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Welcome to Kicking the Seat!

Ian Simmons launched Kicking the Seat in 2009, one week after seeing Nora Ephron’s Julie & Julia. His wife proposed blogging as a healthier outlet for his anger than red-faced, twenty-minute tirades (Ian is no longer allowed to drive home from the movies).

The Kicking the Seat Podcast followed three years later and, despite its “undiscovered gem” status, Ian thoroughly enjoys hosting film critic discussions, creating themed shows, and interviewing such luminaries as Gaspar NoéRachel BrosnahanAmy Seimetz, and Richard Dreyfuss.

Ian is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. He also has a family, a day job, and conflicted feelings about referring to himself in the third person.

The Music Box Presents: THE INVITATION w/ Karyn Kusama!

The Music Box Presents: THE INVITATION w/ Karyn Kusama!

Beginning next Friday, April 15, The Music Box Theatre presents a one-week engagement of director

Karyn

Kusama's

deeply unsettling new thriller,

The Invitation

. I'll review the film soon, but trust me: this is the kind of resonant, deftly crafted horror experience adults have been waiting for.

Starring Logan Marshall-Green, Tammy Blanchard, and John Carroll Lynch,

The Invitation

unfolds over the course of one harrowing evening as a man attends a dinner party in his former home, hosted by his ex-wife and her new husband. Is this gathering meant to heal broken relationships, or are there sinister intentions at play? The answers await at the Music Box, and you'll definitely want to see this with friends--to keep each other from climbing the walls in panic!

To sweeten the deal, Kusama and

Invitation

co-writer Phil Hay will be on-hand for a Q&A following the 7pm screening on opening night! You can learn more about the event and purchase tickets at the

Music Box website

.

Herman Yau to Receive Asian Pop-Up Cinema Pinnacle Award!

Herman Yau to Receive Asian Pop-Up Cinema Pinnacle Award!

KICKING THE SEAT's Top 15 Films of 2015

KICKING THE SEAT's Top 15 Films of 2015