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
From Game to Fame: A Gran Turismo Review
Ever considered how playing a video game could propel you to international fame and glory? Get ready for a thrilling ride as we, Katy and Natey, navigate through the high-octane world of Gran Turismo. We're firing on all cylinders as we dissect the remarkable true story of underdogs ascending to the pinnacle of the gaming world, transforming their reality one race at a time. On our journey, we marvel at the stunning cinematography, the adrenaline-fueled action sequences, and the heart-tugging father-son dynamic that drives this remarkable tale. From David Harbour's impassioned lead to notable performances by Orlando Bloom and Archie Madekwe, we lay it all out on the track.
We don't stop at the finish line though, as we race on to compare our individual experiences of playing the Gran Turismo video game with the riveting cinematic adaptation. We rev our engines discussing the impactful use of CGI and the unexpected product placements that add flavor to the narrative. We also delve into the fascinating effects of Hollywood strikes on movie promotions. Ultimately, we gear up to offer our ratings and recommendations, ensuring you're equipped with all the insights to enjoy this film to the fullest. Whether you're a film buff or a casual gamer, we promise you a journey packed with twists, turns, and turbocharged discussions. Buckle up, because we're speeding into the fascinating world of Gran Turismo.
One's a movie buff, one watches movies, just enough Together. Fun will be had by all. This is Nadie and Katie at the Movies.
Speaker 2:Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new episode of Nadie and Katie at the Movies. I'm your host, nathan AKA Nadie, of course, and with me is my good friend Katie. Hi, katie, how are you?
Speaker 3:I'm doing well. Finally, I have been sick for like three weeks straight. It has been miserable. I feel like it was basically COVID quarantine among like my son got sick, then I got sick, my husband got sick, then he got, my son got sick again. So it was good to get out of the house and go see a movie, because I was just ready to get out.
Speaker 2:What movie did you decide to go out and go see?
Speaker 3:Well, nathan, I went out and I saw a new movie called Gran Turismo. Have you heard of it?
Speaker 2:Wow, that's so. That's so quinkydink, because that's exactly the movie we're reviewing on this episode.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh. Well, let's just get right into it. Then Should we do a brief synopsis?
Speaker 2:Based on the unbelievable, inspiring true story of a team of underdogs, a struggling working class gamer, a failed former race car driver and an idealistic motorsports exec who risk it all to take on the most elite sport in the world. Gran Turismo stars David Harbour, orlando Bloom and Archie Maduckwee I don't know if I'm saying that name correct so this, like the synopsis said, this movie is based on a true story, which I had never heard of this true story before. Katie, what did you think of Gran Turismo?
Speaker 3:I really liked Gran Turismo. It was one of the first movies in a while that in the last few that I left feeling really pumped up and excited and wanting to tell folks about. And it was very fun driving home from there because I really wanted to drive like a race driver. My car can't even like really get up hills very well, so it sounds like a race car when I'm just, you know, merging onto the highway. It's like felt like I was in Gran Turismo. But I really liked it. And I want to start with another question, which is have you ever played the video game? Because this is based on two things a video game and also a real life person who became a race car driver from playing video games. So, have you played this game? Because I have never played Gran Turismo.
Speaker 2:I believe I have played at least one Gran Turismo game before. I'm not a big racer like video game racing fan. There's a few that I'll play. But I probably played a couple of versions of Gran Turismo.
Speaker 3:But I think how is it compared to like Mario Kart? Because I have played Mario Kart racing games.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, definitely Mario Kart. But besides this being based on a video game, it's not really based on the video game. Like we said before, this is based on an actual true story of a gamer who entered a contest and got to become a race car driver. And I felt kind of cool after watching this movie because the sponsor of the race was Nissan and I have a Nissan, so product placement I don't care, because now I feel cool for having that kind of car.
Speaker 3:Orlando Bloom's character calls it missing the whole movie. So I don't know, maybe there's a more proper pronunciation.
Speaker 2:Let's go right to our likes and dislikes. So my like overall is the acting in this movie. I was very surprised because usually video game movies don't have the best acting in them, and I was very surprised how well done the performances were from every single person in this movie, even though Orlando Bloom's character at times came off kind of cartoonish. But I enjoyed every single performance. Katie, who stood out to you?
Speaker 3:if you could pick anyone who's performance stood out to you the most, the main character that the story is about, I felt like was a incredible actor. He played a young maybe 18, 19 year old very well. He was nerdy enough but also confident enough. You got to see him transition from being a gamer to having press conferences and being the leader in a giant 24 hour race. I thought he was a great. And then, of course, I love Orlando Bloom and Jean's dad. Such a small role for this actor who's an incredible actor, but he played that little small role so well and it kind of speaks to what you said last episode with any scene that he was in George Lopez stole. I felt this way. It's like anything that that guy was in it was just emotional, intense. I think he made me cry twice and he was only in the film, probably five minutes or less Less.
