MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on Patrick Beatty Reviews talking about the 2023 Star Wars Celebration

In climbing this ladder of film criticism and joining national groups, I’ve been so lucky to meet and collaborate with wonderful people beyond my home area of Chicago. Patrick Beatty is one of those outstanding peers. Patrick is a member of the Critics Choice Association, Hollywood Critics Association, and the Utah Film Critics Association, and has been reviewing films for over seven years, both for his own platform, PatrickBeattyReviews.com, and as a broadcast film and TV critic for ABC4 Good Things Utah. I was recently invited by Patrick to come on his YouTube video channel to discuss the recent Star Wars Celebration and the film news overflowing from it.

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the Kicking the Seat Channel for "The Maltese Falcon"

Ian Simmons of the Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel and I are in the lucky positions to be on the press list to receive new disc releases from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. The famous studio is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and rolling out several old classics to 4K-UHD discs for the first time. One of those recent releases with John Huston’s watershed noir The Maltese Falcon starring Humphrey Bogart. Ian asked me to join him as the Casablanca Bogart guy to help see the nuances, importance, and impact of this pioneering noir movie.

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the Kicking the Seat Roundtable for "The Super Mario Bros. Movie"

The roundtables on Ian Simmons of the Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel are the place to be. For the runaway hit, The Super Mario Bros. movie any and all of “Earth’s Mightiest Critics” (and their children) could be occupy one or more sections of audience demographics for the video game-inspired flick. As it turns out, we all fell in different places. Enjoy Ian, myself, Mike Crowley of You’ll Probably Agree, Mark Krawczyk of Special Mark Productions, and Jeff York of The Establishing Shot talking out our mixed feelings.

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the Kicking the Seat's "What If He Doesn't Survive?" The Mandalorian S3E7

This marks a triumphant return to Star Wars content coverage for Ian Simmons of the Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel. The Book of Boba Fett didn’t go over so well. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor have come and gone. Season 3 of The Mandalorian bring back Ian and “Earth’s Mightiest Critics” to the exploits of our favorite babysitting gunslinger. Enjoy The roundtables on Ian Simmons of the Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel are the place to be. For the runaway hit, The Super Mario Bros. movie any and all of “Earth’s Mightiest Critics” (and their children) could be occupy one or more sections of audience demographics for the video game-inspired flick. As it turns out, we all fell in different places. Enjoy Ian, myself, Mike Crowley of You’ll Probably Agree, Mark Krawczyk of Special Mark Productions, and Jeff York of The Establishing Shot talking all things The Mandalorian.

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the Kicking the Seat's "What If He Doesn't Survive?" The Mandalorian S3E3

This marks a triumphant return to Star Wars content coverage for Ian Simmons of the Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel. The Book of Boba Fett didn’t go over so well. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor have come and gone. Season 3 of The Mandalorian bring back Ian and “Earth’s Mightiest Critics” to the exploits of our favorite babysitting gunslinger. Enjoy Ian, myself, Mark Krawczyk of Special Mark Productions, David Fowlie of Keeping It Reel, and Jeff York of The Establishing Shot talking all things The Mandalorian.

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the Kicking the Seat's "What If He Doesn't Survive?" The Mandalorian S3E2

This marks a triumphant return to Star Wars content coverage for Ian Simmons of the Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel. The Book of Boba Fett didn’t go over so well. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor have come and gone. Season 3 of The Mandalorian bring back Ian and “Earth’s Mightiest Critics” to the exploits of our favorite babysitting gunslinger. Enjoy Ian, myself, Mike Crowley of You’ll Probably Agree, David Fowlie of Keeping It Reel, and Jeff York of The Establishing Shot talking all things The Mandalorian.

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the Kicking the Seat YouTube roundtable talking "Cocaine Bear"

Let the record show that Ian Simmons of the Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel is not a cocaine user… at least that we know of! However, we’ve got a hot new movie where a black bear in Georgia can’t get enough of the great Nose Candy. History had that bear ingest 75 pounds of coke. Audiences get to ingest far more pounds of Ian and “Earth’s Mightiest Critics” to talk about Cocaine Bear. Enjoy Ian, myself, Mark Krawczyk of Special Mark Productions, David Fowlie of Keeping It Reel, and Jeff York of The Establishing Shot snorting and chortling hard for Cocaine Bear.

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the Kicking the Seat's "What If He Doesn't Survive?" The Mandalorian S3E1

This marks a triumphant return to Star Wars content coverage for Ian Simmons of the Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel. The Book of Boba Fett didn’t go over so well. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor have come and gone. Season 3 of The Mandalorian bring back Ian and “Earth’s Mightiest Critics” to the exploits of our favorite babysitting gunslinger. Enjoy Ian, myself, Annie Banks of Chuck Load of Comics, David Fowlie of Keeping It Reel, and Jeff York of The Establishing Shot talking all things The Mandalorian.

AWARDS: Winners for the Inaugural HCA Creative Arts Awards and the 6th Annual HCA Film Awards

The Hollywood Critics Association announced this weekend the complete list of winners for their Inaugural HCA Creative Arts Awards and the 6th Annual HCA Film Awards. The HCA Creative Arts Awards and the HCA Film Awards were held at The Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA, and comedian Tig Notaro hosted the latter ceremony. Yours truly is a proud member of the HCA.

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the Kicking the Seat YouTube roundtable talking "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania"

MY 100TH GUEST APPEARANCE ON KICKING THE SEAT PROGRAMMING!

As many of you loyal followers may know, friend-of-the-page Ian Simmons of the Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel has been on a year-long moratorium from comic book movies and shows. It has spanned since last May with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. At many times since then, I can’t blame him and envy him. His one caveat was watching things his son wanted to watch. That’s what brings him to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Oh, the woes of being a good parent and a cool dad!

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on "Manly Movies" Podcast talking the manliest movies of 2022

J.B. Huffman is a voracious movie fan who has a temperament for examining and celebrating all forms of masculinity. As a fellow father, those stories and archetypes grab him the most to the point where he decided to make a podcast series dedicated to the movies that hit us dads. Welcome to Manly Movies! Like all good men, he doesn’t do anything half-ass. I was honored to participate as J.B.’s guest to share our Top 10 lists of the manliest movies of 2022.

Media Appearance, Podcast, Social Media, SPECIAL, 2020Don ShanahanFebruary 15, 2023AMC River East 21Podcast, Manly Movies, J.B. Huffman, Best of 2022Comment

AWARDS: Winners of the 2nd Annual North American Film Critics Association Awards

The second year of the North American Film Critic Association winners are here. On Monday, January 9th, the team got together and voted LIVE on The Drive-In Podcast YouTube channel to determine who would take home the biggest prizes of the year. Yours truly is a new voting member of the NAFCA, and it was a pleasure to be a part of the wild banter of this live voting party.