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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 Noé, Rachel Brosnahan, Amy 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.

Ep627: DRIVEWAYS - Movie review

Ep627: DRIVEWAYS - Movie review

Ian Simmons

Ian and David look at one of 2020's most acclaimed films, Driveways! Andrew Ahn's small-town drama stars Hong Chau as Kathy, a single mother who brings her eight-year-old son, Cody (Lucas Jaye), on a trip to clean out her dead sister's house. Cody meets the lonely, widowed war vet next door, played by Brian Dennehy (in one of his final performances), setting the stage for a friendship that's as unconventional as the film that encompasses it.

In this spoilerific discussion, the guys break down the triumphs and shortcomings of Ahn's film, and its odd relationship to Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino. One of the hosts has seen it three times; the other begrudgingly admits it might be worth a second watch!

Show Links:

Ep628: The Slowdown: BEFORE and After

Ep628: The Slowdown: BEFORE and After
Ep626: Generation SMASH: An Interview with ECHO BOOMERS Director Seth Savoy

Ep626: Generation SMASH: An Interview with ECHO BOOMERS Director Seth Savoy