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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.

Ep999: Spotlight India: RA.ONE (2011)

Ep999: Spotlight India: RA.ONE (2011)

Ian Simmons

Ian and Shashwat return with a pocket-load of power-ups to review the cutting-edge Shah Rukh Khan film, Ra.One!

Anubhav Sinha's 2011 family action comedy is like a remake of Terminator 2, set in the world of video game development. When a designer named Shekhar (Khan) uses artificial intelligence to create a new fighting game, he inadvertently creates a new life form called "Ra.One" (a variation on the word for "demon"). Ra.One manifests in the real world and pursues Shekhar's family. A protector program also emerges, setting off a path of destruction that causes continents!

In the latest team-up between IndieRise and Kicking the Seat, Ian and Shashwat dig into the reasons Ra.One was not well received on release--but has gained a new appreciation in recent years; why the filmmakers' blatant appropriation of James Cameron's landmark sci-fi blockbuster actually works here; and how Sinha's seamless integration of CGI and practical effects created a moment that made Ian's jaw drop when learning its secrets!

Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!

Show Links

  • Watch the Ra.One trailer.

  • Join the awesome virtual community of filmmaking obsessives at IndieRise!

  • Watch Shashwat's documentary, Breaking Barriers, on the IIT Madras BS Film Society YouTube channel!

  • Watch Shashwat's short films on YouTube (and be sure to subscribe!).

  • Follow IIT Madras BS Film Society on Instagram.

  • And catch up with previous "Spotlight India" episodes.

Ep1000: The Royale Treatment: PULP FICTION (1994) - LIVE Round Table Review

Ep1000: The Royale Treatment: PULP FICTION (1994) - LIVE Round Table Review
Ep998: OCEAN'S ELEVEN (2001) - Movie Review

Ep998: OCEAN'S ELEVEN (2001) - Movie Review