EVERY MOVIE HAS A LESSON

In my social circles, I tend to be the “movie guy” that offer suggestions on what to see, both new and old, when it comes to movies. It’s a fun rarity when I get to do that with a fellow movie critic. With the arrival of the new Rebecca starring Lily James and Armie Hammer, it created an opportunity for friend Ian Simmons of the Kicking the Seat podcast to watch both Netflix’s remake and the revered Alfred Hitchcock classic. I nudged him into this one and it made for a good conversation. We cover a bit of both of them here on his podcast and YouTube channel. Enjoy!

Throughout 2020, I’ve had the pleasure of being invited on Ian Simmons’ website “Kicking the Seat” to contribute to his year-long “Reelpolitik” series. Leading up to the hotly anticipated national election this November, Ian has been pulling aside classic films that exemplify politics with possible parallels to our present state today. This school teacher loves to talk on that kind of level. For my fourth appearance, Ian and I dive deep into Elia Kazan’s A Face in the Crowd from 1957, a punchy political satire starring a then-little known Andy Griffith in a shocking role far different than his future career peaks. Enjoy our discussion in podcast and video forms below!

Way back in March, Ian Simmons and I put some Skype video time on his “Kicking the Seat” channel to talk about the 1998 Disney animated film Mulan. The two of us thought we’d be seeing the new live-action re-imagining on the big screen in a matter of weeks. Well, then came the COVID pandemic. Niki Caro’s Mulan stood to be delayed indefinitely only to magically get tabbed as an extended PVOD option for this September. Ian and I jumped at the chance to finish the circle and we brought David Fowlie of “Keeping it Reel” to chime in as a third. Enjoy this YouTube presentation!

Twice now in the same month since a multi-month hiatus of scheduling, Ian Simmons was able to assemble the fabled “Earth’s Mightiest Critics” on his Kicking the Seat podcast for a brand new superhero film: Netflix’s Project Power. Myself, David Fowlie of Keeping It Reel, and Emmanuel Noisette of E-Man’s Movie Reviews popped our pills with Ian to put our buzz into the exploits of Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Dominique Fishback. Enjoy our thorough podcast chat linked below via Stitcher!

For the first time since Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) and for the first time since the COVID-19 quarantine, Ian Simmons was able to assemble the fabled “Earth’s Mightiest Critics” on his Kicking the Seat podcast for a brand new comic book film. No, it’s not Black Widow from the MCU or Wonder Woman 1984 for the DCEU. Those ports are delayed and closed. We shine a light on the Netflix hitter The OId Guard based on Greg Rucka’s graphic novel that ran on the Image Comics imprint. Ian led myself, David Fowlie of Keeping It Reel, and Emmanuel Noisette of E-Man’s Movie Reviews for a lively dais! For those keeping score, this was my 40th appearance on Ian’s program!