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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.

Ep239: The After Laff

Today, the Kicking the Seat Podcast and Keeping it Reel's David Fowlie get spiritual with a look at two films by David Lowery. Up for discussion are last summer’s remake of Pete’s Dragon, and the decidedly not-family-friendly supernatural relationship drama, A Ghost Story, which opens this weekend.

Both movies tackle nostalgia and loss through fantasy, and the guys find themselves challenged by these distinct manifestations of Lowery’s singular vision. What kept Disney’s Pete’s Dragon from finding a bigger audience? Will moviegoers embrace A Ghost Story’s endurance test of a narrative, or make it abruptly disappear from theatres? And how does Lowery’s work help provide an emotional roadmap in the face of real-life tragedy?

The answers to these questions—plus a mini-review of Shout! Factory’s recently released Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie Blu-ray—await in this very special 239th episode.

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Ep240: When You WISH UPON

Ep238: 2001: A Millennial Odyssey