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
Beyond the Asterisk: Unpacking Marvel's Thunderbolts*
Marvel fans rejoice! We're diving deep into "Thunderbolts*" (or should we say "The New Avengers"?) on this episode of Cinema Saturdays. After several divisive post-Endgame releases, has Marvel finally found its footing again with this ragtag team of morally ambiguous characters?
Join host Nathan and special guest Elizabeth as they break down what makes this final Phase 5 film stand out from recent MCU offerings. David Harbour's Red Guardian emerges as the comedic MVP, bringing genuine laughs that perfectly balance the film's surprisingly mature exploration of trauma and mental health. We discuss how the movie skillfully integrates characters from across the MCU, including Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova, Ghost from Ant-Man and the Wasp, and a welcome return by Bucky Barnes that had Elizabeth particularly excited.
While Julia Louis-Dreyfus's Valentina fails to deliver as a compelling antagonist, the introduction of Sentry (Marvel's Superman equivalent) creates fascinating dynamics within the story. That post-credits scene? Game-changing for what's coming in Phase 6, starting with Fantastic Four! Both hosts award the film a strong 4.5/5, making this required viewing for anyone who's been questioning Marvel's direction lately. Stick around after our Thunderbolts discussion to hear what's coming next week – Nathan's complete breakdown and ranking of all five Final Destination films as he prepares for the upcoming sixth installment. Whether you're a diehard Marvel fan or just looking for your next movie night pick, this episode delivers all the insights without the spoilers you don't want.
The weekend's here. It's time to unwind. Grab your snacks, leave the week behind. Blockbusters classics, they're all on the way. Let's kick it off with Cinema Saturdays.
Speaker 2:Hey everybody, welcome to another Cinema Saturday episode. I am your host, nathan of the Couch Critic, and on today's episode I am joined by my lovely lady, elizabeth. Hey, baby Hi, how you doing Great. We're talking about the newest Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, thunderbolts, with an asterisk. But by the time you're listening to this, they've already revealed kind of spoilers. So just letting you know Spoiler alert, spoiler alert movie.
Speaker 2:It is one of those movies where you have to have watched some previous stuff to kind of know who the characters are like. Florence Pugh's character was introduced in the Black Widow movie and David Harbour's character was also introduced in that movie. And you have Ghost from Ant-Man and the Wasp. You have Task, who was in Black Widow, even though her character only lasts like 10 seconds in this movie. So, babe, I'll let you go first.
Speaker 2:What are some things about this movie? I already know one already, but our listeners don't. What are some things about this movie that you liked? I liked Bucky, I liked that he was back in the movie and it was fun. Good story, yeah. So if you haven't listened before, my wife's been on an episode. She is a talker and I have to tell her to stop talking so much. But seriously, marvel has had a lot of misses and putting some other stupid stuff in their movies that don't really make the story go forward in any way, and so I was really looking forward to this movie, even though I was cautiously optimistic, because, again, all the poop that they've been releasing when it comes to movies, now their TV shows have actually been pretty good. I will give them that.
Speaker 2:But yeah, this movie was a lot of fun. I found myself cracking up laughing a lot. David Harbour as Red Guardian was hilarious in this movie. He brought a lot of the humor to it. But I also liked that they dealt with a lot of heavy stuff, even though I read uh later. Uh, some people were calling it inside out too for adults, because it really does deal with like personalities and kind of anxiety a little bit, because the sentry character is dealing with some trauma which kind of warps his way of becoming this superhero, anti-hero, not really sure, but I thought it was a great story. I thought it was really compelling. I thought there wasn't really a weak link in the movie. Would you agree with that? Meh, okay, I thought you would. So we kind of went over what we liked about it. I think it's probably one of the highlights of Marvel post-Endgame, because a lot of people were like there's nothing that will ever be as good as Endgame, never be as big as Endgame. And I'm not saying that this movie is, but it is a bright spot in the Phase 5, which apparently this is the last movie in Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, last movie in phase five of the marvel cinematic universe, so fantastic four is coming out, so I guess that's the beginning of phase six. So I thought that was a really good way to end phase five with a high note.
Speaker 2:But were there things that you did not like about this movie? I can't think of any. I didn't like that.
Speaker 2:Julia Louis-Dreyfus is that her name, valentina's character wasn't really compelling as like the quote-unquote bad guy in the movie, I think. But I think they were using that as a setup for Sentry to come in and be kind of the other bad guy which, if you don't know who Sentry is, sentry is Marvel's answer, I guess, to Superman, because he can do everything. He can fly, super strength, kind of telekinesis a little bit. He was like using the force to grab people and force choke them and stuff. But yeah, I wasn't a big fan of her character. I was never really a big fan of her character when they introduced her. I think she was trying too hard to be funny and it just fell flat to me. But other than that, I thought this movie was great. I think it's a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to what they're going to show in the future, especially after that post-credit scene and I called it when I saw what they showed in it. I'm not going to tell you what the post-credit scene is, because I do think people should go see it, because I think people do need to still give Marvel a chance. I think they still have some good stories to tell.
Speaker 2:Fantastic Four. I can't wait. I'm super excited for that. Babe, are there any final thoughts that you have about Thunderbolts, also known as now spoiler the new Avengers? It was fun. Go see it. Yeah, she's going to be in a lot of future episodes, guys. So that's just a little taste of her insight into movies. I'm kidding, I love her and yeah, it was good. It was a good date night. Me and her went to go see it, and so that is Thunderbolts, also known as the New Avengers with a Z, and we're both going to give it a 4.5 out of 5. So you can listen to Katie and I's thoughts on Love Actually, which my wife and I just finished watching by the time this, she's not going to be on that episode. And then, next Cinema Saturday, I'm preparing for the sixth movie in the Final Destination franchise by watching all five Final Destination movies, so I will give my rankings of those movies and my thoughts on every single one. Next Cinema Saturday. Thank you for listening to the Couch Critic, where every movie gets its close-up.
Speaker 3:Let's escape with Cinema Saturdays.
Speaker 1:So grab a seat, let the credits play. We'll see you next for Cinema Saturdays.
