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 Noé, Rachel Brosnahan, Amy 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.

Ep956: Spotlight India: DUNKI (2023)

Ep956: Spotlight India: DUNKI (2023)

Ian Simmons

We're closing out 2023 in style with a LIVE "Spotlight India" review of Rajkumar Hirani's latest blockbuster dramedy, Dunki!

In his third film of 2023, Shah Rukh Khan stars as Hardy, a former soldier who tracks down the family of the man who saved his life--and winds up helping smuggle his sister and her friends from India to London. This decades-spanning love story is also a harrowing look at the many faces and attitudes of global immigration.

Join Ian and Shashwat as they break it all down in KtS's last livestream of 2023!

Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!

Show Links

  • Watch the Dunki trailer.

  • Watch Ian and Shashwat's review of Hirani's 3 Idiots.

  • Watch Shashwat's documentary, Breaking Barriers, on the IIT Madras BS Film Society YouTube channel!

  • Watch Shashwat's short films on YouTube (and be sure to subscribe!).

  • Follow IIT Madras BS Film Society on Instagram.

  • And catch up with previous "Spotlight India" episodes.

Ep957: THE COLOR PURPLE (2023) w/ Armond White

Ep957: THE COLOR PURPLE (2023) w/ Armond White
Ep955: AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM (2023) - Round Table Review

Ep955: AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM (2023) - Round Table Review