profile pic ian.jpg

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.

WHAT SHE SAID:THE ART OF PAULINE KAEL

WHAT SHE SAID:THE ART OF PAULINE KAEL

Ian Simmons

Before Siskel, before Ebert, before the Tomatometer, Pauline Kael brought cutting and personal film criticism to the masses. Today, Ian and Keeping it Reel's David Fowlie look at a new documentary called What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael.

Opening on Friday (1/10/20) at Chicago's Gene Siskel Film Center, the movie follows Kael's journey as a struggling writer and single mother in the mid-twentieth century to her controversial dominance of the film-criticism landscape in the 1970's and 80's.

In addition to reviewing What She Said (Spoilers!), Ian and David share their thoughts on where film criticism stands today, and their role as practitioners of this little-understood art form.

If you enjoy this content, please consider subscribing to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel for more commentary and reviews--and leave a "like" and a comment while you're there!

The Slowdown: UNCLE BOONMEE

The Slowdown: UNCLE BOONMEE
Reflections. Goals. Predictions.

Reflections. Goals. Predictions.