Kicking the Seat

Earth's Mightiest Critics traverse the Bifrost once more to review Thor: Love and Thunder!Well, most of them do, anyway. In the first of a multi-part experiment, Ian (who has been sticking to his year-long moratorium on superhero films and TV shows) pops in to intro and outro the discussion, and then unleash the panel on Taika Waititi's latest Marvel movie event!Will this off-kilter comic-comedy be the shot in the arm that Phase Four desperately needs? Or will it prove to be another "wait 6 weeks for Disney+" non-starter? Find out as the EMC finds out if the discourse is worthy enough to lift!Also, stay tuned to the very end to find out which comic book movie the entire crew will debate next week! Show Links:Watch the Thor: Love and Thunder trailer.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!

Ian and David get strapped to the hood of an Outback death machine--all in the name of reviewing Mario Andreacchio's 1986 cult film, Fair Game!Cassandra Delaney stars as the proprietor of a remote Australian animal preserve who runs afoul of three randy and ill-tempered kangaroo poachers. Can she survive a bloody night of terror, torture, and totally unnecessary animal cruelty?More importantly, can your intrepid critics stay awake long enough to see what all the fuss is about?Lucky you, the answer is "yes"--but just barely.To ease the heartache of watching that rare and unholy oddity known as the "boring exploitation" movie, the guys also review Mark Hartley's superb and truly out-there 2008 documentary, Not Quite Hollywood, which tracks the rise and fall of Australia's exploitation boom!Watch as Ian and David break down what doesn't work about Fair Game; why it may have developed a following despite its not being very good; and what we can learn about bad genre films by watching great ones!Fair Game (1986) is now available On Demand from Dark Sky Pictures.Not Quite Hollywood is now available on Amazon Prime. Show Links:Watch the Fair Game (1986) trailer.Watch the Not Quite Hollywood trailer.Follow David's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Ian and Pat break out their turtlenecks and leather trenchcoats to review Gordon Parks' seminal Blaxploitation epic, Shaft!Richard Roundtree stars as the Black private dick who's a sex machine to all the chicks. It's 1971 in New York City, and John Shaft has been hired to find the kidnapped daughter of a Harlem gangster. He winds up on the wrong side of the police, the Mafia, and a crew of militants all battling to control the streets of the Big Apple.The guys continue their exploration of 70s Black cinema with a (pretty much) first-time viewing of Parks' swagger-heavy procedural--comparing it to Melvin Van Peebles' Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (which came out the same year), and questioning whether or not this film belongs in the genre with which it is most heavily associated.Shaft was recently given the deluxe treatment by The Criterion Collection, which has made the film available on 4K UHD and Blu-ray.Show Links:Watch the Shaft (1971) trailer.Keep up with Pat at HollywoodChicago.com.Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Ian welcomes longtime friend and first-time guest Chad Hawks to the show for a 40th-anniversary look at Amy Holden Jones' influential slasher, The Slumber Party Massacre!After escaping from a mental institution, a power drill-obsessed killer sets his sights on an unsuspecting group of high school girls. Of course, their fun Friday night of Twinkies, gossip, and weed turns into a blood-soaked nightmare--but this smart, darkly funny, and imaginatively sequenced thriller rises above the rest.Ian and Chad look at what sets this female-helmed horror movie apart from other films of the day (despite sharing several features of its contemporaries), as well as its deft handling of sexual politics and symbolism.Plus: Chad talks about the new Kickstarter campaign he's producing for a frightfully delightful new book called "Poems of Grave Importance" by Ridley Mortis (with art by Mitch O'Connell, Jeff Carlson, and others)!Learn about the tome, the tiers, and the tons of super-cool add-ons available in the final days of the project!Show Links:Watch Slumber Party Massacre (1982) trailer.Support Chad's Kickstarter for "Poems of Grave Importance" by Ridley Mortis!Timestamps: Intro: 0:00 - 4:08The Slumber Party Massacre (1982) Review: 4:09 - 1:01:12About "Poems of Grave Importance" Kickstarter Project: 1:01:13 - 1:19:08Outro: 1:19:09 - 1:20:45Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Delight in our demented double feature as Ian and Dr. AC return with "Son of Hammerland"! 1966 saw the release of two John Gilling-directed Hammer films, The Plague of the Zombies and The Reptile. The former centers on an English village beset by a series of mysterious (and deadly) resurrections; the second follows a man's search for answers to his brother's mysterious death--and the bizarre creature at the heart of an ancient curse.Though different in creatures, themes, and time periods, there are a ton of very evident crossovers between productions. Ian and Aaron compare and contrast these slow-burn suspense flicks to marvel at how identical ingredients can lead to very different tasting meals (Anyone else hungry?)!Show Links:Watch The Plague of the Zombies (1966) trailer.Watch The Reptile (1966) trailer.Read Aaron's written reviews of The Plague of the Zombies....And The Reptile.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!

