Once again, I'm left to question the wisdom of WB's brain-trust. Twice this year, they've released messy, over-long, big-screen adaptations of DC Comics properties, only to follow up with even longer, slightly more satisfying versions on home video. Suicide Squad was a gargantuan misfire from the word "Go", but the movie benefits from a few well-placed character interactions that add weight to all the superfluous bombast. The world-destroying witch machine still makes zero sense, and deep state puppet master Amanda Waller's rationale for bringing these oddball knives to the meta-human gunfight only becomes more problematic on second viewing. But we get a few more colorful interactions between the titular black-ops criminals; the Harley Quinn/Joker romance is moderately less creepy and far more linear; and a brief but crucial insert finally reveals Midway City's evacuation effort. Omitting this connective tissue in the first place was clearly the call of a madman.
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.