Speaker 3:So the wife the wife or John's mom is played by Ginger spice from like the spice girls, which is kind of random. She's in it. I was thinking she was kind of random. I didn't think she was a great actress. I didn't think she was. She didn't sell me on being mom or wife to this guy. But then I looked it up and she's actually married to a like mega race car guy. He like owns one of the teams that does formula one. He was a former race car driver, so I'm sure that was a really. She's probably just really in a day than the race world and probably begged to be in the movie, so for that I'll give her some slack. I thought overall the acting was great.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think. I think the obviously the main focus was the father son dynamic and the fact that by the end of the movie the father is proud of his son and is rooting for him and is sorry for not supporting him. You know, even though a lot of parents probably would be the same way Like if you have your child playing video games all day and you're kind of like this isn't going to go anywhere, so you can kind of understand where the father is coming from, but then obviously, when this opportunity presents itself, this opportunity doesn't present itself to every single person who ever plays video games.
Speaker 3:So yeah, I agree with you. It's like the parents not crazy because this kid has two pipe dreams. Like if my kids said I was going to make money playing video games, you're like okay, sure. Or I'm going to be a race car driver, You're like okay, sure. So, like you said, I totally understand and make sense and I think that's part of why the story is so great.
Speaker 3:If I want to go to one of my likes, it would be the story itself. We talked about that with Oppenheimer, that it was a good choice of a person to make a story about. This young man has an incredible story and it's very inspiring. It made me tear up. I get really emotional with sports movies, which is kind of silly, but just watching someone overcome adversity and like have success and see them on the podium and cheering and when I mean, I just got like chills and I hope that it's a big inspiration to anybody who either doesn't come from money and is not able to do something outside their comfort zone, or maybe they're afraid to do something athletic because they've been inside all the time, or they're not sure if they'd be taken seriously. There's a lot of inspirational ways you'd go with that. So that was my probably biggest like was the story itself and, yes, maybe overdone lots of corny things you know, like oh, the dad, the disapproving dad and the kid that comes from nothing, middle class. Like. I don't care if it's overdone, it's inspirational.
Speaker 2:I think with the story and the performances that kind of goes to my second like, which is this movie did a really good job at making me invest in the story, invest in the characters, and I'm kind of glad that I didn't know anything about this true story. Like I didn't know anything when I first saw the trailer. I thought it was just gonna be like a throwaway movie, because I'm like a true story about Grant or that's weird. But then when I went to go see it, this is a really compelling film based on the performances and the things that happen in this movie, like the crash scene where he finds out that he spoiler alert accidentally killed the character. He accidentally killed a spectator during a race and so he has to deal with the fact that he caused someone's death even though it was an accident. That was one of the most compelling and heart-wrenching parts of the film. That, and at the end, where the father comes to visit during the race and you know, shows that support.
Speaker 2:This movie was a very good drama and that's why I really, really enjoyed it. I mean, I never felt bored, even though I guess I'll go to my single dislike. I went to a 945 showing of this and so I was tired, but it wasn't because of the movie, so I guess my dislike is more so the fact that I went to go see a late showing, not because the movie itself. I still found myself wanting to know what was happening next, because the story is just like I said it's extremely compelling.
Speaker 3:I totally agree it's a little long. That might be. One of my cons is that it's a smidgen long for a movie. I like the two hour cut off. It's just barely above that.
Speaker 3:But there was not a ton of slowdown that got my way. I mean, again to get into cons, there was a love interest that's mentioned and she kind of has a few moments. That was a little bit throwaway for me. I would have almost rather that time been spent more on the family with either like his brother or his mom or his dad. But on the other hand I appreciate it. It's cute.
Speaker 3:It felt it just added to his character of like he's a teenager and he has like he's scrolling on her Instagram and wanting to like find out more about her. So it did humanize him more and make you even feel more relatable. But again, it didn't feel like it was a huge plot point that we needed to have a love interest. I want to say inspirational story for sure, Just like Oppenheimer.
Speaker 3:It made me want to go research because, like I didn't know how realistic the fatal crash was. You know that kills spectator. I'm like, is this like something that happens all the time in racing? Is this true? Like was this actually something that happened to the guy? So yes, it is true there's been some people being dramatic. They took creative liberty to move when the crash was in this guy's life. So the crash actually happened in real life after he'd already done the limons in place. Third, but just again, for more drama happens before in the movie. I don't think that's a big issue. In 1955, I saw there was a crash that killed 83 people In one car crash and it was because that car, the car like rolled and just basically landed on several like chunks of spectators. Anyways, thought that was interesting. Tell me what your thoughts were on the choice for filming and graphics.
