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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.

Ep1101: Thunderbolts* (2025) - Live Roundtable Movie Review

Ep1101: Thunderbolts* (2025) - Live Roundtable Movie Review

Join Earth's Mightiest Critics in witnessing the middle of the end of the MCU: Yes, we're talking Thunderbolts*!

Marvel's answer to DC's Suicide Squad kicked off the summer blockbuster season last weekend. And if this gray, introspective, pseudo-artsy take on superheroics is any indication, moviegoers will be trading in their collectible popcorn buckets for pill box organizers!

In the film, a cast of cast-offs from other MCU movies and TV shows must band together to stop a willpower-gobbling threat that has emerged from a top-secret research lab--while also coming to grips with deep-seated trauma and not strangling their teammates!

Join us for a spoilerific look at enemies, empathy, and that eyebrow-raising asterisk! We also take your questions, comments, and SuperChats!

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Ep1102: Re-Animator (1985) - Live 40th Anniversary Roundtable Review

Ep1102: Re-Animator (1985) - Live 40th Anniversary Roundtable Review

Ep1100: Until Dawn (2025) - Live Roundtable Review

Ep1100: Until Dawn (2025) - Live Roundtable Review