Kicking the Seat

Lights! Camera! Diggler!

Earth's Mightiest Critics close out 2025 with a look at Paul Thomas Anderson's classic 1997 drama, Boogie Nights! Mark Wahlberg stars as Eddie Adams, a young California dishwasher who gets lured into the glamorous, sinister world of 1970s adult entertainment. His found family includes legendary mogul Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds), Jack's matronly muse, Amber Waves (Julianne Moore), and fellow performer Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly).

Together, they build a new hard-core franchise while struggling against the unrelenting winds of drugs, video tape, and societal backlash.

It's also a (really messed up) New Year's movie! AND a reminder of PTA's roots, as we prepare for the likely Awards sweep of his latest film, One Battle After Another.

Join us for a free-wheeling Pre-NYE party, where we'll also take your questions, comments, and SuperChats!

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• Watch the Boogie Nights (1997) trailer.

• As mentioned in the show, Ian had a couple of run-ins with Boogie Nights star Thomas Jane at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con. Presented here is the two-part "The Thomas Jane Affair":

  • Part One

  • Part Two

• Pick up Warner Bros' recently released 4K UHD of Boogie Nights.

• In case you missed it: check out EMC's roundtable review of One Battle After Another from earlier this year.

• Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:

  • Keep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at The Establishing Shot and Pipeline Artists.

  • Check out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.

  • 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.

  • Keep up with Annie Banks at The Mary Sue.

    • ...and We Got This Covered.

  • Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.

  • And save your celluloid soul with Dave Canfield’s Substack, "Creature Feature Preacher".

All ghoulish things must come to an end! After five years of monsters, Martians, murderers, and mayhem, Ian and AC close out their look at Hammer Studios' classic run with a review of 1976's To the Devil A Daughter!

Directed by Peter Sykes, this bonkers Exorcist-esque thriller stars Christopher Lee as Father Michael Raynor, a former Catholic priest who was excommunicated for trying to bring forth the Antichrist. Years later, he's amassed quite a...cult following, and is on the verge of implanting Satan's spawn in the womb of an innocent young nun named Catherine (Nastassja Kinski). Catherine's dad (Denholm Elliott) recruits a popular occult expert (Richard Widmark) to protect his daughter from the forces of darkness.

This is truly one of the most bizarre and morally messed-up movies the guys have reviewed in their half-decade exploration of Hammer horror. So strap in for a bombastically bumpy ride as Kicking the Seat draws the curtain on one of its longest-running series!

A huge thanks to everyone who has participated in this journey, be it as panelist, casual viewer, or OG Hammerland fanatic. You are the (ahem) heart and soul of this show!

Oh, and Ian isn't making weird faces on purpose during this video: his Internet has been less than stellar the last couple of weeks, leading to smooth(ish) audio and downright clownish intermittent picture quality.

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• Watch the To the Devil A Daughter (1976) trailer.

• As mentioned in the show, you can pick up AC's go-to reference books for all things Hammer:

  • Nightwalkers

  • The Hammer Story

• 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.

• Grab only what you can carry as we "Escape from Hammerland"!

• Hitch a ride with our entire 2024 series in the "Return to Hammerland" Playlist!

• 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"!

Kicking the Seat and Pat McDonald wish you the Merriest of Christmases with one of our favorite traditions: a "There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia" look at an offbeat holiday movie!

Today we're talking the 2003 anime from co-directors Satoshi Kon and Keiko Nobumoto, Tokyo Godfathers! This fast-paced dramedy centers on three homeless people who discover an infant child who's been discarded in the trash on Christmas Eve. Through a series of crazy adventures, they spend a week traversing the Tokyo underworld in an effort to reunite the child with its birth parents--navigating violent teen hooligans, mob vengeance, and the ghosts of the three "godfathers'" respective pasts.

In this celebratory episode, Ian and Pat share their joy at this first-time viewing and dig into what makes this street-level holiday adventure worth seeking out--while also unpacking its surprising roots in a John Wayne Western!

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• Watch the full Tokyo Godfathers (2003) trailer.

• Keep up with Pat at HollywoodChicago.com.

• Listen to Pat's movie reviews on the radio at STAR 96.7.

Christmas came early for Earth's Mightiest Critics, and we're here to share the love a roundtable preview review of Song Sung Blue!

Craig Brewer's latest music-infused drama stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson as a Milwaukee-based Neil Diamond tribute act called Lightning and Thunder. Based on a 2008 documentary of the same name, this narrative biopic centers on the married couple's rise and fall--and examines lives lived in a spotlight that is also, oddly, a shadow.

