Kicking the Seat

Kicking the Seat

By Ian SimmonsTV & Film
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Kicking the Seat episodes

  • Ep774: RELATIVE (2022) - Movie Review
    Ian and David reunite to discuss a funny, heartfelt movie about family. No, there's not another Fast & Furious movie out; the guys dig into the latest dramedy from Chicago filmmaker Michael Glover Smith, whose latest, Relative, hits Chicago this week with a series of special screenings and Q&A's.The film centers on a couple of Rogers Park soon-to-be-empty-nesters who throw a college graduation party for their youngest son. As far-flung siblings descend upon the house, the emotional baggage piles up higher than their overnight cases. In classic Smith form, Relative opens up the 24-Hour Relationships Movie and messes around under the hood, exploring how family bonds (and rifts) inform the romantic relationships in their various stages.Ian and David pirouette through a minefield of spoilers to give viewers a sense of Relative without ruining the experience, looking at the subtle tweaks in archetypes that make the characters memorable and their predicaments...well, relatable.Show Links:Watch the Relative trailer: https://youtu.be/Ou5te4HCkOAGet tickets and showtimes for the special Relative screenings happening in Chicagoland throughout the week!Relative premieres tonight at the Gene Siskel Film Center, and David will host a producers Q&A with Smith following the Wednesday (6/15) screening.Next Friday (6/17), Relative expands to the Chicago suburbs! Catch the 7:30pm CST screening at the Hollywood Boulevard Cinema in Woodridge, and stick around for a Q&A with Smith and star Emily Lape, moderated by Ian!Explore the films of Michael Glover Smith via his website, White City Cinema!Listen to Ian and David discuss Smith's previous film, Rendezvous in Chicago.Listen to Ian and David's interview with the cast and crew of Rendezvous in Chicago.Listen to Ian and David's interview with Smith and Mercury in Retrograde star Najarra Townsend.
    53 min
  • Don't Read the Comments! 6/6/22
    Half mailbag, half post-mortem, this edition of "Don't Read the Comments!" is our most force-sensitive yet! Last week saw the finale of "Obi-Watch LIVE", Earth's Mightiest Critics' weekly round table review of the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi. The STAR WARS show is still going on, but the gang's commentary on it is not. If you missed the livestream, today you'll find out why.Want to see Ian react to your comments, questions, and lunatic ravings? Simply leave a comment on any review, podcast, or video on kickseat.com, the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, or the Kicking the Seat Facebook fan page. Replies guaranteed; satisfaction...not so much!Show Links:Check out the shows and posts that inspired all this fun and fawning feedback!IndieSeen: Henry Fool at 25 w/ Thomas Jay RyanSon of Hammerland: THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1961)Watch the "Obi-Watch LIVE" show that started/ended it all!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 MoviewebStir things up with Will Johnson of the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.And marvel at Elliott Serrano of the MCU REVU Podcast! Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!
    29 min
  • Ep773: EVIL BONG 888: INFINITY HIGH (2022) - Movie Review
    The Evil Bong series goes up in smoke with its 8th (and final...yeah, right) installment, Infinity High!Ian and Mark conclude a "proud" years-long tradition of reviewing the latest in Charles Band's wild micro-budget saga, in which the titular toll tries to take over the world. The 59-minute diversion finds shady series regular Rabbit (Sonny Carl Davis) opening a French restaurant on Rodeo Drive. His efforts to go legit are cut short when E.B. (voiced by Michelle Mais) sprinkles his meals with hallucinogenic hash.In this spoilerific review, the guys look at how oddly Evil Bong has aged: from its uneven depictions of sexploitation; to storytelling so insular it makes the MCU look like Blue’s Clues, and a counter-culture spirit struggling to find a voice (or anything to say with it) in an era where that very counter-culture has just become plain ol' boring culture.Evil Bong 888: Infinity High is now available On Demand from Full Moon Features.Show Links:Watch the Evil Bong 888: Infinity High trailer: https://youtu.be/cSlB4NW47OkCheck out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.And keep up with his maniacal minute-long movie reviews on TikTok!Catch up with Ian and Mark's previous Evil Bong reviews!Evil Bong High 5Evil Bong 666Evil Bong 777Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!
    58 min
  • Ep772: Accademia Giallo: STAGE FRIGHT (1987)

    All the world is a stage, but not everyone makes it to the curtain call!

    This month, "Accademia Giallo" takes over the drama club for a review of Michele Soavi's Stage Fright! The 1987 thriller centers on a group of stage actors who lock themselves in the theater for a musical rehearsal, unaware that an escaped psychopath has sneaked in with them!

    Ian, AC, and Blake tackle two big questions in this episode: Is Stage Fright truly a giallo film, or just an Italian slasher? And why isn't it more widely discussed as the genre gem that it is?

    "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 Links

    • Watch the Stage Fright trailer.

    • Further your fearful education at Horror 101 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!

    1 hr 13 min
  • Ep771: TOP GUN: MAVERICK (2022) Round Table Review

    Earth's Mightiest Critics indulge their need for speed in this raucous round table review of Top Gun: Maverick!

    Tom Cruise reprises his role as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in a sequel 36 years in the making. The cocky, rebellious pilot finds himself grounded once again and reassigned to Top Gun, where he must instruct a new class of elite fighters ahead of a secret mission.

