Kicking the Seat

It's a new year, and Kicking the Seat resolves to change your tune!

La La Land has its fans, but Damien Chazelle's 2016 Oscar also-ran has been widely dismissed for being syrupy, derivative Hollywood nonsense. In today's episode, Ian and Jeff talk about why the film deserves a second look, especially in light of a recent 4K restoration of Jacques Demy's 1964 Palme d'Or-winning musical masterpiece, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

Both movies center on young lovers with big dreams who profess their frustrations and fantasies through song. And both take a darker, decidedly non-traditional approach to resolving their characters' conflicts--despite the candy-dipped, whimsical surroundings.

So put on some jazz, pour a steely Chardonnay, and raise a glass to the ones who dream...of turning more people on to these daring and delightful movies!

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• Watch the La La Land (2016) trailer.

• Watch the Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) trailer.

• Keep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at: The Establishing Shot and Pipeline Artists!

• Watch Ian and Aaron Christensen's review of Repulsion (Catherine Deneuve's next film, after Umbrellas).

Happy New Year, to all our beloved, black-gloved bellezze!

Accademia Giallo is back with a special "Credito Extra" look at The Music Box Theatre's latest edition of its wildly popular "January Giallo" film series--kicking off this Monday, January 6!

Co-programmers William Morris and Katie Rife join Ian to talk about how this terrifying tradition made its way to Chicago and what genre fans can expect from this year's lineup.

Far from being a 40-minute infomercial, Will and Katie pull back the curtain on the surprising challenges of putting together an annual film series; reveal why Giallo has become so popular with younger audiences; offer a delicious tease of untapped international gialli, which may be coming soon to a classroom near you!

If you're in Chicagoland on any Monday this month, treat yourself to a lurid evening of backstabbing, front-stabbing, J&B Scotch, and bumbling cops! January Giallo is back!

Subscribe, like, and comment on Kicking the Seat here on YouTube, and check us out at:

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• Watch the trailer for The Music Box Theatre's "January Giallo 2025" series!

• And get your tickets to these scream-worthy screenings every Monday, starting January 6!

• Support our guests's creative and critical exploits! William Morris of Music Box of Horrors and Oscarbate Film Collective.

• Katie Rife, of too many things to list! So here's a handy Muckrack page with all the links.

• You can also follow Katie on X.

• If you haven’t seen our interview with legendary director Sergio Martino from “January Giallo 2024”, you can check it out here.

• Support all of our terrifying teachers' axe-tracurricular activities!

  • Stay studious with Aaron Christensen at Horror101 with Dr. AC!

  • And subscribe to his YouTube channel!

  • If you dare, venture down into Kitley's Krypt with Jon Kitley!

    • And listen to Jon's scary-good podcast, Discover the Horror!

  • Stalk Bryan Martinez in The Giallo Room!

  • Buy J. Blake Fichera's "Scored to Death" Volume I and II on Amazon (mentioned in the show).

• Catch up with classic episodes of his Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers podcast!

• Continue your education with our "Accademia Giallo" Playlist!

We're closing out 2024 with a returning special guest whose career touches on everything that makes movies special!

Raphael Sbarge joins Ian for a wide-ranging conversation about growing up in the New York theatre scene; being one of the original Sesame Street kids; stepping into fame with the Risky Business cast; and carving a wholly new path as an Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker--which led to his co-creating the Inside the Arthouse podcast with arthouse theater royalty, Greg Laemmle!

The guys also talk about the evolution of Risky Business; its mirror-universe relationship to The Graduate; and why it's just as relevant 41 years later! If you've ever wondered what it's like to put a documentary together, navigate a dinner with Sean Penn at his most Method, or trust Tom Cruise with your life while driving at top speed down Michigan Avenue, this is the show for you!

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• Watch the Risky Business (1983) trailer.

• Order Criterion's recent 4K release of Risky Business!

• Catch up with (and subscribe to) Raphael's great new podcast, Inside the Arthouse, with Greg Laemmle!

• Watch Ian and Sujewa's conversation with Raphael and Greg, in promotion of the doc that started it all, Only in Theaters!

• As mentioned in the show, Ian and Cole Rush reviewed Risky Business a few years ago, for their "Late Screening" series. Give a listen!

Listen to them! The Earth's Mightiest Critics of the night!

Yes, it's our last round table review of 2024, and we couldn't have picked a bloodier debate! Robert Eggers' Nosferatu is ostensibly a remake of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 masterpiece of silent cinema, Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror–but it plays like another in a long (long, long, looooong, long long) line of Dracula remakes.

The question is: can solid acting, atmosphere, and impressive practical effects buoy a two-plus-hour movie whose every beat was telegraphed 127 years ago?

Pop some popcorn (or chill some O negative) and watch as we slash, bite, and howl our way through this divisive horror film!

Plus: Learn about divine intervention’s role in keeping Ian from watching Eggers’ movies up until now; learn about the complicated history between Murnau’s film and the Bram Stoker estate (who owned the Dracula novel’s rights); and place your bets on the winner of our sub-debate, “Who Gave Nosferatu's Worst Performance (and Who's to Blame for it)”!

