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
Diving into the Dark: A Five Nights at Freddy's Roundup
Are you ready for some serious game talk? Join us as we welcome back our old pal, Juddy, for a chilling chat on the thrilling game franchise, Five Nights at Freddy's. This episode will drive you through the spooky corridors of the game's infamous jump scares, the latest edition - Five Nights at Freddy's Security Breach, and the riveting lore behind the series. Plus, as a seasoned player, Juddy gives us his personal take on the gaming experience and the changing game format. Whether you're a die-hard fan or a curious newbie, you won't want to miss this!
And did we mention we have a movie review up our sleeves? We're breaking down a surprise movie, examining the storyline, the acting, and the fine line the makers walk to make it kid-friendly without overdoing the gore. But that's not all. We also dive into the FNAF movie, discussing the original game creator's involvement, Josh Hutcherson's standout performance, and the introduction of unexpected story elements. We dissect our likes and dislikes, from praiseworthy acting to the spoiler-heavy trailer. And, oh boy, do we have thoughts on the character development and storytelling! Tune in and find out if we believe the film lives up to the franchise!
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.
Speaker 2:Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new episode of Nady and Katie at the Movies. I'm your host, nathan, aka Nady, of course, and with me on today's episode is not Katie, but it is another person who's been on the show before and I'm super excited to have him on again. That's right, it's my good friend Juddy. Hey, juddy, how you doing buddy?
Speaker 3:Hey, I cannot wait to talk about Taylor Swift and the era store today.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so obviously that's a joke, but before we continue, I posted the review that Judson and I did the quick reaction video, and I shared it with Katie. And before I did that, though, Judson and I had taken some pictures, and I'm pretty sure I posted them on our social media. We had taken pictures with the Taylor Swift poster and the friend bracelets, because the AMC theater that Judson and I went to still had those left over from when they, you know, showed the concert, and so I said it'd be really funny if we took pictures with this and shared it with Katie, and she actually thought that we had seen the concert, and so I didn't tell her that we didn't, and so I showed. I said, hey, here's the reaction video. And she was like, oh my gosh. And then she watched it and she said, hey, that's not Taylor Swift. So I did a little trick or treat me trick on Katie, because when we're recording this, it is the day before Halloween and, fun enough, the movie we're going to review was originally supposed to be a double feature, with Saul 10 for our Halloween episode, but with movies switching everywhere and the strike pushing back movies and all that fun stuff.
Speaker 2:Last week you listened to our review of killers of the flower moon for our Halloween episode, and so this episode, the first episode of November I can't believe it's already November. We're reviewing five nights at Freddy's based on the hit video game franchise. But before we can get into the review, I got to go over the synopsis. A troubled security guard begins working at Freddy Fazbear's pizza. During his first night on the job he realizes that the night shift won't be so easy to get through. Pretty soon he will unveil what actually happened at Freddy's five nights at Freddy's stars Josh Hutchinson, Piper Rubio, Elizabeth Lail and Matthew Lillard Judson. I have to ask have you ever played any of the five nights at Freddy's games?
Speaker 3:I've played a little bit of all of them. I played more of some than others, but it's not typically a franchise that I like to go back to. If you know anything about the franchise, it's very heavy on jump scares and looking at security cameras and that gameplay loop is not super exciting to me. I know that there's a lot of story and lore that goes into it. If you talk to any fans, there is a bit that I know going into it and we'll talk about that later, about the story and the complex background that's going on. As far as the actual games go, I've played a little bit of some, a lot of bit of others and I've enjoyed it. Appreciate for what it is, but it's not my cup of tea. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Like you said, these games kind of started to get kind of repetitive. They did add characters to it, but again it was more just looking at a security camera and Locking doors, unlocking doors and things like that. I know the newest game for five nights at Freddy's security breach is Not that way at all and I we can dive a little into that a little bit later. But let's get right into the movie and our likes and dislikes. So when this movie trailer came out, I was like, okay, I'm obviously gonna go see it. I know the games.
Speaker 2:I did not go in with very high expectations. It kind of reminded me of how I went in with Saul 10, even though I'm a Saul fan. I didn't go in with high expectations and that movie really surprised me and this movie did the exact same thing. I know there were like multiple times during the movie that just and I both turned to each other and said Do we like this? Like like, because we were surprised, because we did like it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought they did a very good job with it. I thought they did a very good job with the story. From what I've heard, it's very close to what the games are with lore and the story behind what goes on, which I've played the games but I was not at all familiar with the story behind the game and so to me I was taken by surprise with everything that was going on, which I think for me made even more fun.
