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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.

Ep570: POWER Outage

Ep570: POWER Outage

Ian Simmons
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Today, the Kicking the Seat Podcast once again summons Earth’s Mightiest Critics to review a new Netflix comic-book movie. But there’s a twist: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman’s Project Power isn’t actually based on a comic book!

The film stars Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Dominque Fishback as New Orleans residents combating a dangerous new street drug that grants users random superpowers…for five minutes. Ian enjoyed the movie, which he considers flawed but oddly fresh, and faced some hearty opposition from Keeping it Reel's David Fowlie, Emmanuel Noisette of EMan’s Movie Reviews, and Don Shanahan of Every Movie Has a Lesson. This spoiler-filled deep dive into all things Project Power is a CGI slug-fest all its own!

Also, Ian reviews the new Cold War era sci-fi thriller, Sputnik, which is now available On Demand and on the big screen at the Music Box Theatre this weekend! And you can watch Ian’s interview with director Egor Abramenko on YouTube right now!

Episode 570 is a jagged little pill!

Show Guide:

  • Intro Music: 0:00 - 0:14

  • Intro: 0:14 - 1:49

  • Sputnik Review: 1:23 - 5:03

  • Intro (Ct’d): 5:03 - 6:17

  • Project Power Trailer: 6:17 - 8:55

  • Project Power Discussion: 8:55 - 1:02:12

  • Outro Music: 1:02:12 - 1:02:27

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Ep571: Late Screening: Do Your Homework in the Dark

Ep571: Late Screening: Do Your Homework in the Dark
Ep569: Friday the 40th Part 8: Cruise Control

Ep569: Friday the 40th Part 8: Cruise Control