Speaker 2:That's one of my biggest likes too is, I just thought, visually it was just a very cool way of doing this movie. They they incorporated a lot of the video game into the telling of the true story, like when he's racing, and it just has the sound effects that you hear from the video game and it shows like the, the different places, the second place, third place, over the cars, and when he's in his room and he's playing the video game and it's I mean, this is in the trailer, but it slowly, slowly shows the car forming around him as he's playing. I just thought it was just a. It was just a really cool Way to to present what was going on, and I think the director just did a really good job with the shots that he did like the, the close-up, like kind of helicopter shots, when they literally were in a helicopter, but then sometimes he would just do those shots during the races.
Speaker 2:This, this guy is a really good director. Anyway, I'm forgetting his name, but I know that he directed district 9. I don't know if you ever saw that science fiction movie, but it the shots in this film really echoed that film as well and I think it just really Fit with what they were trying to tell.
Speaker 3:I think that I love it more and more the more I've been researching. This is, interestingly, the first movie I've wanted to learn more and research more about on YouTube, just out of curiosity. And, yeah, like all the filming. Fun fact, john the real guy was his own stunt double, so he did all almost all of the driving that you see in the movie. So I think I've just been so. Maybe it's a little super hero movies. But I don't even think I appreciated how incredible the film work was because my brain just thinks everything CGI. So I took me a second to realize like no, I'm actually watching real race cars really driving this fast, like looping these turns, like this is being filmed in real time Rather than, again, some of it looks so fast. I'm like who knows, it could have been CGI. The only but I think the only CGI they used was very intentional when they're showing Kind of the blend between the game and reality. Any other big likes in the movie or anything that stood apart. Would you suggest people go see this?
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, or is it?
Speaker 3:just another race car movie.
Speaker 2:No, I think this is one of those movies that you have to see in In the theaters and if you can, I would say go see it in a Dolby theater or go see it in IMAX, because you get immersed into it. It's one of those movies where I found myself leaning forward because I was getting into what was going on. Like you said, with sports movies, I'm kind of I'm not a sports guy, but when it comes to sports movies or like movies based on true story and Having to deal with sports like Cinderella man, just movies that deal with intense scenes of beating each other up or racing I Say you need to go see this in the biggest theater. You can just experience the sound, the sights, just everything.
Speaker 2:I think this was a very, very good movie and, again, because of the strikes going on in Hollywood, it's not getting that much publicity, unfortunately, and I don't I think it did well. It's opening weekend. I don't know if it's continuing to do well. So go out and support these movies, because they can't they can't really promote them right now. The celebrities can't go out and talk about them because the strike going on. So Just go out and take a chance on these movies that are coming out During the strike because, like like this one, you never know when you're gonna find like a real gem of a film, and I think that's what this movie was.
Speaker 3:I appreciate that. I think I think that's a great way to summarize my feelings was I would. I did not go into this expecting to be as Impressed as I was. With, that said, our rating out of six stars. I can't give it a perfect score because I did feel like there was some some of that love interest stuff. Maybe it's had longer than I want and it's just not my favorite movie ever. I have to give it probably a five point five, but it was a very good movie and I highly recommend it.
Speaker 2:I am going to give it a perfect six Because I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't mind the love interest I Mean. I guess they could have fleshed that out a little bit more, but it didn't bother me enough to say that I still don't think this is a perfect film. I really enjoyed it. I was really into it, really invested, and, like I said, I saw 945 showing. I was tired, but I was still Engaged the whole entire time. And that's what I want out of a movie a movie that can hold my attention Even if I see a crazy late showing of it. And that's what this there you go that is Gran Turismo.
Speaker 2:Turismo, everyone to say it. Our next homework assignment is Equalizer three. That's right. We always watch movies that are breath or fresh air, and then we go right back into the sequels or reboots. Equalizer three is the third and supposedly final film in the equalizer franchise Starring Denzel Washington. I love me some Denzel Washington. At the time that we're recording this, I actually just came back from seeing it. I will not tell you my thoughts, because we're gonna talk about it in the next episode. Katie, what would you like to leave us with with Gran Turismo?
Speaker 3:to get in the zone. Jean would listen to and, yes, so.
Speaker 2:It's Kenny G man.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to Nati 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 nati and Katie at gmailcom. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