Speaker 2:Jetson, I know you said you were a little more Familiar with the lore and the storyline and from what I've heard, a lot of people who are fans of the games have loved this movie. Like I know, critics have been bombing it because critics don't get stuff sometimes, but for the most part fans are loving it and it's doing really well in the box office, even though it has also been released the same day. It was released on peacock, so it was released on a streaming service which sometimes hurts movies, but from what I've seen and that hasn't really done anything Bad in the box office. Jetson, before we started recording, you said that you Re-watched it on peacock. Did you enjoy it streaming or did you enjoy it in the theater or was it about the same feeling?
Speaker 3:The same but different, which is a really terrible answer. I've really, really appreciated because we saw it unlike the quote-unquote preview night, like day before it's supposed to actually release, and so If you got a packed house, you got people dressing up in the costumes and bring the little plushies. That was really special, even if you're not a fan. Like the dedication, like the fan base and people showing up. I know we've seen that time and time again. You know, with the Mario movie that came out earlier this year and, to that note, I think 2023 is officially the year that solidified video game adaptations as good between last of us, twisted metal, this Mario, we did it. Boys, we officially did it. So, yeah, it was really cool being there with Everyone fresh off the box. You know, seeing this, the first people seeing this, and getting all the surprises, all the scares and Doing that in the theater is really, really great for me.
Speaker 3:Not everyone is as Kind to theaters experiences. You know everyone's like well, I could just see it at home because of the streaming effect, and so Doing that at home and being with family is a really cool experience too. We have like little inside jokes and fun stuff like that, so it's kind of like Were you lean to? I think me personally. I'm gonna lean to the theater, because that's a whole social event. The popcorn getting sick off the oily butter and all that jazz, I think, is more special to me. But there is something to be said about having an intimate sharing moment with your family, watching that kind of thing too, in a different environment.
Speaker 3:It's very, very, very different atmospheres, but I appreciate them both equally.
Speaker 2:And I know you were saying before we went to go see it that you were kind of worried about the kind of audience that we might attract, because, again, these games attract younger audience, younger players, and so we both were kind of concerned or were there gonna be hecklers? Were there gonna be people talking the whole entire time? And one thing that I loved and this doesn't really have anything to do with the movie, probably a little bit is that almost the entire time people were just watching the movie, which rarely happens nowadays. Yes, there were parts that people were like gasping and laughing and having a good time, which you want to do in the movie theater, but majority of the time people were just silent and just enjoying the film, and that's just mind-boggling that you have to say that that doesn't usually happen in the movie theater. And so I really, really enjoyed that. But let's get right into the movie itself. So one of my number one likes is that this movie is cheesy, but not too cheesy. It's like a tightrope walker. This movie could have been super cheese, like super dumb over the top, and there were moments of that, but it didn't lean too much into it that I was like totally cut out of the movie. I enjoyed it so much.
Speaker 2:The acting was decent. I was expecting not great acting. Everyone in this movie, I think, did a really good job with the characters. The story was intriguing. Like I said before, I wasn't super familiar with the storyline, so to me it was something I was learning from the very first time. And I think I turned to you, jetson, I said is that really the story or is that really what happens in the game? And you're like yeah. And I was like, oh my gosh, that was awesome.
Speaker 2:And the number one thing I enjoyed and appreciated because I read articles about the people who made this film and they really were trying to allow a younger audience to go see this because they knew that the fan base would be younger people. They tried so hard to not make it too gory. Were there moments of gore? Yeah, but not so much that I don't think a younger person could go see this and not be scarred for life. This movie could have been crazy If they wanted to.
Speaker 2:They could have made this a hard R movie, but they went, I think, and some people might not like this, but I appreciated that they went kind of the safe route. They made it for the fans and they knew who the fans were younger people and I just really really appreciated it. I appreciated so much that I actually reached out to some host of another podcast because I know they're gonna be doing an episode about this. They do a show called Is this For Kids, which I love. I love their show. They take movies that some people might let their kids watch and then they actually answer the question is this actually for kids? And so I'm really excited to hear their episode about this movie because I really appreciated what the director and what the writers and just everyone involved tried to make this as, I guess, kid-friendly as possible. Jetson, what were some of your highlights and likes for this film?
Speaker 3:You were talking earlier about, like how easy you could have gone in the trap of like this is super cheese. I am coming into this. This is probably going to be bad, but I'm going to like it. I'm going to have a good time with it. Thinking about the games, like we were saying it, you're looking at a screen, you're looking at trying to make sure the animatronics don't kill you and it's like how do you translate that to a feature film? And one of the likes is what they did to expand into a feature film and not just be a game on film and also having the original game creator so close to the project.
