Kicking the Seat

Earth's Mightiest Critics are switching things up this week with a retro round table review of Sam Raimi's off-brand action-hero adventure, Darkman!Liam Neeson stars as Peyton Westlake, a scientist whose lab is blown up by ruthless gangsters. He finds new life as a shadowy, disfigured (and, frankly, crazed) vigilante who exacts revenge and fights to save his one, true love (Frances McDormand) from the forces of evil!This may sound like the big-city version of Swamp Thing (another famous flop), but Raimi's ambitious, hard-R would-be blockbuster is its own thing--boasting spectacular set pieces and spectacularly odd ideas that could only have come from the mind that gave us The Evil Dead--and which would go on to revolutionize comic book movies a mere ten years later, with Spider-Man!Join us for a grim 'n gritty trip down memory lane, in which we'll talk 90's effects; damsels in distress; Neeson-before-Neeson, and, of course your live questions, comments, and Super Chats!Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!Show LinksWatch the Darkman (1990) trailer.Check out Scream Factory's recently released Darkman 4K UHD Blu-ray!Watch Ian's review of the DARKMAN 4K special features on the latest edition of "Featured Extras".Watch Ian, Mark, and Jeff's recent review of Fritz Lang's M (1931) on Mark's Spoiler Room Podcast (mentioned in the show)!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.Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.Keep up with Annie Banks at Chuck Load of Comics....and MoviewebAnd stir things up with Will Johnson of the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.

In the latest "Target Audience", Ian and Luke look at Dreamworks' latest high-flying cartoon comedy, Kung Fu Panda 4!Po (Jack Black) must find a successor to his title as "Dragon Warrior"--while also teaming up with sly street thief, Zhen (Awkwafina), to take down a power-hungry sorceress called The Chameleon (Viola Davis)! But can this dynamic duo succeed against dark forces that can bring back Po's most formidable villains from the spirit realm?Find out what Luke liked best about Po's latest adventure--and whether or not you need to be familiar with the other movies to enjoy this one!Plus: More Spoiler Non-Talk (It'll make sense when you see it)!What did you think about Kung Fu Panda 4? Let us know in the comments!Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!Show LinksWatch the Kung Fu Panda 4 trailer.Catch up with our other "Target Audience" episodes to get Luke's take on recent family-friendly blockbusters!

Bust out your stillsuits and windtraps, 'cause Earth's Mightiest Critics are about to review Dune Part 2!The first half of Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Frank Herbert's ground-breaking sci-fi novel didn't exactly set the box office on fire. From pandemic woes to glacial pacing, audiences didn't show up in numbers that would suggest a follow-up movie was even on the table. But here we are, a few years later, about to analyze one of 2024's biggest hits!Picking up directly where we left them, Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) and his mother, Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) are on the run from House Harkonnen--who presume the entire Atreides line had been extinguished at the end of part one. They've joined forces with the desert-dwelling fremen, who dream of overthrowing the grotesque and ruthless space colonizers, with the help of a prophesized messiah--Paul!What follows is a very different moviegoing experience from PART 1, and in this lively conversation, the EMC get into the hits and misses of Villeneuve's adaptation--as well as what may be in store with the rumored third installment!Plus! Watch Ian do his best to restrain himself in NOT throwing David Lynch's 1984 version even further under the bus!Double-Plus! We take your LIVE questions, comments, and Super Chats!Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!Show LinksWatch the Dune Part 2 trailer.Revisit our "Page2Screen2Screen2Screen" review of Dune from 2021.Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:Get seated with The Blonde in Front! 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.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.Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.Keep up with Annie Banks at Chuck Load of Comics....and MoviewebAnd stir things up with Will Johnson of the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.

