Kicking the Seat

Ian and Mark give the Devil's Reject his due with a hearty defense of Rob Zombie's The Munsters!At first glance, this Universal-by-way-of-Netflix movie has everything working against it: a PG-rated family film from the creator of House of 1,000 Corpses; a rainbow-puke adaptation of a 58-year-old black-and-white sitcom; and one of the worst trailers ever released as anti-promotional material. The Munsters has united critics and audiences alike, with devastatingly low Tomatometer ratings and a lack of buzz so conspicuous the film feels less released than buried.But...What if it's actually good?In this episode, the guys make a strong case for Zombie's movie--with one of the hosts confessing to a heavy bias against the film going in (it turned out to be one of his favorite pieces of cinema this year--that's right, Scorsese, cinema!).So strap in, tighten your bolts, and get ready for some downright electric rationale!Show Links:Watch the Munsters trailer: https://youtu.be/Iw5T0V3_hlUCheck out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.And keep up with his maniacal minute-long movie reviews on TikTok!Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Ian kicks off Spooky Season with a preview of what you can expect to see haunting the airwaves on Kicking the Seat this month--including the full lineup of "Scare-a-Thon 2022", the return of some fan-favorite features, and the unveiling of the next Indian film we'll be spotlighting in our new series on Bollywood/Tollywood movies!Show Links:Get ready for our first Scare-a-Thon round table of 2022 as we talk The Lost Boys live on Friday, October 7th at 7:30pm CST!Click here for more information about the Chicago Philharmonic's special performance of the Ghostbusters score on Saturday, October 8.All Scare-a-Thon proceeds this year will benefit the Women's Reproductive Rights Assistance Project (WRRAP), a non-partisan, nonprofit organization assisting women who are financially unable to pay for safe, legal abortions or emergency contraceptives.Support WRRAP via our Scare-a-Thon donation link on Plumfund.out her excellent Paris Hilton documentary, This is Paris (referenced in the discussion).Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

In adapting Joyce Carol Oates' 2000 novel, Blonde, writer/director Andrew Dominik presents a harrowing portrait of a celebrity caught in a decades-long cycle of mental illness, physical abuse, and exploitation. Ana de Armas stars as Marilyn Monroe in a nearly three-hour series of sketches pulled from the actress' life, including a traumatic childhood, several failed marriages, two abortions, and one miscarriage--not to mention violent on-set freak-outs and endless visions of leering, pawing, powerful men.In this spoilerific review, Ian and David break down what works about Blonde as a purely cinematic experience--and take it to task for a relentless mean streak that may leave some audiences members struggling to finish the whole thing, and others struggling to suppress their laughter at the over-the-top (hopefully unintentional) misogyny that categorically defies the filmmaker's intent.They also talk accents, fact-versus-fiction, and the "real" Marilyn Monroe!Show Links:Watch the Blonde trailer.Follow David's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.Read Entertainment Weekly's article, "8 Marilyn Monroe Books to Read After You Watch Blonde".Read Collider's article on the differences between Oates' novel and Dominik's film (referenced in the discussion).Watch Ian's interview with Alexandra Dean, in which they talk about her excellent Paris Hilton documentary, This is Paris (referenced in the discussion).Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

No, we're not being held back--we're leaping forward! In this month's lesson, the class revisits the first movie they ever discussed, Mario Bava's 1964 high-fashion fright-fest, Blood and Black Lace!Have two-plus years of mad monthly musings affected the way they view one of the landmarks of giallo terror? And how have the seeds planted in that first show come to fruition in subsequent episodes? Answers to these questions and more (plus comments galore) await in this raucous remedial rundown!"Accademia Giallo" is Kicking the Seat's monthly deep dive into Italian Horror's "giallo" sub-genre. Join us live in the chat for laughs, lessons, and lots of bad accents! Class begins promptly at 2pm CST!Show LinksWatch the Blood and Black Lace trailer.Listen to the original "Accademia Giallo" lesson on Blood and Black Lace!Support all of our terrifying teachers' axe-tracurricular activities!Get professorial with Aaron Christensen at Horror101 with Dr. AC!Pick up Aaron's book, Hidden Horror (mentioned in the show)!Follow Jon down into Kitley's Krypt!And listen to his great podcast, Discover the Horror!Check out Bryan Martinez's YouTube show, The Giallo Room!And follow The Giallo Room on Instagram for your daily gialli fix!Buy Blake's "Scored to Death" Volume I and II on Amazon.…And catch up with classic episodes of his Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers podcast!Study up on past lessons with our "Accademia Giallo" YouTube Playlist!Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Heaven help us! This month, we travel to an upside-down corner of Hammerland where Christopher Lee plays the hero!Terence Fisher's The Devil Rides Out finds the legendary actor taking on the (tragically) rare good-guy role as an aristocratic practitioner of magic who must rescue the son of a dear friend from the clutches of a Satanic cult.This unexpectedly thrilling horror/adventure features a giant tarantula, exploding demons, and creepy kid apparitions--not to mention Death on horseback! Ian and Aaron dig into all the occult awesomeness of what might best be described as Hammer Horror's Dr. Strange!Plus! The guys preview the dark delights of next month's return to Spooky Season! Yes, the "Scare-a-Thon" will be back live every Friday in October! Watch for more details as to the whens and whats--and info on this year's charitable cause!Show Links:Watch the The Devil Rides Out (1968) trailer.Read Aaron's written review of The Devil Rides Out (1968).Catch up on previous "Son of Hammerland" episodes!And watch the series that started it all: "Hammerland"!Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