Speaker 3:I really love the protagonist. Josh Hutchinson's acting is fantastic, but of course he's not in the games explicitly that we know of so far, and so it's ideally an original character. And they add in a custody battle and the dreamscape of trying to find his brother and that's not a spoiler. It's explained really early on and, if not in the trailers, and I think that's such a really interesting swing to get you on his side, to get you to follow him throughout the journey, that I really appreciate it. And there might be some fans that disagree with me. They just want to see the animatronics do the animatronic thing and I appreciate that.
Speaker 3:But you also got to understand, like how much can you do for a game that's so focused and dialed in on the spooks and this and that? So the fact that and I said this in my Barbie review that I really appreciate how this could have easily been a one off, like all right, you did the thing, you did the product placement, you did the little nod, the references and stuff, but they told a story from that and I cannot give them flowers enough for that, and especially Josh Hutcherson. But the acting overall I thought was pretty solid, not going to lie for a Blumhouse feature. I thought it was pretty solid, like yeah, absolutely. And I could go on, but I'm going to pass it back over.
Speaker 2:Josh Hutcherson in this movie plays the character that you the player usually plays in the game, and so, instead of just making it a guy just looking at screens the whole time and closing and shutting lock and doors, but, like you said, they created a whole story around it which, yes, I thought was a brilliant take, a brilliant twist. As much as I can say that I like about this movie, I guess we can go right into some of our dislikes because I thoroughly enjoyed it. But of course, with every movie there are, there are little there are little flaws.
Speaker 2:So this movie number one flaw for me is, as much as I like the story, the trailer gave too much away. This story was very predictable. And this is coming from someone who has not really played the games and so some people probably already thinking well, of course the story is predictable, it's in the games. I thought they gave away too much. I said this before we went to go to the movie. I'm like I bet I know who so and so is, and he was like oh yeah, really, and like yeah, and then I basically just guessed the ending of the movie, and usually that would annoy me. But again, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie to the point where, yes, it was predictable. Yes, I'm still counting it as a dislike, but it also didn't make me not like the movie. I still enjoyed the characters, I enjoyed the villain, I enjoyed the backstory. I love a story and a movie. I'm very story driven and very character driven and very acting driven, Like the acting. Like you said, Jetson was basically flawless, except this is my other dislike Until the reveal of this character, I did not like the character of Vanessa.
Speaker 2:I thought and I'm glad they didn't do this because I thought, oh no, they're just trying to push a love interest into this movie and I was very surprised that do. I think they hinted at something in the future? Yeah, yeah, pretty much. But I'm glad they didn't force it into this one. I really thought they were going to and they almost did and then they didn't.
Speaker 2:I was like, okay, good, but I thought her acting was and again, this could be because the character reveal like who she is and the story I think they tried to not tell you, but it just came off as annoying at times. She was just the exposition person telling the whole backstory of everything, which again, once they reveal who she is, then I'm like, okay, now it makes sense why she was that person. But before you know that, it just comes off as annoying. And Judson and I were joking that she's a terrible cop because Josh Hutchinson's character does some really shady stuff. He allows things to happen that should not happen and she's just like you shouldn't have done that. But oh, what the heck? And I guess it's because you know hashtag storyline, Judson, what were some of your dislikes for Five Nights at Freddy's?
Speaker 3:The first thing that I was going to say was exactly that Like she is truly the worst police officer ever and again, contextually, I guess you can make it make sense, but there are still enough things that are like someone's going to get real big trouble for it and it does. The very movie thing of like, no, everyone is going to go, there are no consequences. Yay, you know, but it is what it is. That's the, that's the caliber of movie that we're talking about. Like it's. Also, I give a little bit of benefit of the doubt because we're talking about a Blumhouse movie about animatronics coming to life. So it's kind of pick and choose your own battles. It is still enough to note as a negative.
Speaker 3:I also disliked before against the big one, a little minor tidbit. Dislike is the ramifications, as we're, as I was talking about the consequences of certain things happening that doesn't get followed through. There is a really really good, cool thing that happens in Act 2. That is the moment that I look over to Nate and was like why am I loving this right now and I think you know exactly what I'm talking about but that the stuff that happens in that scene never gets followed up and it's not something that you can really just like look past. No character brings it up again in a certain way that I can't say without really like spoiling things. But it is kind of a part that's like a bother me in a bit and it's very minor. So that that's that.