Join us as we get in tune and establish a rhythm for discussing this Awards Season (ahem) diamond in the rough!

Support Kicking the Seat on Patreon, subscribe to us on YouTube, and follow us at:

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• Watch the Song Sung Blue (2025) trailer.

• And catch up with our previous review of 2022's Avatar: The Way of Water.

• Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:

  • Keep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at The Establishing Shot and Pipeline Artists.

  • Check out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.

  • 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.

  • Keep up with Annie Banks at The Mary Sue.

    • ...and We Got This Covered.

  • Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.

  • And save your celluloid soul with Dave Canfield’s Substack, "Creature Feature Preacher".

Earth's Mightiest Critics re-ignite the age-old debate: Do people actually care about Avatar?

Following the death of their eldest son, Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) find themselves caring for Spider (Jake Champion), the human son of evil-military-leader-turned-evil-Na'vi-warrior Myles Quaritch (Stephen Lang). Meanwhile, Quaritch discovers the volcano-dwelling Ash tribe, headed by Varang (Oona Chaplin), whose obsession with war and the dark arts gives a chilling edge to the invading military's deadly artillery.

And there's a bunch of other semi-interesting stuff that's hastily abandoned for the hour-plus Act Three death-and-destruction montage...

In this spoilerific roundtable review of the third film in James Cameron's bafflingly successful trilogy, Fire and Ash, the gang digs into why the (arguably) best and (arguably) final entry may be the strongest, and why that may not be enough to save it from a legacy of, "Hey, remember those big blue alien movies?"

Also, the EMC talks about Cameron's bizarre Anti-AI public service announcement they saw ahead of the early-December press screening.

Support Kicking the Seat on Patreon, subscribe to us on YouTube, and follow us at:

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Show Links

• Watch the Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025) trailer.

• And catch up with our previous review of 2022's Avatar: The Way of Water.

• Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:

  • Keep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at The Establishing Shot and Pipeline Artists.

  • Check out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.

  • 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.

  • Keep up with Annie Banks at The Mary Sue.

    • ...and We Got This Covered.

  • Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.

  • And save your celluloid soul with Dave Canfield’s Substack, "Creature Feature Preacher".

There's a mystery afoot: Why can't Earth's Mightiest Critics stop reviewing Netflix movies?

(Maybe because there are just too many of them to ignore!)

This week, we're back talking about Rian Johnson's latest installment in his Benoit Blanc franchise, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery! Daniel Craig returns as the sly Southern sleuth, as he's roped into investigating a strange death inside a church. The number of suspects and twists are about as ungodly as the crime, and the clock is ticking!

This third chapter in the Knives Out saga has been praised as perhaps the best one yet. But can someone (Ian) who didn't care for the first film and didn't bother with the second (2022's Glass Onion) finally appreciate this outrageous ensemble Whodunnit series--or will Wake Up Dead Man lull him to sleep?

Join us as we sleuth our way through the mystery of this saga's popularity--and take your questions, comments, and SuperChats!

Wake Up Dead Man is now streaming on Netflix!

Support Kicking the Seat on Patreon, subscribe to us on YouTube, and follow us at:

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Show Links

• Watch the Wake Up Dead Man (2025) trailer.

• As mentioned in the show, Ian watched the latest episode of Fr. Edward Looney's podcast, featuring an interview with Wake Up Dead Man Catholic consultant Fr. Scott Bailey.

• Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:

  • Keep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at The Establishing Shot and Pipeline Artists.

  • Check out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.

  • 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.

  • Keep up with Annie Banks at The Mary Sue.

    • ...and We Got This Covered.

  • Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.

  • And save your celluloid soul with Dave Canfield’s Substack, "Creature Feature Preacher".

Forget hot chocolate, fire places, and hugs--Accademia Giallo is heading into holiday break with a Knife of Ice!

Umberto Lenzi's 1972 thriller stars Carroll Baker as Martha, a mute woman who finds herself embroiled in a series of murders in Spain--which the police believe are being committed by a drug-addled Satanist!

To celebrate our spoilerific year-end panel, we're welcoming back author Troy Howarth, who literally wrote the book on Lenzi! Join us as we bid a chilly (and chilling) farewell to 2025.

We'll also take your questions, comments, and suggestions for next year's show!

Support Kicking the Seat on Patreon, subscribe to us on YouTube, and follow us at:

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Show Links

• Watch the Knife of Ice (1972) trailer.

• Order Troy's book on Umberto Lenzi, Make Them Die Slowly!

