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 Review: “Elio”

A colorful space adventure as energetic as it is fleeting

Elio and Glordon space out.

Why, oh why, does Pixar/Disney feel the need to kill off parents? Don’t worry, this fact is spoiled within the first few lines of the new Pixar film, Elio, a quick and colorful space adventure with an underlying message about self-worth. Killing off one or both of a protagonist’s parents is a common plot device in Disney films, dating back to Bambi, and including Finding Nemo, The Lion King, Frozen, Dumbo, Onward, Lilo & Stitch, and the list goes shockingly on and on. Some stories benefit from the emotional gravity of a deceased (or otherwise missing) parent(s), but in the case of Elio, plot points feel like forced emotional manipulation. Let’s ignore the parent debacle for now, because Elio remains a sci-fi adventure filled with fun alien characters and creative visual worlds, even when the story feels underbaked. Continue reading “Film Review: “Elio””