With the summer movie season started, the live roundtables of “Earth’s Mightiest Critics” have continued in earnest on the Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel hosted by Ian Simmons. Filling the widest theaters for the second week of the month of May was the new trilogy starter Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Come watch Ian, myself, Mark Krawczyk of Special Mark Productions, and Cati Glidewell of The Blonde In Front discuss what all the monkeying around was all about.
Read MoreWith the summer movie season started, the live roundtable of “Earth’s Mightiest Critics” have continued in earnest on the Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel hosted by Ian Simmons. Opening the month of May was David Leitch’s The Fall Guy, starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. Come watch Ian, myself, Jeff York of The Establishing Shot, Mark Krawczyk of Special Mark Productions, and Mike Crowley of You’ll Probably Agree discuss the peaks and valleys of this stuntman springboard.
Read MoreFor their 153rd episode, two star-making film critics, two romantic dads, and two snappy teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, return for the second of two special editorial episodes discussing a topic affecting the state of cinema. This time around, they address the perception of why there aren't true movie stars anymore. Don thinks he knows the missing piece: romance. Our hosts compare the romantic resumes between today's crop of actors and the ones that came before them. The lack of rom-coms and swooning romantic dramas in this blockbuster era has created a generation of one-note stars.
Read MoreThe newest live roundtable for the Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel went to war to not talk about war, but to talk about anti-war in a journalistic war film that’s occaisional true to its vision. Ian, myself, and Mark Krawcyzk of Special Mark Productions drew the lines of the cinematic battlefield to discuss Cival War from Alex Garland. We three had plenty of questions to ask and discussion points to expound on trying to found reasons and implications in this dramatic thriller.
Read MoreFor their 152nd episode, two discerning film critics, two try-hard dads, and two directorial teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, step out for the first of two special editorial episodes about topics relating to the state of cinema. On this show, our two guys talk about auteur backlash happening to supposedly maniacal directors and filmmakers who are said to be trying too hard. They look at what that notion means and where such effort is appropriate and where it is, on the other hand, missing in this day and age.
Read MoreFor their 151st episode, two muy thai film critics, two buns-baring dads, and two bouncer teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, have set the table to talk about Doug Liman's 2024 remake of Road House, starring Jake Gyllenhaal. While comparisons are there to be made between this one and Patrick Swayze's from 1989, we've got two guys who know how to compartmentalize their film history. They know full well no remake erases an original. The fun part is we now get multiplied fun.
Read MoreFor their 149th episode, two space pirate film critics, two mutated dads, and two earthbound teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, continue piloting through the sequel star system of their Alien series rewatch with an episode on 1997's Alien: Resurrection, bringing a cloned Sigourney Weaver two centuries into the future. Is the movie subversive, kinky, weird, fun, all of the above, or none of the above. This one is high on Will's ranks while Don is pondering.
Read MoreThrough small world happenstance, I’ve come to know hosts Mike Osborn and Curtis Menke of the irreverent and laugh-filled podcast “Let’s Talk About Flix.” They are appointment weekly laughs for me and pod I support on Patreon. Mike and Curtis have become two full members of the Chicago Indie Critics group that I co-direct. I was honored to be asked on as the return guest during their “Patreon Picks” month. For that guest’s choice theme, I brought them 2013’s The Way Way Back. Enjoy our chat! Follow their show on podcast platforms and YouTube!
Read MoreFor their 149th episode, two space pirate film critics, two mutated dads, and two earthbound teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, continue piloting through the sequel star system of their Alien series rewatch with an episode on 1997's Alien: Resurrection, bringing a cloned Sigourney Weaver two centuries into the future. Is the movie subversive, kinky, weird, fun, all of the above, or none of the above. This one is high on Will's ranks while Don is pondering.
Read MoreFor their 148th episode, two shaved film critics, two preaching dads, and two imprisoned teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, returned to the sequel galaxy of their Alien series rewatch with an episode on 1992's hotly contested and often-panned Alien 3 directed by a baby David Fincher. Has the movie improved with time? The two share a quizzical discussion on what is normally ranked as the lowest or worst film of the series. You may be surprised how they feel.
Read MoreFor their 147th episode, two hardware-lifting film critics, two prognosticating dads, and two accepting teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, preview the 96th Academy Awards! The Blonde in Front, Cati Glidewell, returns for the podcast's second preview show of Oscar picks and predictions. This week, our three combined critics evaluate Best Director, the two screenplay categories, the four acting categories, and Best Picture. Don't place your Oscar pool bets without our picks.
Read MoreFor their 146th episode, two golden film critics, two speculative dads, and two red carpet teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, are ready for the 96th annual Academy Awards! As with every year, the only way for our guys to break this down is to bring in a real-life golden statuette. Cati Glidewell of The Blonde in Front is back for two episodes to evaluate each and every award. This week, the three cover the under-the-title artistic and technical categories, picking snubs, dark horses, winners, and favorites
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