It's heeeeere! In honor of Poltergeist's 40th anniversary, Warner Bros has released a 4K Ultra HD edition of the film, and Ian is here to tell you about a couple of the extra features.This is neither a review of the movie nor the upgraded video/audio quality of the new version. Rather it's an examination of a two-part documentary contained on the disc called, "They Are Here: The Real World of Poltergeists Revealed". It's a legacy doc that Ian watched for the first time, and he talks about whether or not it's a strength of this new release.Also, Ian teases more Poltergeist talk next month, as the ramp-up to Spooky Season gets under way!Show Links:Watch the Poltergeist (1982) trailer.Pick up Warner Bros release of Poltergeist (1982) on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray.Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Ian and Cole lace up their skates and crank up the hi-fi sound system for this 25th-anniversary review of Boogie Nights!Mark Wahlberg stars as Eddie Adams, a starry-eyed busboy who gets lured into the glamourous world of adult films by top director Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) and his colorful cast and crew. Before long, the abnormally well-endowed Eddie adopts the persona "Dirk Diggler" and rockets to fame--which turns out to be a trap lined with drugs, violence, and shady hangers-on.Paul Thomas Anderson's homage to the decline of 70s porn culture remains unmatched in its balance of candy-coated hedonism and coke-fueled bleakness. Watch as the guys dig into the good, the bad, and the Diggler with tangents on the ethics of sex work; the crazy number of future Marvel characters getting it on in the Valley; and how the writer/director's epic, found-family vision neatly lines up with The Godfather! Show Links:Watch the Boogie Nights trailer.Keep up with all of Cole's literary criticism at:The Quill to LiveTorSubscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Our RRR livestream was such a rousing success that we're dedicating a whole viewer-mail show to addressing your feedback!With more than 10 thousand views and over 50 comments, Earth's Mightiest Critics' round table review of SS Rajamouli's epic historical fantasy is Kicking the Seat's most-viewed livestream yet. In this special episode, Ian marvels at elaborate allegory analysis; defends Kicking the Seat's continued existence; and makes mental notes of the dozens of other films recommended by you!Plus: Stay tuned to the very end to learn about the show's big plan for continued Indian film coverage--and how you can be a part of it!Show Links:Check out the shows and posts that inspired all this fun and fawning feedback!RRR (2022) - Round Table ReviewSubscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Ian and Mark rekindle their disdain for live-action Disney remakes with a look at Robert Zemeckis' Pinocchio!That's right, the director of Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Forrest Freakin' Gump has joined the ranks of slumming auteurs like Tim Burton and Guy Ritchie--turning in an aimless, colorless, imagination-free version of a truly groundbreaking animated film.In this spoiler-heavy review, the guys compare and contrast Pinocchio 1940 with Pinocchio 2022, breaking down everything from altered character motivations, to set piece shortcuts, to uninspired exercises in box-checking. Along the way, they talk about all the ways in which the filmmakers could have made their story coherent, memorable, and even culturally impactful--had they gotten out of their own way!Both versions of Pinocchio are now streaming on Disney+.Show Links:Watch the Pinocchio (2022) trailer.Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:Follow David Fowlie's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.Get educated with Don Shanahan at Every Movie Has a Lesson…...and 25YL...and the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.Check out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room 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.Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Watch Ian and David knock over a convenience store! Yes, it's time to review Clerks III.After Randal (Jeff Anderson) suffers a heart attack, he decides to follow his long-dormant dreams of directing a movie. Enlisting the help of fellow Quick Stop employees and hangers-on Dante (Brian O'Halloran), Elias (Trevor Fehrman), and Jay and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes, respectively), Randal sets out to capture the comedic indignities of wage-slave living.The result is a bizarre second sequel to the film that put writer/director Smith on the map. In this spoiler-heavy discussion, Ian and David talk about what Smith's films have meant to them; why the series should have stopped at the note-perfect Clerks II; and the 37 ways in which Smith prevents this film from being a worthy tribute to an iconic career and characters.Clerks III hits select theatres starting September 13th as part of a limited Fathom Events run. Details on this and the Clerks III "Convenience Tour" (featuring appearances by Smith) below.Show Links:Watch the Clerks III trailer.Watch Kevin Smith's touching WonderCon tribute to Bruce Willis, following the actor's Aphasia diagnosis earlier this year (mentioned in the episode).See Clerks III on the big screen starting Tuesday, September 13th through Thursday, September 22 via Fathom Events.Chicagoans can get tickets to the November 7th stop on the Clerks III "Convenience Tour" at the Music Box Theatre, featuring a post-screening Q&A with Kevin Smith.Follow David's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!