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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.

Ep1086: Magazine Dreams (2025) - Movie Review

Ep1086: Magazine Dreams (2025) - Movie Review

After two years on various shelves, Elijah Bynum's Magazine Dreams is finally in theaters.

Why did it take so long for the critically acclaimed festival darling to reach the mainstream silver screen? Well, you may have heard of its (former rising) star, Jonathan Majors, and the legal troubles stemming from assault and stalking charges.

But Kicking the Seat believes in "separating the art from the artist", and we're here today to review a film in which Majors stars as a mentally unstable bodybuilder who...stalks and assaults people.

So much for objectivity, eh?

In this spoilerific discussion, Ian and David break down the handful of positives, and delve into the far-too-numerous stumbling blocks that led to a split recommendation. They also review the timeline of Magazine Dreams's troubled release and explore critics' ability to truly compartmentalize real-world events when watching movies!

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Ep1087: Here We Go Again: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) / Snow White (2025)

Ep1087: Here We Go Again: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) / Snow White (2025)

Ep1085: Escape from Hammerland: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1962)

Ep1085: Escape from Hammerland: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1962)