Earth's Mightiest Critics love movies about the movies, so this week we're looking back on Joe Dante's 1993 cult classic, Matinee!John Goodman stars as Lawrence Woolsey, a B-movie filmmaker who brings his latest crowd-pleaser (a monster movie about a man crossed with an ant, called "Mant") to a small town theater in Florida--during the Cuban Missile Crisis!Join us for a Mant-tastic round table review, where we'll talk spoilers, nostalgia, and the lost art of in-theater thrills (which may be making a comeback)! We also answer your questions, comments, and SuperChats!Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!Show LinksWatch the Matinee trailer.Order the new Matinee 4K from Shout! Factory.Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:Check out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.Keep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at The Establishing Shot.Get seated with The Blonde in Front!Follow David Fowlie's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.Get educated with Don Shanahan at Every Movie Has a Lesson…...And Film Obsessive...and the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.Keep up with Annie Banks at The Mary Sue....and We Got This Covered.Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.And stir things up with Will Johnson of the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.

What will be left of Ian and David after they review What Remains?Artist and first-time feature filmmaker Ran Huang's drama about "Sweden's first serial killer" is not at all what it seems--both in terms of the real-life events that inspired it, and the way in which he and co-writer Megan Everett-Skarsgård choose to tell the story.In the early 90's, a convicted murderer named Mads Lake (Gustaf Skarsgård) confesses to additional crimes on the eve of his release from a mental institution. This alarming revelation begins a years-long search for clues and burial sites, which traps therapist Anna Rudebeck (Andrea Riseborough) and investigator Soren Rank (Stellan Skarsgård) in a tragic codependency with the most unhinged and unreliable of perpetrators.This spoilerific examination of What Remains finds one critic defending the movie as a fascinating look at broken lives and an even more broken justice system--and another taking issue with its lack of verisimilitude and lack of a need for having been made. In the end, can these friends/colleagues find common ground? And will David ever recommend a movie to Ian that won't cause them to come to virtual blows?Pop some popcorn and find out!What Remains is now playing in theaters and is available ON Demand from VMI Worldwide.Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!Show LinksWatch the What Remains trailer.As mentioned in the show, you can watch a very informative interview with co-writer/director Ran Huang here.And learn more about the real-life case that inspired What Remains here.Speaking of Chicago institutions, here's your reminder that the 11th Chicago Critics Film Festival has taken over the Music Box Theatre! Get your festival passes and tickets now!Plus! Listen to Ian and David's other contentious reviews (mentioned in the show) of:Manchester By the Sea (2016)The Old Oak (2024)Follow David Fowlie's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.

Ian talks with director Joshua John Miller and co-writer M.A. Fortin, whose new film, The Exorcism, is now in theaters.In this spoiler-free discussion, the guys talk about paying homage to one of the greatest horror movies of all time; how to cope when your writing partner is your life partner; and one of the darkest, most sinister forces in Hollywood: studio mandates!Plus: You can read Ian's written review of The Exorcism at Kicking the Seat!Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!Show LinksWatch The Exorcism trailer.

Earth's Mightiest Critics are feeling all the feelings!Yes, Inside Out 2 is upon us and, as happened a few weeks ago, it's time to review another questionably requested follow-up to a 2015 film. Young Riley has officially entered puberty, forcing her antrhopomorphic childhood emotions to contend with a whole new set of sensations--including Anxiety, Ennui, and Envy! Join us as we talk spoilers, sequels, and the summer slog (is it over?)--and take your questions, comments, and SuperChats!Note: All SuperChat proceeds from tonight's livestream will be matched and donated to the Parkinson's Foundation, in honor of Jeff York's mother, Barbara, who passed away last weekend. If you would like to donate directly, please do so by visiting parkinson.orgAnd you can read Jeff's lovely tribute to his mom here.Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!Show LinksWatch the Inside Out 2 trailer.Enjoy some nostalgia by giving a listen to our 2015 review of the original Inside Out!Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:Check out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.Keep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at The Establishing Shot.Get seated with The Blonde in Front!Follow David Fowlie's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.Get educated with Don Shanahan at Every Movie Has a Lesson…...And Film Obsessive...and the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.Keep up with Annie Banks at The Mary Sue....and We Got This Covered.Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.And stir things up with Will Johnson of the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.

Gather 'round for the fight of the century as Earth's Mightiest Critics take on Godzilla Minus One--and each other!Takashi Yamazaki's critically acclaimed, Oscar-winning international sensation is Finally on Netflix, and you won't want to miss this charged-up, nuclear-powered debate.How does Minus One stack up to other Godzilla films--specifically Ishiro Honda's 1954 Gojira? Does heroism matter in action movies? And how many non-Godzilla tangents can we possibly get drawn into, thanks to our overly enthusiastic chat?Find out now and see our responses to your questions, comments, and SuperChats!Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!Show LinksWatch the Godzilla Minus One trailer.Catch up with our recent look at the 1954 Gojira, and its "Americanized" 1956 remake!Get cookin' with our returning special guest, the "Resin Chef" himself, monster-model-maker Bill Gudmundson!Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:Check out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.Keep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at The Establishing Shot.Get seated with The Blonde in Front!Follow David Fowlie's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.Get educated with Don Shanahan at Every Movie Has a Lesson…...And Film Obsessive...and the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.Keep up with Annie Banks at The Mary Sue....and We Got This Covered.Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.And stir things up with Will Johnson of the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.

