Author: Carrie Kahn

Moving from the arthouse to the multiplex with grace, ease, and only the occasional eye roll. Proud member of the San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle.

Film Feature: 68th SFFilm Festival Preview #2

The 68th San Francisco International Film Festival opens today, Thursday, April 17th, and will run through Sunday, April 27th with screenings at San Francisco’s Marina and Premiere (Presidio) theaters and at Berkeley’s BAMPFA. You can browse the complete Festival program here, and below we highlight four films worth seeing: two documentaries and two features. And check out our previous preview post here for more tips on best bets. See you at the Fest! Continue reading “Film Feature: 68th SFFilm Festival Preview #2”

Film Review: “Sacramento”

 New road trip movie goes nowhere

Glenn (Michael Cera, l.) and Rickey (Michael Angarano) take an impromptu road trip from Los Angeles to Sacramento.

Bay Area viewers may wince when they hear a character refer to San Francisco as “San Fran” in the new movie Sacramento, but that head-shaking tidbit is the least of this odd indie film’s problems. The second feature film from writer, director, and actor Michael Angarano (Minx; This is Us), Sacramento is an uninspired and mostly forgettable picture, saved only by an excellent, layered performance from the always reliable Michael Cera.
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Film Review: “Freaky Tales”

Oakland and Berkeley real stars of fantastical  ’80s period piece

A crowd of punk music fans prepares to defend Berkeley’s 924 Gilman.

I’m not sure how well Freaky Tales will play in middle America, but for those of us who live or grew up in the Oakland area–especially in the late 1980s–the movie is like our own personal valentine. Weird, wild, and more than a little crazy, the Oakland and Berkeley-set film is a rousing ode to Mayor Lionel Wilson’s Oakland, with its attendant complex mix of charm, edge, creativity, and simmering racism and misogyny. 
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Film Review: “Bob Trevino Likes It”

Bob Trevino Likes It, and so will you 

Bob Trevino (John Leguizamo) and Lily Trevino (Barbie Ferreira) get to know each other after meeting on Facebook.

Bob Trevino Likes It is the first movie I’ve seen this year to make my 2025 Top 10 Films contender list, and no matter what else comes out this year, I’m going to reserve a spot for this exceptional picture. After garnering a slew of film festival nominations and awards, including winning both the Grand Jury prize and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at last year’s SXSW Festival, Bob Trevino Likes It is now showing in theaters. You shouldn’t miss it. 
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Film Review: “Black Bag”

Some fun to be had in intricate spy thriller 

George (Michael Fassbender) and Kathryn (Cate Blanchett) are a married couple with secrets.

If you decide to go see Black Bag, here’s a word of advice: see a matinee after a good night’s sleep and a large cup of coffee. You’ll need to be fully alert and engaged to follow this twisty, talky spy thriller. Whether or not you take that as a recommendation depends on your tolerance for convoluted but highly stylized, aesthetically pleasing espionage tales. Continue reading “Film Review: “Black Bag””

Film Feature: Carrie and Chad Pick the 2025 Oscars

Film critics Carrie and Chad on who will – and who should – win the 97th Academy Awards

The 97th Academy Awards air tomorrow, Sunday, March 2nd, on ABC and Hulu at 4:00 pm PST. As always, your faithful Spinning Platters film critics Carrie Kahn and Chad Liffmann share their predictions and hopes for the major categories. You can follow along and print your own ballot here. Good luck to nominees and Oscar pool participants alike!

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Film Review: “Last Breath”

Diving tale drowns in mediocrity

Chris (Finn Cole, l), Duncan (Woody Harrelson, center), and Dave (Simu Liu) prepare for a dangerous underwater assignment.

That a studio exec thought Last Breath might bring in box office dollars is curious. A documentary about the same story, with the same name, by the same filmmaker, came out in 2019. But now, some six years later, in his first feature film, writer/director Alex Parkinson presents a fictionalized version. My guess is that Parkinson wanted to try his hand at feature films, and probably felt that using a story with which he was already familiar would be an easy route into the genre. Unfortunately for us, Parkinson’s maiden attempt at dramatizing previously covered real-life material falls flat.
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Film Review: “Three Birthdays”

Three birthdays add up to one bad movie

Married couple Kate (Annie Parisse) and Rob (Josh Radnor) discuss their future.

Three Birthdays, an indie that played a few small film festivals in 2023 and 2024 is now available to stream, and that it didn’t get wider distribution is no surprise. Director Jane Weinstock and writer Nevin Schreiner seem to have taken their inspiration from The Ice Storm, Ang Lee’s 1997 award-winning tale of 1970s suburban ennui. But Three Birthdays is no Ice Storm, and its cringey premise and sophomoric script certainly don’t merit a recommendation. Continue reading “Film Review: “Three Birthdays””

Film Review: “Suze”

Canadian indie is a feel-good delight

Suze (Michaela Watkins) forms a bond with her daughter’s ex-boyfriend, Gage (Charlie Gillespie).

With the air waves dominated by the Super Bowl this weekend, you could be forgiven for not noticing a charmer of smart and sweet Canadian indie film that quietly dropped on streaming services on Friday. But with the Big Game now over, seek out Suze, a Canadian film festival gem from 2023 that’s finally available to U.S. audiences. Warm, funny, and engaging, this film deserves a spot at the top of your “must watch” list.
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Film Review: “The Last Showgirl”

Anderson triumphs in sobering tale of an aging showgirl

Shelly (Pamela Anderson) ponders her future after learning her Vegas showgirl gig is ending.

Demi Moore just picked up her first Golden Globe in a 45+ year career for her ferocious performance as an aging, cast-aside starlet in The Substance. That Moore, a 62-year-old former 1980s it girl herself, so deftly inhabits that character speaks to the power of an art-mirroring-life role. Now Pamela Anderson, the 57-year-old former 1990s it girl of Baywatch fame, follows in Moore’s footsteps, turning in an exceptional, unforgettable performance as an aging showgirl in the far less bloody but no less affecting The Last Showgirl.

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