Subscribe, like, and comment on Kicking the Seat here on YouTube, and check us out at:

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• Watch the Nosferatu (2024) trailer.

• Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:

  • Check out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.

  • Keep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at The Establishing Shot.

  • Get seated with The Blonde in Front!

  • Follow David Fowlie's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.

  • Get educated with Don Shanahan at Every Movie Has a Lesson…

    • ...And Film Obsessive

    • ...and the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.

  • Keep up with Annie Banks at The Mary Sue.

    • ...and We Got This Covered.

  • Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.

  • And stir things up with Will Johnson of the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.

Merry Christmas, folk fans!

James Mangold's buzz-worthy Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, is now in theaters, and Kicking the Seat has enlisted two of the music icon's biggest fans to unwrap this spoilerific review!

Timothée Chalamet stars in a snapshot of the revolutionary singer/songwriter's life, which tracks his 1961-1965 rise from obscurity to popularity to table-clearing re-definer of the form. The film is a beautifully realized time capsule, popping with spot-on performances and music that was lovingly re-created by its lead. But is that enough for the uninitiated?

In this episode, David Fowlie of Keeping it Reel and esteemed indie filmmaker Michael Glover Smith (who, in addition to being well-read on the life and times of Mr. Dylan, have seen him perform live 100 times between them) make the case for Mangold's mastery of the material--while Ian wonders if their familiarity with the stories, legends, and deep cuts may have papered over some of A Complete Unknown's flaws.

Who will win this robust debate?

The answer, my friends, is...well, you know...

Subscribe, like, and comment on Kicking the Seat here on YouTube, and check us out at:

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• Watch the A Complete Unknown (2024) trailer.

• Follow David Fowlie's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.

• Keep up with all of Michael's filmmaking forrays on Instagram!

• And watch his latest award-winning short film, Handle with Care--now streaming for free at Split Tooth Media!

Our Return to Hammerland is complete with this one-two-punch review of both takes on The Old Dark House!

In our final episode of the year, Ian and AC look at James Whale's 1932 Universal spook-fest, starring Boris Karloff and Gloria Stuart--and William Castle's Hammer-produced 1963 remake. Both are very different adaptations of the J.B. Priestley novel, which centers on an eccentric family who oversees a dilapidated mansion--and the bizarre secrets within!

In this spoiler-filled dive into the "quirky horror" subgenre, the guys examine how two films, made thirty years apart, tackle the same premise in ways that make them both essential viewing. In short, the term "remake" is apt but very loose, and it's easy to imagine another take on the material that combines each film's best elements into a horror-comedy version of Clue!

Also, the guys talk about the strange new direction this series is headed in 2025. Will next year be...the final chapter?!

Join us and find out!

Subscribe, like, and comment on Kicking the Seat here on YouTube, and check us out at:

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Show Links

• Watch the Old Dark House (1932) trailer.

• Watch the Old Dark House (1963) trailer.

• Find out where to watch The Old Dark House at JustWatch!

• Follow along with all of AC's macabre musings at Horror 101 w/ Dr. AC!

• Order AC's books on essential and obscure horror movies, Horror 101 and Hidden Horror!

• Subscribe to AC's YouTube channel, Horror 101 with Dr. AC.

• Hitch a ride with our entire 2024 series in the "Return to Hammerland" Playlist!

• It’s not too late to catch up with our 2023 trip “Beyond Hammerland”!

• Check out 2022's year-long journey, "Son of Hammerland"!

• And watch the series that started it all: "Hammerland"!

The theme of today's lesson is, "Out with the old, in with the Neo"--Neo Giallo, that is!

Watch along as your fearsome faculty turns the page on their favorite genre, with a look at Luciano Onetti's 2015 thriller, Francesca--which centers on a series of grisly murders whose victims all had criminal pasts. Could the motive have something to do with the disappearance of a young girl several years prior?

In this lively and oh-so-spoilery round table review, Ian, AC, Bryan, and Jon will look at how Giallo transitioned from a 70's/80's horror phenomenon to a new-century curiosity, and how Onetti's film stacks up to the movies that inspired it!

Join us for leather gloves, creepy dolls, and a review of Francesca (heh heh heh)! It's our last show of 2024, so let's go big for winter break!

Plus: The guys reveal the lineup for next month's "January Giallo" series at the Music Box! You won’t wanna miss it!

Subscribe, like, and comment on Kicking the Seat here on YouTube, and check us out at:

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Show Links

• Watch the Francesca trailer.

• As mentioned in the show, Chicago's historic Music Box Theatre is ramping up for the 2025 installment of their "January Giallo" series! Get tickets and learn more about their incredible lineup at the MB website.

• Speaking of which, if you haven’t seen our interview with legendary director Sergio Martino from this year’s “January Giallo”, you can check it out here!

• Support all of our terrifying teachers' axe-tracurricular activities!

  • Stay studious with Aaron Christensen at Horror101 with Dr. AC!