Speaker 3:But the big one was the ending, the way that the thing gets solved, the way that I really tried not to spoil it, and Nathan knows exactly what I'm talking about. But let's just say there's a picture and I did not like it. I did not like what they did with this picture and how the ending concluded and it just all happened so fast and there is no setup to how this works, the mechanics of that, and it just does. And I'll leave it at that. I'm trying to figure out if Nady knows what I'm talking about.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I do, and it's funny because I felt the complete opposite. I thought that was a brilliant way to end the movie. I totally got it, and this is coming from someone who, again, doesn't really know the storyline of the games. I'm not sure if that's even part of the games, I don't know. I thought it was brilliant, I thought it was a great way. I thought you were talking about something else that happens in the film that they don't really talk about, and it has to do with a character who is a pretty integral part of the custody storyline and this character dies and no one ever talks about it, like ever, ever again. So that's what I thought you were talking about. I thought the way they ended the film was brilliant. I think we've probably seen something like that before.
Speaker 2:Again, we don't want to talk about it too much because of spoilers, because I really do feel like this was a surprise. It was like a hidden gem again. It was like Gran Turismo. It was like Shelter in Solitude. It was one of those movies where we were like I'm not really expecting much out of this because it looks random. And it was really good, so good that I'm surprised at what I'm going to rate it. So let's get right into the ratings, because I feel like we've gone over our likes and dislikes and less juts than there's. Anything else Do you want to talk about before we get to our ratings?
Speaker 3:The last thing I'll say it's really, really nice to see not only like, oh, this is a good version of the thing that we know, but it's also like a really faithful one too. You talked about the tightrope walk. These guys look like the animatronics. They kept the same story, the lore they threw in Easter eggs and they added stuff without changing things, and I am always really, really appreciative. I know this is a little recency bias, but I've been playing Spider-Man 2 on the PlayStation 5 and that is just chef's kiss Anytime the game is able to add stuff without changing, retconning stuff. I'm looking at you, marvel and Star Wars, cough, cough, it's just. I'm such a fan of it. So thank you so much for that.
Speaker 2:Well, you're welcome. I had nothing to do with it, but before we get into our ratings, I do want to give our listeners a sneak peek of what we're going to be reviewing next week. So take a listen.
Speaker 1:Hi, what's your name?
Speaker 3:Priscilla Boyard, you like Elvis Presley?
Speaker 1:Of course. Who doesn't? One of the kids must need to be here Bobby, Darron, Fabian and you. Just what is the intent here, Mr Presley? You got women throwing themselves at you. Why my daughter? Well, sir, I happen to be very fond of your daughter. She's much more mature than her age, 21. 22. That's 22. You don't have to worry about it. Black hair and more eye makeup. I don't know if I like it. What do you mean? You don't know if you like it. He's not like you imagined. You know there's a lot of rumors about you. Was there something you're hiding? I don't have a goddamn thing to hide. I need a woman to understand that things like this might happen. Are you going to be here or not?
Speaker 2:If you've listened to the show before. I don't know if I've ever mentioned it, but I am a big Elvis Presley fan and so I'm really excited about reviewing Priscilla, which is the story of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, from Priscilla Presley's perspective. Yes, we've seen this before in 1989, I believe there was a TV mini series, but it's on the big screen. Sophia Coppola is directing it. I can't wait to see it and talk about it, Hopefully with Katie. But before we can do that, we got a rate five nights at Freddy's. So, Judson, because you are my special guest, I'm going to allow you to tell us what you give five nights at Freddy's.
Speaker 3:I'm going in it to win it. All right, we're throwing that little alley-oop, slam, dunking it. I'm giving this five out of six. Freddy Fazbear's, I'm giving this a solid five out of six. What you got.
Speaker 2:Nice and I'm going to give it the exact same that I gave Saul 10, a 5.5 out of six. I can't believe I'm saying that for a five nights at Freddy's movie, but this movie seriously took me by surprise. I really, really enjoyed it. The only reason I don't give it a perfect six is because of the predictability, even though I did say it's not necessarily a negative, because the trailers. I don't like when trailers give too much and until the reveal Vanessa kind of annoyed me. So that's why I give five nights at Freddy's a 5.5 out of six. Judson, thank you for joining me. Thank you for always being willing to jump in when Katie is a scaredy cat about horror movies, even though this wasn't really that scary. Judson, do you have anything to end us with for five nights at Freddy's?
Speaker 3:I always come back.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to Naty 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 natyandkateyatgmailcom. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