Ian and Pat rev up their dirt bikes and plow through Little Fauss and Big Halsy!This obscure 1970 racing movie pairs Michael Pollard and Robert Redford as an unlikely team who outrun, out-hustle, and out-sleep the competition on a quest for fortune and fame. Complicating matters is Rita (Lauren Hutton), a slumming-it rich girl who drives a wedge between the already tentative relationship between clumsy circuit-nerd Little Fauss (Pollard) and heartless con man Halsy (Redford).Ian and Pat dig into the film's oddball connection to The Godfather; examine the myriad ways in which flesh is exploited throughout, and contemplate Redford's last truly human performance.Note: In the discussion, Pat references a documentary by Robert Redford's late son, Jamie. The film is called Resilience, and you can learn more about it at: https://kpjrfilms.co/resilience.Show Links:Watch the Little Fauss and Big Halsy trailer.Keep up with Pat at HollywoodChicago.com.Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Ian welcomes back National Review film critic Armond White for a look at Steven Spielberg's paranoid sci-fi masterpiece, Minority Report! Based on the Philip K. Dick novella, this 2002 summer blockbuster stars Tom Cruise as John Anderton, a federal "PreCrime" cop who works with an elite team to prevent murders before they happen. When he's accused of murdering a stranger, his life becomes an unrelenting search for the truth.Armond White wrote glowingly about the film in his 2002 essay, "Spielberg Goes to Alphaville", which appears in his book, Make Spielberg Great Again. He and Ian talk about Minority Report's unsettling prescience; its status as one of the last big-budget popcorn epics with both brains and a conscience; and why it may feature Tom Cruise's finest performance.Note: Despite their best efforts, the guys still found themselves dealing with A/V issues. Not to worry: One of these days you'll be able to enjoy their conversations in stunning HD!Show Links:Watch the Minority Report (2002) trailer.Read Armond's review of Top Gun Maverick (referenced in the show) in The National Review: Order the book that inspired this discussion, Armond's Make Spielberg Great Again.Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Earth's Mightiest Critics venture into the great unknown with a look at Disney Pixar's Lightyear!The first Pixar film to hit theatres since the pandemic is also the studio's first prequel! Do the "real world" adventures of Buzz Lightyear launch a new era of imagination--or burn up on takeoff?The gang blows the movie wide open, drilling down into everything from cultural issues, to the fundamentals of storytelling, to what the film's less-than-stellar opening weekend could mean for Disney Pixar movies going forward. Show Links:Watch the Lightyear 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!

Ian and Cole thaw out "Late Screening" with a 40th-anniversary review of The Thing!Yes, it's been awhile since the guys got together, and what better way to restart the series than with one of pop culture's most beloved sci-fi/horror films? Fans of John Carpenter's 1982 remake might want to hold the fist-pumping: like the doomed researchers at Station 4, you may want to take a flamethrower to our intrepid hosts--or at least their "alien" opinions!This was a first-time viewing for Cole, and the first time in a long time for Ian--meaning there's barely a shadow of nostalgia hovering over this review. The result is a mixed bag that comments on how fan perception can change over time, and how the ever-evolving filmmaking landscape can affect the way newcomers engage with classic works.And stick around to the very end for a thematically appropriate disruption by forces beyond the guys' control!Show Links:Watch the Thing trailer.Keep up with all of Cole's literary criticism at:The Quill to LiveTorAnd his TikTok channel, BookRush!Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Earth's Mightiest Critics return to discuss the movie 5 of you have been waiting for: Jurassic World Dominion!In this raptor-ous livestream, the gang looks at Colin Trevorrow's conclusion to a trilogy that feels as unintentional as it does uninspired. Owen and Claire (plus a bunch of other characters whose names you for sure can't remember) team up with the three leads from 1993's Jurassic Park (whose names you absolutely do) to take on a world overrun with prehistoric predators. More precisely, they travel back to yet another mysterious island lab to fight bugs while the rest of the world pretty much carries on!Our spoiler-filled round table isn't all negativity and snark: we draw some fascinating parallels between the new JP films and the Star Wars sequel trilogy; get into the resonance of Steven Spielberg's original film, and lament the influence of comic book movies on many new summer blockbusters!Show Links:Watch the Jurassic World Dominion 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!