  • And subscribe to his YouTube channel!

  • If you dare, venture down into Kitley's Krypt with Jon Kitley!

    • And listen to Jon's scary-good podcast, Discover the Horror!

  • Stalk Bryan Martinez in The Giallo Room!

  • Buy J. Blake Fichera's "Scored to Death" Volume I and II on Amazon (mentioned in the show).

• Catch up with classic episodes of his Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers podcast!

• Continue your education with our "Accademia Giallo" Playlist!

Moana 2 continues to ride high at the box office, which means it's time for Luke to weigh in!

In the latest installment of "Target Audience", our resident Gen Alpha correspondent gives his thoughts on Disney's blockbuster sequel--which finds Moana on a quest to unite various sea communities who are threatened by an ancient evil!

How does the new movie stack up to its 2015 predecessor? Will Luke ever get tired of trying to slip spoilers into every episode? And when will Ian (aka Dad) invest in some good lavalier microphones?

The answers are just a click away

Subscribe, like, and comment on Kicking the Seat here on YouTube, and check us out at:

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• Watch the Moana 2 (2024) trailer.

• Catch up with all of Ian and Luke's reviews in our "Target Audience" Playlist!

'Tis the season...to dump on Love Actually, apparently. But not here!

Today, Kicking the Seat welcomes back author Neal Fischer to discuss his latest fact-filled tome, The Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book, and review Richard Curtis's somehow controversial 2003 epic, Love Actually!

(Coincidentally, Ian saw the film on the big screen last weekend for the first time since its original release--with a live score by the Chicago Philharmonic! More on that in the episode)!

Yes, Neal joined us a couple weeks ago to talk about his big book of Christmas Movie trivia, but the syrupy cinema deep dive continues with a loving look at movies about...well, love. In this spoilerific episode, Ian and Neal talk about their favorite rom-coms; why the genre doesn't get the respect it deserves; and uncover some tidbits that didn't make it into the final draft!

Also, if you're at all Scrooge-y on the topic of the two-plus-hour cross-cutting coincidence cavalcade that is Love Actually, we implore you to hear us out (even if we have some not-nice words for the naysayers). Is the movie "problematic"?

Sure.

So what?

Join us as we make the case for hopeless romantics everywhere, from the big screen to the bathroom mirror. And remember: Christ-mussss is all around you, c'mon and let it snowwwww!

Subscribe, like, and comment on Kicking the Seat here on YouTube, and check us out at:

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Show Links:

• Watch the Love Actually trailer.

• Order The Rom-Com Ultimate Trivia Book!

• Order Christmas Movie Ultimate Trivia Book, also out now!

• For the ultimate moviegoing experience, check out the Chicago Philharmonic's "Auditorium Philms" series--returning in 2025 with a live performance of Black Panther!

• Watch our recent review of The Santa Clause / discussion of Christmas Movie Ultimate Movie Trivia Book!

• Follow Neal on Instagram to learn how you can earn a chance to win cool Rom-Com-related swag!

• Check out this trailer for The Floor Season 2 (featuring Neal!) and be sure to catch new episodes weekly on Fox.

• Can't get enough classic movie love? Pick up Neal's 2022 book, Being Patrick Swayze.

• And watch our conversation about Being Patrick Swayze.

• Neal's fun-facts fiesta continues at the Triviality Podcast.

• And check out the Curated by Chance podcast, co-hosted by Neal and Lauren Tagliaferro!

• Keep up with all things Neal at his website.

For better or worse, 2024 is shaping up to be The Year of Hong Sang-Soo on IndieSeen! Ian and Sujewa take one last run at appreciating the South Korean critical darling with a look at his latest film, A Traveler’s Needs.

Isabelle Huppert stars as Iris, a French woman living in Seoul, whose unconventional method of teaching her language to locals has earned her a growing network of tutoring referrals. A Traveler’s Needs follows for a day, as she meets with clients, explores local monuments, and tries to sort out her relationship with the young man with whom she shares an apartment.

In this spoilerific discussion, the guys talk about their big-screen experiences--which is quite different from how they watched Hong's previous works, The Novelist’s Film and In Front of Your Face. They also look at the filmmaker's merits; how the digital revolution created a subset of moviemaking workhorses who give short shrift to screenwriting; and discuss the future of Hong Sang-soo as a podcast subject (Hint: It's not looking good).

So pour yourself some makgeolli and get ready for a conversation that's vastly more entertaining than the movie at hand!

Subscribe, like, and comment on Kicking the Seat here on YouTube, and check us out at:

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Show Links

• Watch the A Traveler’s Needs trailer.

• Catch up with our review of Hong Sang-soo's The Novelist’s Film and In Front of Your Face.

• Watch Sujewa's latest film, Cosmic Disco Detective Rene for free on YouTube!

• Rent The Secret Society for Slow Romance (the predecessor to Cosmic Disco Detective Rene).

• Keep up with all of Sujewa's projects.

• Follow Sujewa on X.

• Check out all the episodes in our “IndieSeen” Playlist!