus is constantly wrestling darkness for us. He defeated darkness for us when he died on the cross for our sins. It was just a beautiful moment. But I gotta say, the kids in this movie were so good. Again, i have two children and the thing that they kept repeating is what if things were your kids being put in this situation, wouldn't you do anything to protect them, anything to rescue them from this horror, this hell on earth? And again, as a father, it was very powerful. This movie is very powerful. It's very impactful.
Speaker 1:I believe every single person should go see this movie and the studio believes that too. They believe it so much that, just like with the chosen, they're doing a pay it forward. They're having all these people come and buy tickets so people who can't afford to go see it can still go see it. Angelcom slash Freedom is the website that you can go to to either pay it forward yourself, you can purchase tickets, and you can also claim free tickets to go see this movie, because that's how important the message against human trafficking is It needs to be ended, it needs to be done, it needs to be eradicated.
Speaker 1:Now I've said all this and I will say a few dislikes as a person viewing it as just strictly a film. One possible dislike is if you watch Person of Interest, you know that Jim Caviesal's acting at times is kind of like on the deadpan side, but because I had watched Person of Interest before, i was okay with his acting being that way. Another slight dislike is I did feel it was a tad bit long of a movie. But those are my only two dislikes and those are things that were not dealbreakers because of how important this film is. So, that being said, because of the importance of the message, i feel like I have to give this film a six out of six stars.
Speaker 1:This movie is very important and it's coming out at a time where there's so many other choices you could choose from when it comes to going to see a film. I ask you to make time to go see this movie. I will say that there are scenes nothing is ever shown, obviously, because that would be horrible, but there are scenes where things are implied that are happening to children. So just be prepared for that. But this movie is too important to ignore And it was number one in the box office when it opened and it was not reported on because it's a Christian film and Hollywood doesn't want to hear it.
Speaker 1:I will say that for a Christian film, i don't even know if they would consider it a Christian film. It's released by a Christian studio And there are some mentions of God, but it's not a heavy-handed Christian film by any means. It's a film that needs to be seen and I'm going to say it over and over again You need to go see it. Angelcom slash freedom. Go see sound of freedom. Thanks for listening to Nadie and Katie at the Movies. Feel free to leave us a review so people can find the show. Follow us on all our social media platforms And if there's a movie that you want us to watch, feel free to contact us at nadieandkadycom. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