With nothing new of note in theaters this week, and a cacophony of doomsayers predicting the death of cinema (again), it's time for Earth's Mightiest Critics to assess the landscape and offer some hope--tentative as it may be--for our beloved art form.Join us for a round table discussion about the current state of blockbusters, indies, movie theaters, and streaming services--and our best guesses for the future.We also take your questions, comments, and SuperChats!Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!Show LinksAs a launching point, we look at Matt Zoller Seitz's recent piece for rogerebert.com, in which he proposes ways to get people back to the movies.And catch up with some of our earlier takes on this subject:Looking at 2020's blockbuster slate and their streaming prospects.And the quaint little time capsule that was "Inbreak", where the panel talked about their favorite movies to watch during a pandemic (which, at the time, was limited to "2 weeks to slow the spread")!Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:Check out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.Keep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at The Establishing Shot.Get seated with The Blonde in Front!Follow David Fowlie's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.Get educated with Don Shanahan at Every Movie Has a Lesson…...And Film Obsessive...and the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.Keep up with Annie Banks at Chuck Load of Comics....and MoviewebAnd stir things up with Will Johnson of the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.

Ian, Jeff, and Cati take a leisurely stroll through the mayhem and carnage of In a Violent Nature!In this spoilerific (and highly contentious) review we analyze the good, the bad, the meandering, and the gross of writer/director Chris Nash's arthouse take on the teens-in-the-woods slasher. When a gaggle of drunk Canadian college kids swipes a locket from the burned-out remains of a wooded mining camp, they unleash a vengeful spirit who stalks and eviscerates them during one night of pure hell.(But enough about the pacing!)If you're thinking, "I've seen that movie a hundred times before!"--we assure you, Nash's take is quite different. The question is, will this grisly, pseudo-POV horror film will test your patience or breathe new life into a zombified genre?Watch our inquisitive and cutting commentary, and find out!Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week! http://www.kickseat.com/Show LinksWatch the In a Violent Nature trailer.Support our gregarious guest critics at their various outlets:Get seated with The Blonde in FrontKeep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at The Establishing Shot.…And Pipeline Artists!

So much for summer movie saviors! Warner Bros' Furiosa stalled at the box office opening weekend, making it the weakest Memorial Day Weekend offering in four decades. But does the film deserve to be ignored--or are audiences missing out?Earth's Mightiest Critics scour 2024's wreckage-strewn blockbuster wasteland in search of answers, starting with a round table review of this prequel to 2015's Fury Road.Join us for our fuel-injected findings on Furiosa; our thoughts on a summer blockbuster season that's barely rolled up to the starting line, and your questions, comments, and SuperChats!Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!Show LinksWatch the Furiosa trailer.Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:Check out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.Keep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at The Establishing Shot.Get seated with The Blonde in Front!Follow David Fowlie's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.Get educated with Don Shanahan at Every Movie Has a Lesson…...And Film Obsessive...and the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.Keep up with Annie Banks at Chuck Load of Comics....and MoviewebAnd stir things up with Will Johnson of the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.

Bring plenty of cash, 'cause "Accademia Giallo" is going Dutch with our live round table review of Amsterdamned!In Dick Maas' 1988 thriller, a hard-boiled police detective sets out to capture a gruesome serial killer terrorizing the canals of Amsterdam.Join us as we clog the channel with various skewed angles --and take your questions, comments, and Super Chats!Show LinksWatch the Amsterdamned trailer.In honor of Peter Cushing's birthday, check out Horror 101 w/ Dr. AC's recent round table retrospective of the Hammer Frankenstein films (featuring Ian)!And be sure to pick up your copy of Blake's Scored to Death album (available on CD or the sweet mystery-color vinyl that Ian showed off during the show)!Support all of our terrifying teachers' axe-tracurricular activities!Stay studious with Aaron Christensen at Horror101 with Dr. AC!If you dare, venture down into Kitley's Krypt with Jon Kitley! And listen to Jon's scary-good podcast, Discover the Horror!Get devious with Bryan Martinez's Film Deviant podcast!And check out his YouTube show, The Giallo Room!Buy J. Blake Fichera's "Scored to Death" Volume I and II on Amazon (mentioned in the show).And catch up with classic episodes of his Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers podcast!Continue your education with our "Accademia Giallo" Playlist!

It's hard to believe Pulp Fiction turns 30 this year. It's even harder to believe that there are now one thousand episodes of the Kicking the Seat Podcast!Earth's Mightiest Critics give "The Royale Treatment" to Quentin Tarantino's decade-defining crime/comedy masterpiece. Sure, it's the movie Ian has seen the most times in a theater, but does it hold up three decades on? And what can we learn from this blood-soaked, star-studded indie, when comparing it to modern-day films?Join us for a look back on 3 decades of dancing, adrenaline, and dynamic dialogue--and your questions, comments, and SuperChats!Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!Show LinksWatch the Pulp Fiction trailer.Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:Check out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.Keep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at The Establishing Shot.Get seated with The Blonde in Front!Follow David Fowlie's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.Get educated with Don Shanahan at Every Movie Has a Lesson…...And Film Obsessive...and the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.Keep up with Annie Banks at Chuck Load of Comics....and MoviewebAnd stir things up with Will Johnson of the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.Die-hard KtS fans will know that Pulp Fiction has already made an appearance on the show. You can check out Ian's "Late Screening" review with Cole Rush, from the occasion of the movie's 25th anniversary.And listen to our only other "Royale Treatment" episode to date: a review of Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood!