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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 NoéRachel BrosnahanAmy 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.

The KtS Contest: Embarkin' with Bilbo!

UPDATE: This contest has ended. A round of applause for Mark, who wrote:

"I would bring my super bad ass ninja skills. Actually I was already there my ninja skills are that good that no knew I was the one doin all the ass kickin!"

Personally, I'd love to see Peter Jackson's take on Middle Earth Ninjas. Call it, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey to the Hospital!

Greetings, fellow travellers!

To celebrate its home video release, Kicking the Seat and Partnershub have teamed up to give one lucky reader the chance to win The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on Blu-ray Combo Pack!

J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic adventure follows the journey of Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an amazing quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild, through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Sorcerers.

From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first of a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

To win the "Embarkin' with Bilbo" Contest, simply answer the following question via Comment Card:

"What special skill would you contribute to Bilbo's dragon-slaying adventure?"

Would you be legendary charmer, known for lulling even the most ferocious beasts into submission? Or would your axe skills give Sauron night terrors? I'm looking for creativity here, and my favorite entry will receive Kicking the Seat's number-four top film of 2012 on Blu-ray Combo Pack (which includes the movie on Blu-ray, DVD, and Ultraviolet Digital Copy)!

Contest closes at 11:59pm on Friday, April 5th, 2013.

In the meantime, feel free to check out The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Blog App below for trailers, quizzes, and a guide to the Creatures of Middle Earth!

Thanks again, and good luck!

All prizes for the "Embarkin' with Bilbo" Contest and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Blog App are provided courtesy of Warner Bros. Prize will be sent via FedEx or UPS. No P.O. boxes, please. Kicking the Seat will contact the contest winner within twelve hours of contest close. If no response is received within twenty-four hours, an alternate winner will be chosen.

The KtS Contest: Share and Tell!

The KtS Contest: I Am an Island!