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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.

Ep733: There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia: A CHRISTMAS TALE (2008)

Ep733: There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia: A CHRISTMAS TALE (2008)

Ian Simmons

Nothing says "Christmas Eve" like two long-time friends having their first movie fight!

Discussing holiday films has been a favorite tradition for Ian and Pat, but Arnaud Desplechin's 2008 French-language drama, A Christmas Tale, is unlike anything they've reviewed before.

When the dreary, dysfunctional Vuillard family reunites for Christmas dinner, secrets are revealed, age-old animosities flare, and a life hangs in the balance. There've been a million movies with the same premise, but few have served up such unrelenting, brutal "honesty" (Ian calls it "The Family Stone, without the jokes.").

Watch as the guys stake their positions and, in the spirit of the season, try (and try and try) to find some common ground!

Show Links:

Ep734: Hammerland: THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES (1974)

Ep734: Hammerland: THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES (1974)
Don't Read the Comments! 12/22/21

Don't Read the Comments! 12/22/21