• AND check out his commentary track on Arrow Video's 4K release of Don’t Torture a Duckling!

• As mentioned in the show, next month sees the return of "January Giallo" to Chicago's historic Music Box Theatre (where they'll be showing a Lenzi film!). Get showtimes, tickets, and more info here.

• Speaking of "January Giallo", flash back to Ian and Brian's 2024 interview with Gialli maestro Sergio Martino!

• Support all of our terrifying teachers' axe-tracurricular activities!

  • Stay studious with Aaron Christensen at Horror101 with Dr. AC!

  • And subscribe to his YouTube channel!

  • If you dare, venture down into Kitley's Krypt with Jon Kitley!

    • And listen to Jon's scary-good podcast, Discover the Horror!

  • Stalk Bryan Martinez in The Giallo Room!

  • Buy J. Blake Fichera's "Scored to Death" Volume I and II on Amazon (mentioned in the show).

    • Catch up with classic episodes of his Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers podcast!

• Continue your education with our "Accademia Giallo" Playlist!

Ian admits defeat...and talks about the recently released Supergirl trailer.

Support Kicking the Seat on Patreon, subscribe to us on YouTube, and follow us at:

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Show Links

• Watch the Supergirl (2026) trailer.

• Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:

  • Keep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at The Establishing Shot and Pipeline Artists.

  • Check out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.

  • 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.

  • Keep up with Annie Banks at The Mary Sue.

    • ...and We Got This Covered.

  • Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.

  • And save your celluloid soul with Dave Canfield’s Substack, "Creature Feature Preacher".

Yep, we're back with another look at a sappy Netflix Awards Season movie--and it's a vanity project about movie stars, no less! Or is there far more to Jay Kelly than one might think?

George Clooney stars as the titular alliterative doppelganger, a mega-successful Hollywood actor facing an identity crisis on the eve of a career tribute in Tuscany. His harried manager (Adam Sandler) and publicist (Laura Dern) can't keep up with Jay's erratic behavior and ramblings about memories that have somehow bled into his waking hours. Add to that two estranged daughters and a life lived as other people, and you have the perfect Noah Baumbach (While We’re Young, Marriage Story) film.

Join us for a look at a spoilerific look at a surprisingly introspective film, and take your questions, comments, and SuperChats!

Oh, and because the studio that's distributing Jay Kelly happens to be Netflix, we may devote some time catching up on the flurry of recent news!

Support Kicking the Seat on Patreon, subscribe to us on YouTube, and follow us at:

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• Instagram

• Facebook

Show Links

• Watch the Jay Kelly (2025) trailer.

• Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:

  • Keep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at The Establishing Shot and Pipeline Artists.

  • Check out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.

  • 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.

  • Keep up with Annie Banks at The Mary Sue.

    • ...and We Got This Covered.

  • Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.

  • And save your celluloid soul with Dave Canfield’s Substack, "Creature Feature Preacher".

Much like the interstellar phenomenon that inspired it, the 3I/ATLAS Film Festival is coming your way!

Sujewa recently launched a mixed streaming/in-person showcase of independent films--some new, some vintage, all waiting to be discovered (or re-discovered)! There's also a brand-new compilation of Ian and Sujewa's ongoing debate about the merits of Hong Sang-soo's filmography! In this preview episode, the guys talk about what movie lovers can expect from the festival, whose "At Home" offerings are available now, and whose theatrical events kick off this Friday (12/12) at Film Noir Cinema in Brooklyn.

Filmmaker and past IndieSeen guest Steve Martini will be on hand to present his semi-autobiographical farce, Bittersweet, and participate in a Q&A.

Next spring will see screenings or Amir Motlagh's Young Ali, Sujewa's upcoming 53 Spaceships, and others. For complete festival details as they drop, including lineup and venue info, click here.

And for tickets to Friday night's Bittersweet event, you can order directly from EventBrite here.

Support Kicking the Seat on Patreon, subscribe to us on YouTube, and follow us at:

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• As mentioned in the show, Sujewa recently interviewed Steve Martini and Casey Makes a Mixtape writer/director Blake Calhoun. Check out that conversation here.

• Support Sujewa's new film project, 53 Spaceships, the latest adventure of Cosmic Disco Detective Rene!

• Watch Sujewa's latest film, Cosmic Disco Detective Rene for free on YouTube!

• Rent The Secret Society for Slow Romance (the predecessor to Cosmic Disco Detective Rene).

• Follow Sujewa on X.

• Check out all the episodes in our “IndieSeen” Playlist!