    In this spoiler-heavy round table, the EMC finds that lovin' feeling for a movie that's both way better than it should be and also handicapped by frivolous nose-dives into nostalgia. Watch as Ian, David, Mark, and Don talk time-jumps, trailers, tear-jerking cameos, and much more!

    Show Links:

    • Watch the Top Gun: Maverick 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 Movieweb

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

      • And marvel at Elliott Serrano of the MCU REVU Podcast!

    • Plus: Watch the debut episode of "Obi-Watch LIVE" which premiered mere moments before our Top Gun talk!

    • Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

    1 hr 11 min
  • Don't Read the Comments! 5/20/22

    The comments keep on comin'! Join Ian as he rips into the latest load of virtual mail and discusses sticking to his superhero movie boycott; throwing down the review gauntlet to another critic, and discovering that Kicking the Seat's Facebook fan page has been consumed by the Metaverse!

    If you would like to be featured in an upcoming "Don't Read the Comments!" video, simply leave a (wait for it) comment on any KtS YouTube video, written review or podcast at kickseat.com, or the aforementioned Facebook fan page. Replies are guaranteed; intact feelings are not!

    Show Links:

    • Check out the shows that inspired all this lucid/ludicrous feedback!

      • Verhoeven a Good Time (Robocop and Basic Instinct Reviews) w/ Mike Crowley

      • Wednesday Knight Live: SE01 / EP05

      • There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia: Mother (1996) - Movie Review

      • So Long, Superheroes!

      • Mind Over Mullet: An Interview with Being Patrick Swayze Author Neal E. Fischer

    Also Referenced in the Video:

    • Listen to Ian's recent appearance on the 90 Under 90 Podcast, where he helps the Eden Brothers review Not Another Teen Movie!

    • Wednesday KNIGHT Live: SE01 / EP06

    • Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) - Round Table Review

      Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

    19 min
  • Ep770: Son of Hammerland: THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1961)

    Things get hairy as Ian and AC succumb to The Curse of the Werewolf!

    Director Terence Fisher and screenwriter Anthon Hinds reimagine the wolfman mythos in a film unlike any of its kind. Oliver Reed stars as Leon, a troubled young man whose full-moon transformations become the terror of a small Spanish town. Superstition, prejudice, and the beastly underbelly of human nature burst from the screen in this sensational drama that happens to contain supernatural monsters.

    The guys look at the film's bizarre history; its unique take on the titular legend; and why it's a great reprieve from traditional creature features!

    Show Links:

    • Watch the Curse of the Werewolf (1961) trailer.

    • Read Dr. AC's review of The Curse of the Werewolf.

    • 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!

    52 min
  • Ep769: So Long, Superheroes!

    It is with a heavy heart (but a much lighter wallet) that I affirm my boycott of superhero movies and TV shows for the next year.

    Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was the last straw, and in this video I explain the why's, the how's, and the WTF's of this 365-day sabbatical--along with the future of my weekly comics-movies livestreams with Earth's Mightiest Critics!

    If you think the show's over, watch to the very end!

    Show Links:

    • Watch Earth's Mightiest Critics discuss Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness!

    • Join the gang on Friday, May 27th (8:30pm CST) for the premiere of "Obi-Watch LIVE"!

    • 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 Movieweb

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

      • And marvel at Elliott Serrano of the MCU REVU Podcast!

    • Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

    19 min
  • Ep768: DR. STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS (2022) - Round Table Review

    Earth's Mightiest Critics head to the multiverse in search of some Strange!

    In this spoilerific round table, Mark defends Sam Raimi's return to the Marvel Universe from an onslaught of fiery CGI negativity. From character assassination to untapped potential, to this not really being a sequel to its predecessor, there are a lot of nits to pick in the MCU's 28th feature film--and someone on the panel has finally had enough!

    Show Links:

    • Watch the Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 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 Movieweb

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

      • And marvel at Elliott Serrano of the MCU REVU Podcast!

    • Plus: Don't forget to join us LIVE Friday, May 27th at 8:30pm CST for the debut episode of "Obi-Watch LIVE"!

    • Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

    1 hr 40 min
  • Ep767: Something in the Water: An Interview with SO COLD THE RIVER Filmmakers Paul Shoulberg and Claire Tuft

    Ian talks with writer/director Paul Shoulberg and producer Claire Tuft about their new horror film, So Cold the River!

    Based on Michael Koryta's novel, the movie follows down-on-her-luck documentary filmmaker Erica Shaw (Bethany Joy Lenz) as she visits an old Indiana hotel in search of stories for her latest gig. There, she discovers secrets about the people of West Baden's troubled relationship with her subject, and begins to fall prey to a malevolent supernatural force. At the center of it all is a local legend involving the town's river and the mysteries that travel its currents.

    Shoulberg and Tuft discuss the challenges in adapting a 500+ page book into a ninety-minute film; how setting an attitude and an aesthetic for a movie can lead to creative surprises, and why it was important to shoot in the location that Koryta wrote about instead of relying heavily on sets.

    Show Links:

    • Watch the So Cold the River trailer.

    • Rent/own So Cold the River on Amazon.

    • Buy the book that inspired the film! Michael Koryta's So Cold the River is available on Amazon.

    • Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

    26 min

About Kicking the Seat

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Go beyond the movies with reviews, interviews, and live critics roundtables you won't find anywhere else--from the last guy anyone asks!