Amy Madigan – Spinning Platters

Film Feature: Carrie and Chad Pick the 2026 Oscars

Film critics Carrie and Chad on who will – and who should – win the 98th Academy Awards

The 98th Academy Awards air tomorrow, Sunday, March 15th, live on ABC and Hulu at 4:00 pm PST, with comedian Conan O’Brien returning to host for the second year in a row. As always, our Spinning Platters film critics Carrie Kahn and Chad Liffmann make their major category predictions in the hopes of Oscar pool glory. Try your own luck here, and may the best film fan win!

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Film Feature: Carrie’s Top 10 Films of 2025

With Oscar nominations announced in just a few short weeks on January 22nd, Spinning Platters closes out the year by weighing in with our own Best Films of 2025! Check out fellow critic Chad Liffmann’s Top 20 here, and read on below for my Top 10:

10. BOB TREVINO LIKES IT

Way back in March, I boldly predicted that this understated but powerful film would secure a spot on my Top 10 list. Despite the many outstanding movies that followed since then, I always remembered this well-told, empathetic story about loneliness, unexpected connections, and found family. Released early in the year, the picture seems to have been forgotten at awards time, which is unfortunate. It deserves a wide audience.

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Film Review: “Weapons”

It’s 2:17 am. Do you know where your children are?

Nothing to see here… just young children running into the night at 2:17 am….

Zach Cregger triumphs with Weapons, proving the success of his 2022 critically acclaimed horror movie Barbarian was no fluke. Indeed, the writer/director’s sophomore effort is the better picture. Clever, downright scary, and at times laugh-out-loud funny. Cregger’s new film brings freshness to a glutted genre in need of something new. Continue reading “Film Review: “Weapons””

Film Feature: Carrie’s Top 10 Films of 2019

Top 10 lists are notoriously subjective, of course; one fan’s “best” can easily be another’s “worst.” To be included on my Top 10 Films of the Year list, a film has to do two things: affect me profoundly while watching it, and stay in my thoughts long after the credits roll. Below are my ten favorite films of 2019 that meet that criteria. You can also check out my list from last year here.

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Midnight Music Movies at The New Parkway: Streets of Fire

Streets of Fire plays at The New Parkway in Oakland on Saturday, May 11th at 10:30

Unlike other movies that have entered the canon of “cult films,’ Streets of Fire is actually considered a good movie by some people who judge that sort of thing. But it’s over-the-top nature of the characters, the terrific music, and the combination of Michael Pare and Diane Lane that make this movie absolutely worth seeing. But why should I try to convince you when I can just quote the opening voiceover from the trailer:

You are about to enter a world unlike any you’ve ever seen before. Where rock and roll is king, the only law is a loaded gun, where the beautiful, the brutal, and the brave all meet. In Streets of Fire. Continue reading “Midnight Music Movies at The New Parkway: Streets of Fire”