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 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.

Ep155: Swedish Lemonade / A MAN CALLED OVE

In this week's third (!) installment of the Kicking the Seat Podcast, Ian makes lemons from lemonade after having lost all eighteen minutes of a positively delightful interview with Swedish filmmaker Hannes Holm. Holm's new film, A Man Called Ove (which is distributed by hometown heroes Music Box Films and opens today at the Landmark Century Theatre in Chicago) tells the darkly comedic story of a railroad engineer's repeated attempts to commit suicide after his wife dies.

A Man Called Ove is not only Sweden's entry into the Oscars' "Best Foreign Language Film" category this year, it's also one of Ian's favorite movies of 2016.

So, yes, this is precisely the kind of chat one wants to lose due to a technical error! As luck would have it, Patrick "The Über Critic" McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com had also seen A Mand Called Ove and interviewed Holm, and was willing to talk in-depth about the film.

Note: This riveting and personal conversation contains some spoilers, as well as ambient noise from Rock Bottom Brewery, where it was recorded. Pardon the munching.

Also, Ian reminds listeners of Italian horror composer Fabio Frizzi's appearance next Thursday at the Music Box Theatre, where he'll conduct a very special "Composer's Cut" of Lucio Fulci's The Beyond! October 6 promises to be a can't-miss, one-of-a-kind evening, and you can get tickets and more information at musicboxtheatre.com.

(If you haven't listened to Ian's interview with the maestro, check out Episode 153!)

And don't forget to visit Classic Cinemas Elk Grove the week after, for the next installment of the Critic's Classics Series. On Wednesday, October 12, F This Movie's Patrick Bromley will introduce Wes Craven's landmark horror film, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and host a Q&A after the show!

Episode 155 is an edge-of-your-seat tale of tragedy and redemption, just like the movie it's about!

You can keep up with the latest seat-kicking goodness by following, liking, rating, and subscribing to us on TwitterFacebookiTunes, and Stitcher!

Ep156: Smoke on the Wahlberg

Ep154: Not-So-Endless Summer Nights