This year, "There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia" is looking back on decade milestones from the last hundred years of cinema--and we're kicking things off with a hot-button review of Dante’s Inferno from 1924!Henry Otto's contemporary update of Dante's famous tour through Hell stars Ralph Lewis as Mortimer Judd, a wealthy and very, very cruel businessman who may be the template for every greedy bad guy you've ever seen in a movie. Judd becomes so wrapped up in reading Inferno that he begins to see visions of Dante and Virgil's descent into punishment--all while his real-world personal life begins to unravel at a rapid pace.In this fiery but mostly peaceful discussion, Ian and Pat talk about Otto's brilliant decision to weave concepts of 20th Century fiscal morality into the vivid nightmare scenarios of Dante's epic 14th Century poem. But when Pat brings up one of the film's brief-but-oh-so-"problematic" use of blackface...well, let's just say the episode becomes something else entirely!Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!Show LinksWatch Jonathan Simpson's restoration of Dante’s Inferno (1924) on YouTube (the version we watched for the show):Listen to Ian and Cole Rush's "Late Screening" review of Blazing Saddles.Watch Ian discuss the Charlie Chan film Dark Alibi on The Spoiler Room (mentioned in the show).Keep up with Pat at HollywoodChicago.com.Listen to Pat's movie reviews on the radio at STAR 96.7.

After a year exploring movies that were inspired by Hammer Films, Ian and AC find their way home with "Return to Hammerland"!In this inaugural episode, the guys look at Don Sharp's 1963 greatest-hits-with-a-twist creature feature, The Kiss of the Vampire. Edward de Souza and Jennifer Daniel star as newlyweds Gerald and Marianne Harcourt, whose honeymoon trip through the woods is interrupted by a broken-down car and a visit to the castle of Dr. Ravna (Noel Willman). What follows is a classic game of Vampire Movie Bingo--with a sprinkling of inventiveness that may just keep you from nodding off during the endless chamber music scenes!Ian and AC look at the good, the bad, and the sucky, examining how this off-brand vampire movie (i.e. not Dracula) stacks up to some of the classic films they've discussed in previous series! Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!Show LinksWatch the Kiss of the Vampire (1963) trailer.Learn about the Triple Threat 3-D movie series, taking over Chicago's Music Box Theatre this April (mentioned in the show and featuring state-of-the-art Digital 3-D technology!).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.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"!

Ian and David welcome back filmmakers Ian and Eshom Nelms for an in-depth look at their latest film, Red Right Hand!This blood-soaked Southern crime drama stars Orlando Bloom as Cash, an ex-enforcer for drug queenpin Big Cat (Andie MacDowell). When he's forced back into a life of violence in order to save his brother-in-law's farm, he realizes that the underworld has become much darker than the one he'd left behind.In this spoiler-free discussion, they guys catch up with The Nelms Brothers, whom they last spoke to on the release of 2020's Fatman. Here, they talk about the rewards and challenges of directing another writer's work (Red Right Hand was written by journalist Jonathan Easley); casting and telling stories against type; and the one thing they definitely wanted to leave out of their movie!Plus: Find out what the future holds for Mel Gibson's Jolly Old Saint Nick!Red Right Hand is now playing in select theaters and is available On Demand!Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!Show LinksWatch the Red Right Hand (2024) trailer.Keep up with Ian and Eshom's latest adventures in moviemaking at their Folly Films website.Follow David Fowlie's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.Watch Ian and David's first interview with The Nelms Brothers, for 2020's Fatman.

The moviegoing public may have forgotten about Argylle, but Earth's Mightiest Critics have not!This week, we'll take a look at a film that may have indirectly inspired Matthew Vaughn's short-sighted spy sendup, 1984's Romancing the Stone!Robert Zemecki's action comedy stars Kathleen Turner as a mousy romance novelist who sets off for Colombia to ransom her kidnapped sister, and soon finds herself in the middle of a dangerous adventure hunting for treasure with a mercenary rogue (Michael Douglas). (At least, that's how IMDb tells it!)Join us as we compare and contrast similar premises separated by four decades--AND take your questions, comments, and Super Chats!Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!Show LinksWatch the Argylle trailer.Watch the Romancing the Stone trailer.Watch the Argylle round table review that inspired this episode.Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:Get seated with The Blonde in Front! 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.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.Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.Keep up with Annie Banks at Chuck Load of Comics....and MoviewebAnd stir things up with Will Johnson of the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.

