Film Feature: Carrie and Chad Pick the 2024 Oscars

Film critics Carrie and Chad on who will – and who should – win the 96th Academy Awards

The 96th Academy Awards air tomorrow, Sunday, March 10th, on ABC at a new, earlier 4:00 pm PST start time. Friendly reminder to fellow film fans: don’t forget to spring forward for daylight savings, or you might miss the start of the show! Below, Spinning Platters film critics Carrie Kahn and Chad Liffmann share their predictions and thoughts for the major categories. Although we feel smug when our picks win, we don’t mind some upsets to keep things interesting! You can print your own ballot here. Good luck to all!

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Film Feature: Carrie Picks the 2023 Oscars

Who will – and who should – win the 95th Academy Awards

The 95th Academy Awards air tomorrow, Sunday March 12th, on ABC at 5:00 pm PST (Don’t forget to spring forward so you don’t miss the beginning!). Tune in to see not only who will take home Oscar gold, but also how host Jimmy Kimmel will handle the elephant in the Dolby Theater – last year’s infamous Will Smith/Chris Rock moment, AKA the Slap Heard ‘Round the World. Whether we get any similar jaw-dropping moments this year is anyone’s guess, but, in the meantime, there’s always your good old-fashioned Oscar pool to keep you entertained. See how your predictions line up with mine, below:

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Film Feature: Carrie Picks the 2022 Oscars

Who will – and who should – win the 94th Academy Awards

The 94th Academy Awards air tonight, Sunday, March 27th, on ABC at 5:00 pm PST. After a pandemic pause last year, I’m back this year to share my predictions — and hopes — for the major categories. The show could pique more interest this year, since the controversial decision was made to shorten the program by moving eight of the 23 categories off screen. Protests may happen, and hosts Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes are sure to have some pointed commentary. Tune in to see how it all plays out, and to see close I (and you!) get to picking the winners.

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Film Feature: Carrie and Chris Pick the 2020 Oscars

Film critics Carrie and Chris on who will – and who should – win the 92nd Academy Awards

The 92nd Academy Awards air tomorrow, Sunday, February 9th, on ABC at 5:00 pm PST. Once again, Spinning Platters film critics Carrie Kahn and Chris Piper share their predictions — and hopes — for the major categories. A lot of the winners feel like locks, based on earlier award season wins, but, honestly, we’d rather have some upsets to make for an interesting show then have all our predictions come true. Fingers crossed for some liveliness!

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Film Feature: Carrie and Chris Pick the 2019 Oscars

Film critics Carrie and Chris on who will – and who should – win the 91st Academy Awards

The 91st Academy Awards air this Sunday, February 24th, on ABC at 5:00 pm PST (with the requisite pre-show fashion assessments starting hours before). As they did last year, Spinning Platters film critics Carrie Kahn and Chris Piper share their predictions – and hopes – for the major categories.  Guild awards – often harbingers of Oscars to come – have been all over the map this year, so there may actually be some genuine surprises. Tune in on Sunday to see how things play out, and to find out if we correctly read the minds of Academy voters.

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Film Feature: Carrie and Chris Pick the 2018 Oscars

Film critics Carrie and Chris on who will – and who should – win the 90th Academy Awards

The 90th Academy Awards air this Sunday, March 4th on ABC at 5:00 pm PST (pre-show festivities start well before, if you want to weigh in on Oscar fashions). Spinning Platters film critics Carrie Kahn and Chris Piper share their predictions – and hopes – for the major categories, and discuss their reasoning for six of the biggest categories in the podcast below. Will there be another Moonlight/La La Land fiasco? Tune in on Sunday to find out – and to see how we – and you – do on the big night! 

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Film Feature: Carrie and Chad Pick the Oscars

Film critics Carrie and Chad on who will – and who should – win the 87th Academy Awards

The 87th Academy Awards air this Sunday, February 22nd on ABC at 5:00pm PST (red carpet coverage begins at 4:00, if you want to dish on fashion highs and lows). There are some tight races this year – Best Picture and Best Actor are especially hard to call. Here are Carrie and Chad’s predictions – and hopes – for the major categories:
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Film Feature: Carrie and Chad Pick the Oscars

Film critics Carrie and Chad on who will – and who should – win the Oscars

The 86th Academy Awards air this Sunday, March 2nd on ABC at 5:00pm PST (red carpet coverage starts at 4:00). Here are Carrie and Chad’s predictions – and hopes – for the major categories:

BEST PICTURE:

Nominees: American Hustle/Captain Phillips/Dallas Buyers Club/Gravity/Her/Nebraska/Philomena/12 Years a Slave/The Wolf of Wall Street
Carrie: Will Win: 12 Years a Slave; Should Win: Nebraska
Chad: Will Win: 12 Years a Slave; Should Win: Her

Oscars 2

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Show Review: A Night at the Oscars with the SF Symphony

A classy evening, complete with film classics.

As God is my witness, I’ll never listen to film score the same way again!

On Saturday, Feb. 15th, just two weeks before the 86th Academy Awards, the San Francisco Symphony hosted a night that celebrated a handful of iconic scenes from some of the very first, and most beloved, best musical score Oscar winners and nominees.  Showcasing films as early as The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) to as late as Ben-Hur (1959), the packed audience at Davies Symphony Hall marveled at fully restored 35 mm prints from six classics of cinema, including Gone with the Wind (1939), Citizen Kane (1941), An American in Paris (1951), and finally, The Wizard of Oz (1939), all the while enjoying the talented San Francisco orchestra drive through the scenes with scores ranging from bombastic to haunting to whimsical.

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Spinning Platters Interview: Glenn Close on “Albert Nobbs”

Glenn Close in ALBERT NOBBS

Glenn Close has long been perceived as an intimidating woman, which likely stems from a number of factors. Maybe it’s because of her unhinged work in the iconic role of Alex Forrest, the psychotically unstable mistress who will not be ignored, in the ’80s landmark Fatal Attraction. It could be due to her impossibly imperious turn as the scheming, vicious Marquise de Merteuil in Stephen Frears’ Dangerous Liaisons. The under-21 set likely grew up cowering from her scenery-chewing Cruella De Vil in the live-action 101 Dalmations. Not even the small screen has been safe from Close’s fire-breathing intensity, whether it be her hugely acclaimed work on The Shield, or her two-time Emmy-winning turn on Damages as Patty Hewes, the ferocious litigator who will stop at nothing — nothing — to win a case. So even though Close is currently promoting what is arguably the least threatening character she has ever played, this does not necessarily make her more comfortable to be around. At least not when she turns the tables during our interview and begins grilling me about my thoughts on her Oscar-nominated new film, Albert Nobbs.

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