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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.

Ep488: Forego and Forget

Today, the Kicking the Seat Podcast rings in the New Year with a new guest critic: Daniel Nava of Chicago Cinema Circuit! Unfortunately, the movie at hand is Nicolas Pesce's The Grudge.

This remake of a remake is just as uninspired as its release month suggests, and the guys struggle to find positive things to discuss about a movie that drowns in the stinky bath water of its own derivative mean-spiritedness.

Also, Ian invites listeners to check out his just-published "Top 19 Films of 2019", as well as two recent video commentaries on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel.

Episode 488 is a fifth-generation Xerox of itself!

Show Guide:

Intro Music: 0:00 - 0:14

Intro: 0:14 - 2:47

The Grudge Trailer: 2:47 - 4:57

The GrudgeDiscussion: 4:57 - 45:40

Outro Music: 45:40 - 45:55

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Ep489: Sled Hammer

Ep487: It's Christmas Time in the City