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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.

Ep788: Page2Screen: HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

Ep788: Page2Screen: HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

Ian Simmons

Ian and Cole have officially spent half a decade reviewing Harry Potter adaptations in honor of the world-renowned wizard's birthday!

Today the guys examine how David Yates crammed nearly 900 pages of story into just over two hours of film--or rather, didn't.

In one of the most frustrating cases of "film the pretty bits, context be damned", 2007's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix turned the series' most thematically challenging book into its least rewarding movie.

Watch as they revel in the good, mourn the bad, and talk about an Order that might have been. You'll also learn what's on deck for next month, and get a tease for Cole's upcoming national television debut (alright, there's a tease in the "Show Links", too...)!

Show Links:

  • Watch the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix trailer.

  • Keep up with all of Cole's literary criticism at:

  • Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Don't Read the Comments! 8/3/22

Don't Read the Comments! 8/3/22
Ep787: Son of Hammerland: ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. (1966)

Ep787: Son of Hammerland: ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. (1966)