Kicking the Seat

Ian and David look back on 40 years of Steven Spielberg's groundbreaking family adventure, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial!The guys recently caught a special IMAX re-release screening and sat down a couple hours later to talk about a film they consider to be perfect. What follows is a look at why the movie about a little boy and his stranded space-alien buddy became a cultural phenomenon; why it towers over modern summer blockbusters; and what they noticed as adults that they didn't pick up on as kids.This episode is dedicated to the magic of movies.Note: Due to an audio issue, Ian's sound is a bit tinny for the first 14 minutes.Show Links:Watch the E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial trailer.Follow David's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Join Earth's Mightiest Critics as we go to hell and back for a 25th anniversary review of Spawn!When covert government operative Al Simmons (Michael Jai White) is fatally betrayed during his latest mission, he makes a deal with the devil to return to Earth. As expected, things go horribly wrong, and he is resurrected as a not-quite-superhero fighting against other agents of the damned--as well as the humanity he'd left behind!Mark A. Z. Dippe's big-screen adaptation of Todd McFarlane's blockbuster indie comic is as much of a mixed bag as everyone remembers--but there's still lots to dig into a quarter-century later. In this wide-ranging acid trip down memory lane, the panel talks 90s comics; 90s movies; soundtracks to 90s movies; Cannon Films; and how that long-rumored Spawn remake might work--or not!Show Links:Watch the Spawn trailer.See why Ian has sworn off new Superhero movies and TV shows for a year.Bonus: Check out Mike Crowley's take on the Spawn movie and animated series at You'll Probably Agree.And check out this ScreenRant interview with Spawn creator Todd McFarlane from San Diego Comic-Con 2022 (mentioned in the show)!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!

Ian and David review Dan Trachtenberg's Prey!The fifth official Predator movie recently debuted on Hulu, and and centers on Naru (Amber Midthunder), a young Comanche teen living in 1719, who dreams of being a hunter like her older brother, Taabe (Dakota Beavers). When she encounters an invisible threat from another world, she must use her wits and skills to combat a nasty Predator--as well as the other tribe members who seek to keep her down.The guys approach their spoiler-packed review from a couple of different angles, including how it matches up with previous entries in the series; how it stands as an action movie in its own right; and why the puzzling a-historical aspects of the premise kept one of them at arm's length throughout.Show Links:Watch the Prey trailer.Follow David's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.Plus! Join David for a screening of Michael Glover Smith's Relative on Monday, August 22nd! This special event presented by the After Hours Film Society will take place at the Historic Tivoli Theatre in Downers Grove, IL, and feature a Q&A with Smith and star Elizabeth Stam! Click here for tickets and more info! (Psst! Ian will be there, too!)Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Earth's Mightiest Critics bust out the capes and kibble for a look at DC's latest animated offering, DC League of Super-Pets!Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart lead an all-star pack of celebrity voice talent in this new animated adventure. When Superman's powered pup, Krypto (Johnson) loses his abilities just as the Justice League have been kidnapped, he must team up with several shelter animals who--as fate would have it--gain otherworldly abilities. Can Krypto learn humility while teaching others to believe in themselves?The EMC digs into what makes DC League of Super-Pets such a breath of fresh air in the strangulated superhero-movie landscape; examines a climax that shoots some holes in the cape of this otherwise elevated epic; and solves the mystery of the title's puzzling punctuation!But first, there's been a lot of news this week regarding major housecleaning at WB/DC, following the Discovery merger--and the gang looks at what all those swinging axes could mean for comic-book movies in general (including those at the seemingly indomitable Disney/Marvel factory)!Plus: Join us live next week as the panel looks back on a superhero movie from the 90's--yes, we're commemorating 25 years of Spawn! Chime in starting at 8:30pm CST on Wednesday, August 10th!Timestamps: Intro: 0:00 - 1:05Warner/Discovery/DC Shake-up Commentary: 1:06 - 16:34DC League of Super-Pets (2022) Review: 16:35 - 1:01:12Outro: 1:08:24 - 1:10:40Show Links:Watch the DC League of Super-Pets (2022) trailer.See why Ian has sworn off new Superhero movies and TV shows for a year (with the exception of this one!).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!

