Every year, there seems to be one (or more) big Oscar contender that completely misses my heart, mind, and understanding. I see them and I don’t understand their universal acclaim and often-overinflated hype. For 2024, the highest of those movies is The Brutalist, starring Best Actor Oscar frontrunner Adrien Brody. He is excellent, but the rest of the movie is not. I was chuffed enough to go on the Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel hosted by Ian Simmons to speak on it.
Read MoreDebuting in the darkest recesses of multiplexes and arthouse theaters this week is Robert Eggers’s monochromatic remake of Nosferatu, paying homage to the 1922 German silent film he and many others love dearly. Ian was ready to talk about it. So, for the special holiday, yours truly appeared as “Santa Critic” from “The North Pole of Elmwood Park” and joined Ian, Jeff York of The Establishing Shot and Pipeline Artists, Annie Banks of The Mary Sue, The Blonde in Front’s Cati Glidewell, and Mike Crowley of You’ll Probably Agree for the dais.
Read MoreDuring the COVID pandemic, the Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel hosted by Ian Simmons spurred a pair of talks about where the history of cinema and movie theaters would be during a time of social distancing, essential workers, and an in-person shutdown of movies. We’ve made it through that era only to land in a 2024 year that is landing under either expectations, corporate bottom lines, or both. Ian invited myself, Mark Krawczyk of Special Mark Productions, and Jeff York of The Establishing Shot to diagnose the present and future of the business.
Read MoreThe Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel hosted by Ian Simmons grabbed the “Earth’s Mightiest Critics” as passengers back to the “Wasteland” world of George Miller’s Mad Max universe with a talk on the new prequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. As always, it was a hoot to Ian, Mark Krawczyk of Special Mark Productions, and Jeff York of The Establishing Shot to discuss how much gas and how many bullets we have for this movie.
Read MoreFor their 154th episode, two apolitical film critics, two American dads, and two special forces teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, stage their own divide for Civil War from the well-regarded director Alex Garland. To do so, they bring in a pair of critical combatants to double the talk and double the bloodshed. The podcast welcomes back frequent guest Cati Glidewell of The Blonde in Front and debuts for your listening pleasure Jeff York of The Establishing Shot and Pipeline Artists. The four draw out their battlelines of agreement and disagreement for a bombastic episode.
Read MoreThe Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel hosted by Ian Simmons reached a huge milestone this week: 1000 episodes! That is rarified air in this creativce community. To celebrate the occasion, Ian brought in a big collection of “Earth’s Mightiest Critics” to discuss the movie he’s seen on the big screen more than any other. The topic was Quentin Tarantino’s seminal indie classic Pulp Fiction, turning 30 this year. It was an honor to join Ian, David Fowlie of Keeping It Reel, Cati Glidewell of The Blonde in Front, Mark Krawczyk of Special Mark Productions, Jeff York of The Establishing Shot, and Mike Crowley of You’ll Probably Agree discuss how we like our cinematic burgers and massages.
Read MoreFilm critics are often parents too and, sometimes, one of the perks of the position is being about to bring your children as your guests to an advanced screening. Recently, Ian Simmons of the Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel and I were two film critic parents of many who brought our kiddos for the viewing privilege and bragging rights of seeing the new sequel Trolls Band Together earlier. While our sons did not join the conversation as the “target demographic,” Ian and I had plenty to celebrate and compliment!
Read MoreRecently, I was invited by Ian Simmons of the Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel to join a group conversation on Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. Being one of the few critics giving the film a “Rotten” negative review on Rotten Tomatoes, I figured I would be bringing the piss and smoke to drop the would-be masterpiece down a few rungs. As it turns out, I wasn’t alone on the panel when it came to stern critiques on the movie
Read MoreLast week on the Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel with Ian Simmons was Oppenheimer, one half of 2023 cinema “Barbenheimer” event of the summer. This week, it was Barbie’s turn. First up was Christopher Nolan’s massive Oppenheimer. Things took quite a turn late in the show when the social commentary reared its ugly head between Ian, myself, Jeff York of The Establishing Shot, David Fowlie of Keeping it Reel, and Mark Krawczyk of Special Mark Productions. Enjoy the show and be sure to subscribe to Ian’s channel!
Read MoreAn Indiana Jones movie counts as a special occasion. So is the chance to join Ian Simmons on the Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel for one of his roundtables. Coming off the heels of its opening weekend, “Earth’s Mightiest Critics” got together to talk about Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Ian, myself, David Fowlie of Keeping it Reel, Mark Krawczyk of Special Mark Productions, and Mike Crowley of You’ll Probably Agree reminisce on ups and downs of getting the chance to see Harrison Ford play one of his iconic characters again.
Read MoreThis latest YouTube roundtable for the Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel counts as a special one. After a bold (and wise) self-imposed year-long moratorium, this is the return of host Ian Simmons to comic book movie discussions with “Earth’s Mightiest Critics.” See him tell his story and receive enthusiastic welcomes to talk about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Joining this special comeback with Ian and myself is a full half-dozen big talkers.
Read MoreFellow Chicago critic Jeff York is a delight to talk to on any and all topics, but our movie chats have become truly special. Jeff was able to view and review Kenneth Branagh's remake of Murder on the Orient Express. He's a self-professed fan and cover-to-cover expert on the Agatha Christie source novel and the previously celebrated 1974 film adaptation. His review will do better informative service than mine ever would.
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