Ian and David are back with a different take on a classic film!There may be five versions of Ridley Scott's seminal sci-fi thriller, Blade Runner, but recently the guys experienced the movie with a mind-blowing orchestral accompaniment, courtesy of the Chicago Philharmonic!Harrison Ford stars as Deckard, a cop living in the far-flung world of 2019 Los Angeles, who specializes in tracking down and decommissioning "replicants"--rogue androids created by the nefarious Tyrell Corporation, whose resemblance to people makes them almost undetectable. While hunting four dangerous renegade 'bots, Deckard begins questioning his own humanity, and whether or not he's truly serving justice.In this retrospective review, Ian and David look at what makes Blade Runner different from the sci-fi movies that preceded it; unravel memories (both real and false) from the various cuts; and try to figure out how the film's notoriously "problematic" scene survived all of the edits over 42 years.Plus: They talk about seeing the movie at Chicago's famed Auditorium Theatre with live instruments and vocals!Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!Show LinksWatch the Blade Runner (1982) trailer.Learn more about the Chicago Philharmonic's "Auditorium Philms" series, and get tickets for their amazing 2024 lineup!Follow David Fowlie's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.

IndieSeen returns with a special kick-off to 2024, as Ian and Sujewa welcome famed indie filmmaker Rick Schmidt to the show!A couple years ago, the guys reviewed Rick's Dogma 95 movie, Chetzemoka’s Curse--an utterly unique experience that turned Ian into an instant fan. Today, we're rewinding all the way back to 1983, with the equally enthralling road picture/punk concert/cultural indictment, Emerald Cities.Ed Nylund stars as Ed, the alcoholic manager of a gas station/diner in the California desert. Two days a year, he dresses up as Santa Claus and performs in the nearby town of Trona. Fed up with her father's drinking, listlessness, and refusal to buy a better television, Ed's daughter, Z (Carolyn Zaremba), abandons him for a traveling musician--thus prompting Dad's hitchhiking adventure to track her down in San Francisco.In this in-depth discussion, Rick talks about the trials and tribulations of shooting a micro-budget indie in the early 80s; his reliance on creative miracles; and what it's like to have inspired generations of Hollywood superstars like Kevin Smith and Vin Diesel.Plus: Learn how you can support Rick's next movie, Bread Machine, and catch Chetzemoka’s Curse and other wild indies at the upcoming Indie Discovery LA in NYC film series!Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!Show LinksWatch Emerald Cities here.Join Ian in backing Rick's upcoming film, Bread Machine, at IndieGoGo!Check out the homepage for Indie Discovery LA in NYC for info on films screening at Film Noir Cinema in Greenpoint, Brooklyn this March and April--including Rick's Film, Chetzemoka’s Curse!Learn more about Rick's movies and books here.Watch the new trailer for Sujewa's latest film, Cosmic Disco Detective Rene (screening in Brooklyn in late April, as part of Indie Discovery LA in NYC).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.Rent Cosmic Disco Detective Rene on Vimeo!Flash back to 2022, when Ian and Sujewa reviewed Chetzemoka’s Curse!And while you're at it, why not watch Rick Schmidt's Chetzemoka’s Curse?

Ian welcomes two of the creative forces behind the new movie Adam the First : writer/director Irving Franco and star Oakes Fegley!The film centers on Adam (Fegley), a 14-year-old boy who embarks on a journey to find his birth father, after tragedy forces him from the home he grew up in. In this modern spin on the classic hero's journey, Adam encounters various father figures who contribute to his understanding of the world and himself--culminating in one of the most moving endings you'll see all year.In this conversation, the guys talk about crafting this very personal yet ambitiously universal story; how Oakes sees Adam as a different kind of character from the troubled youths he's played in films like Pete’s Dragon, The Goldfinch, and The Fabelmans; filming that emotional final scene; and more!Plus: Watch Ian tap dance around spoilers like nobody's business!Adam the First is now playing in select theaters.Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!Show LinksWatch the Adam the First trailer.Learn more about Adam the First and other projects from Electric Entertainment.