Love! Lies! Language lessons!It's been so long since we've gotten together, the virtual mailbag has become a virtual post office!Let's dig in!Show Links:Check out the shows and posts that inspired all this fun and fawning feedback!Son of Hammerland: THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1961)Late Screening: The Thing (1982)Don't Read the Comments! 5/20/22So Long, Superheroes!Minority Report: 20th Anniversary Review with Armond WhiteIndieSeen: Norte The End of HistoryThere's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia: Little Fauss and Big Halsy (1970) Son of Hammerland: The Plague of the Zombies and The Reptile (1966) There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia: Shaft (1971)Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) Round Table ReviewOzploitation Special: Fair Game and Not Quite HollywoodAccademia Giallo: Stage Fright (1987)Featured Extras: Shaft (1971)Accademia Giallo: The House with Laughing Windows (1976)Hammerland: Dracula Has Risen from the GraveSpider-Man 3 (2007) Round Table ReviewSubscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Ian and Cole have officially spent half a decade reviewing Harry Potter adaptations in honor of the world-renowned wizard's birthday!Today the guys examine how David Yates crammed nearly 900 pages of story into just over two hours of film--or rather, didn't.In one of the most frustrating cases of "film the pretty bits, context be damned", 2007's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix turned the series' most thematically challenging book into its least rewarding movie.Watch as they revel in the good, mourn the bad, and talk about an Order that might have been. You'll also learn what's on deck for next month, and get a tease for Cole's upcoming national television debut (alright, there's a tease in the "Show Links", too...)!Show Links:Watch the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix trailer.Keep up with all of Cole's literary criticism at:The Quill to LiveTorAnd his TikTok channel, BookRush!Plus: Be sure to tune into NBC August 10th to see Cole compete on the new version of the hit game show, Password! Catch him in the series trailer!Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

The latest edition of "Son of Hammerland" is more like "Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandfather of Hammerland"!Ian and Aaron slap on their mammoth furs and travel back in time to One Million Years B.C.! Raquel Welch and John Richardson star as cave people navigating a treacherous prehistoric land full of gargantuan monsters, warring tribes, and familial intrigue!This is a very different kind of monster movie than the guys have tackled in this series--and one of the best. This was Ian's first full experience with the work of special effects guru Ray Harryhausen, whose innovative stop-motion creature work is served by a surprisingly compelling story that tramples modern dinosaur blockbusters!Show Links:Watch the One Million Years B.C. (1966) trailer.Read Aaron's written review of One Million Years B.C. (1966).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!

After a brief summer vacation, the Accademia Giallo crew returns with a no-laughing-matter look at The House with Laughing Windows!In Pupi Avati's 1976 thriller, Stefano, a young restorer, is commissioned to save a controversial mural located in the church of a small, isolated village. Of course, this synopsis from IMDb leaves out all the tawdry details of the village’s history with torture, sex, and murder--but we'll give them an "A" for effort!In today’s lesson, your fearsome faculty looks at the many ways in which Laughing Windows breaks the gialli mold, while also expanding the genre’s potential in its later stages. Ian calls it “the Last Jedi of giallo”—but don’t let that scare you away from this unique and ultra-disturbing slice of pastoral horror."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!Show LinksWatch the House with Laughing Windows trailer.Check out Aaron's written Laughing Windows review at Horror101 with Dr. AC! Follow Jon down into Kitley's Krypt!And listen to Jon's great new 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!Catch up on past lessons with our "Accademia Giallo" YouTube Playlist!Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

In this follow-up to Ian's review of the movie with Pat "The Uber Critic" McDonald last week, he looks at two special features on The Criterion Collection's new 4K UHD/Blu-ray release of Shaft (1971)--both centered on the surprising cultural and literary influences that gave birth to Blaxploitation's most towering icon! Show Links:Watch the Shaft (1971) trailer.Pick up The Criterion Collection's new release of Shaft on 4K UHD and Blu-ray. Watch Ian and Pat discuss Shaft on the latest edition of "There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia"! Keep up with Pat at HollywoodChicago.com.Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Earth's Mightiest Critics cement our cinematic symbiosis with a retrospective review of Spider-Man 3!Sam Raimi's 2007 blockbuster is notorious for being one of the worst superhero movies ever made--but does it deserve all that...venom?Aided by clearer heads and the passage of time, Ian and Don & Will of the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast look back on a movie with too many villains, too many subplots, and too much emo jazz improv. It may also be, according to Ian after a recent re-watch, an imperfectly perfect capper to the Raimi trilogy!This in-depth discussion runs the full spectrum of criticism--from mega-fan to mega-hater to middle-of-the-web moderate. We break down the history of the third (and rumored-at-the-time fourth) installment; address the "Gwen Stacy Problem"; and explore the alternate universes in which this movie fires on several more cylinders!Show Links:Watch the Spider-Man 3 (2007) trailer.Listen to Cinephile Hissy Fit's take on the Raimi / Maguire Spider-Man trilogy. See why Ian has sworn off new Superhero movies and TV shows for a year.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!