After a first showing at this week’s Sundance Film Festival, “Velvet Buzzsaw” has had its wide premiere yesterday on Netflix worldwide. Personally, I loved its bonkers premise, the film can serve both as a recommendation to friends as well as a guilty pleasure. The critics have been positive to mixed – and “bonkers” is a word that pops up often. My favorite review comes from The Verge: “Netflix’s Velvet Buzzsaw feels like Robert Altman’s Final Destination”. Noel Murray wrote for Los Angeles Times: “While the art world caricatures are hardly fresh, there’s a lot about “Velvet Buzzsaw” that’s pretty savvy and even inspired.” Glenn Kenny wrote for the New York Times: “The confident storytelling and the bravura acting – Daveed Diggs, Toni Collette and John Malkovich contribute compelling caricatures – carry Buzzsaw all the way home.” For New York Magazine, Emily Yoshida wrote: “Velvet Buzzsaw is perhaps the first-ever art-world horror satire, but it has the feeling of a bawdy night at a mystery dinner or an anti-Establishment mummers’ play – and I mean this in the most complimentary way possible.” And Leah Greenblatt wrote for Entertainment Weekly: “Gilroy has a lot to say about money, mindless consumerism, and the soul-sucking emptiness of conflating ownership and ego-stroking with self-worth.” While Toni has not participated in the Sundance promotion for the film, she was interviewed by Metro and talked about her character:

It was unusual, smart, funny, dark. But never didactic in its tone. I can’t wait to see it because it could have gone many different ways. The script was beautifully ambiguous in its tone so it was fun to play scenes in several different ways. I think audiences appreciate levity in horror. Everyone gets a chance to come up for air. Gretchen is kind of a nightmare and she was particularly fun to play. But I think she’s ultimately lonely. That was always sobering and lingering in the back of my mind.

Today, two more critics groups – The Seattle Film Critics Society and the St. Louis Film Critics Association – have announced their annual winners, and Toni Collette has won Best Actress by both! Seattle has had Collette paired in the Best Actress category alongside Yalitza Aparicio for Roma, Olivia Colman for The Favourite, Regina Hall for Support the Girls and Lady Gaga for A Star is Born, while the St. Louis’ Best Actress category included Colman, Gaga, Charlize Theron for Tully and Glenn Close for The Wife. For the Academy Awards, most critics have the performances by Close, Colman, Gaga and Melissa McCarthy looked – although none of them, with the exception of Colman, have won any critics awards. The fifth spot seems poised to be taken by Emily Blunt, as a late player to the game with Mary Poppins Returns. If you have a look at the Academy’s love for musical and dismay for horror, it’s not really playing into Collette’s cards. But here’s hoping. With most awards seasons being horribly predictable, at least there’s something to look forward to when their nominations are announced in January. P.S. This is probably the last update for 2018, unless something incredible happens, which is probably not the case, so enjoy your Holidays everybody, have a great time and see you all in 2019! Frederik

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) announced today the nominees for the 24th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards. Their nominations are always a curious case, as they have been criticised in the past to nominate people on their buzz, and getting a full house. This year, they made the strange decision to give out seven slots for Best Actress, but Toni’s in, so who cares :-) She shares the category with Yalitza Aparicio for Roma, Emily Blunt for Mary Poppins Returns, Glenn Close for The Wife, Olivia Colman for The Favourite, Lady Gaga for A Star Is Born and Melissa McCarthy for Can You Ever Forgive Me? – so, basically everyone who’s in talk for Best Actress anyway. “Hereditary” has received a second nomination for Best Sci-Fi or Horror Movie alongside Annihilation, Halloween, A Quiet Place and Suspiria. The winners will be revealed at the star-studded Critics’ Choice Awards gala, broadcast live on The CW Network on Sunday, January 13, 2019 from 7:00 – 10:00 pm ET (delayed PT).

The Chicago Film Critics Association has announced its nominations today, and “Hereditary” is featured in three categories: Best Picture (!), Best Actress for Toni Collette and Most Promising Filmmaker for Ari Aster. In the Best Picture category, the other nominated films are The Favourite, First Reformed, Roma and A Star is Born, while Collette “competes” with Yalitza Aparicio for Roma, Regina Hall for Support the Girls, Lady Gaga for A Star is Born and Melissa McCarthy for Can You Ever Forgive Me? The CFCA will announce its winners during their year-end awards dinner to be held on the evening of December 8, 2018. Follow @ChicagoCritics on Twitter for the real-time announcements.

Two more gongs for Toni’s shelf. The Detroit Film Critics Society named her Best Actress for “Hereditary”,while also announcing the five nominees in the category – alongside Collette there were Olivia Colman (The Favourite), Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade), Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born) and Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?). Then, the Australian Empire Film Awards have named Toni their Best Aussie Actress for “Hereditary”, while the Best Actress award went to Lady Gaga. Congratulations!

And another nomination for Toni. The Washington DC Area Film Critics Association has announced its slate of nominations yesterday (and will announce the winners tomorrow). Toni Collette has received a Best Actress nomination alongside Glenn Close (The Wife), Olivia Colman (The Favourite), Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born) and Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?). Wouldn’t that sound like a nice Oscar line-up as well? “Hereditary” received a second nomination for Milly Shapiro in the category for Best Youth Performance. Next up are the Golden Globe nominations next Thursday – so let’s see if Toni’s in the running for the “big awards” next year. Updated on Dec 3: The Washington DC Area Film Critics Association’s Best Actress award went to Lady Gaga.

Best Actress:
Glenn Close (The Wife)
Toni Collette (Hereditary)
Olivia Colman (The Favourite)
Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born)
Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)

Best Youth Performance:
Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade)
Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie (Leave No Trace)
Milly Shapiro (Hereditary)
Millicent Simmonds (A Quiet Place)
Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give)