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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.

Ep879: Late Screening: SCARFACE (1983)

Ep879: Late Screening: SCARFACE (1983)

Ian Simmons

Ian and Cole are a little late with the latest "Late Screening", but they come roaring back with a 40th anniversary review of Brian De Palma's Scarface!

This 1983 (loose) remake of Howard Hawks and Richard Rosson's 1932 gangster film centers on Tony Montana (Al Pacino), an ambitious Cuban criminal who connives, claws, and kills his way from the Miami refugee ghetto to the very heights of the American Dream (as seen through the cracked and critical lens of screenwriter Oliver Stone).

In this spoilerific deep dive, the guys look past the quotes and body count to figure out how a movie that so heavily influenced pop culture and informed subsequent crime pictures could also be boring to a first-time viewer in 2023--and whether or not Ian might help change the mind of said first-time viewer, who is entirely hypothetical and does not at all appear on camera as his guest!

And, yes, they address some of the controversies surrounding the film, including its early criticisms for over-the-top violence and profanity, and concerns over the portrayal of cultural stereotypes.

Show Links

  • Watch the Scarface trailer.

  • Read Cole's article on animation, "Why Do People Still Balk at Animation and How Can We Change Their Minds?" at Tor.com (referenced in the show).

  • Keep up with all of Cole's literary goings-on at his website.

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

Ep880: COOL HAND LUKE (1967) - Round Table Review

Ep880: COOL HAND LUKE (1967) - Round Table Review
Ep878: Accademia Giallo: The Black Belly of The Tarantula (1971)

Ep878: Accademia Giallo: The Black Belly of The Tarantula (1971)