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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.

Ep374: UPSIDE Downer

Today, the Kicking the Seat Podcast and Keeping it Reel's David Fowlie ring in the New Year with a look at one of its worst movies (yeah, we're calling it this early). Neil Burger's The Upside is a remake of the 2011 French film*, The Intouchables, which centers on the real-life friendship of a quadriplegic multi-millionaire and the ex-con who becomes his caregiver. Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart take over for François Cluzet and Omar Sy, respectively, resulting in the worst kind of broad-comedy art murder.

The guys compare and contrast (mostly contrast) both films, and wrestle with the intellectual ethics of pitting remakes against the movies that inspired them.

Also, Ian talks about Shout! Factory's brand-new Blu-ray release of Joel Schumacher's 1999 thriller, 8MM, starring Nicolas Cage and Joaquin Phoenix!

Episode 374 is just about done with Hollywood!

*Astute listeners will notice that we get the release date wrong in at least two instnaces!

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Ep375: In Case of Emergency, Break GLASS

Ep373: Don't Take the Bait!