Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
Hello! It’s your favorite procrastinating music blog here to present you with… THE LAST TOP ALBUMS OF 2023 LIST! I know everyone else is trying to be first. But the one you remember best is the last one you read, and this is probably the best list anyway. It’s also only 10 records, so you can really sink your teeth into it.
Here’s what you’ve been waiting for: my 2023 cinematic favorites! You can also check out fellow film critic Chad Liffmann’s list here to compare and contrast and see who you agree with more. Will Oscar voters agree with us? We’ll find out when the nominations are announced on January 23rd!
Continue reading “Film Feature: Carrie’s Top 10 Films of 2023”
By The Spinning Platters Editorial Team
Good news, everyone! Just like every other year, Spinning Platters is publishing the LAST top albums of the year list you’ll be reading. Our entire team has been listening to each other’s favorite records, no matter how painful it can get, and we’ve voted on our 10 favorite albums of 2022! Without further adieu, here we go: Continue reading “Spinning Platters’ Top 10 Albums of 2022”
2021 was a good year for movies, and not much else. The box office, and inevitably the upcoming Oscars ceremony, won’t be evident of such, but the quality of filmmaking and storytelling this year was noteworthy. As I began constructing my Top 10 Films of the Year, I realized that not only was it challenging to narrow it down, but there were a handful of appropriate film pairings — equal in stature, themes, and style. While I admit this list is somewhat a cop out, here’s my Top 10 Double Features of 2021 (all released after the 2021 Oscar ceremony on April 26th). I do believe they represent the best films that I’ve seen released this year:
This ‘New York song and dance’ double feature is an obvious duet. On the positive side, both films surprised audiences (and critics) with an abundance of colorful energy, and on the flip side, both films feature male leads with some troubling choices in their personal lives. In any other year, or perhaps ten years ago, these two films would be atop the box office and Oscar predictions, especially the one where Steven Spielberg directs his first musical that is an adaptation of another movie that won Best Picture. This year they’ll both have to settle for being two overflowing-with-life musicals that will become more and more appreciated over time.
Continue reading “Film Feature: Chad’s Top 10 (Double Feature) Films of 2021”
After having to watch the bulk of our films from our living rooms in 2020, the slow but sure return to cinemas in 2021 was more than welcome. And the year rewarded us with many Top 10 list worthy contenders. I’ve narrowed mine down to the list below. You can also check out fellow film writer Chris Piper’s list here, as well as my 2020 list here. Now stop reading lists, and go seek these out!
Continue reading “Film Feature: Carrie’s Top 10 Films of 2021”
2021 in American cinema was remarkable in how it seemed so… normal. Whatever the numbers say, my feeling was that the year started a little slowly, then found its footing around March, then kicked into something like a normal gear over the summer. As fall approached, and it seemed to me more theaters reopened, a slate of films pretty much like those in 2019 awaited. Winter seemed to bring somewhat larger than normal crop of smaller-budget films, and here we are, at the end of the year with a number of solid films released, awards season in full swing, and waiting for Oscar noms in just over a month.
So here are my top 10 films of 2021. See these 10 films in any order you want, preferably in the theater, but on your couch if you must. Here’s hoping for more of more of the same in 2022. Continue reading “Film Feature: Chris Piper’s Top 10 Films of 2021”
Thinking back on the year in movies, “unusual” and “complicated” might be 2020’s most fitting descriptors. Yes, we’ve had plenty of content to watch, thanks to streaming services, and plenty of time at home to view it all, but COVID-19 cancelled the multiplex experience. Watching movies at home, without the excitement of the big screen and a crowd of fellow film-lovers nearby, just wasn’t as satisfying, which is why the number of films I reviewed this year dwindled sharply. That said, I did watch enough to pull together my annual Top 10 Best Films of the Year. And a unique year requires a unique Top 10 list: hence my first ever Haiku Top 10! I hope each of these 17 syllable snippets (and their trailers!) will steer you toward checking out these films, each of which moved, inspired, and stuck with me this year. Here’s to a return to in-person cinema in 2021! (And if you’re curious about what was on my list last year, you can check that out here.)
Continue reading “Film Feature: Carrie’s Top 10 Films of 2020”
By The Spinning Platters’ Editorial Team
2019 was an insane musical year… If I traveled back to 2000 and told me that Trent Reznor would have writing credit on the longest running #1 single of all time, and that song was a duet between a 20 year old rapper and Billy Ray Cyrus that won a CMA award, I’d think you were insane. (BTW: I just watched the video to this song for the first time, and it’s pretty wonderfully weird) The insanity is a good thing, and our top 10 of the year ended up being our most eclectic one yet!
#10 Pony / Orville Peck Continue reading “Spinning Platters’ Top 10 Albums of 2019”
Spinning Platters Film Editor Carrie Kahn shares her ten favorite films of 2017, presented in descending rank order. You can also check out her list from last year here.
Continue reading “Film Feature: Carrie’s Top 10 Films of 2017”
By The Spinning Platters Staff
2017 may go down as one of the worst years in recorded history. In fact, I’m almost 100% certain of that. However, the best art is created out of strife, and 2017 yielded an especially passionate crop of records. So, without further adieu, here is Spinning Platters’ Top 10 records of 2017, as selected and voted on by our entire team:
