Kids love the live-action educational show Odd Squad, and the parents of those kids are in for a treat the week of January 18, when Oscar-nominated actress Toni Collette guest stars on the Emmy-winning PBS Kids program. According to Fatherly, from Fred Rogers Productions, and targeted to viewers ages 6-9, Odd Squad follows young secret agents who aim to save the day using math when odd things occur, and their talents are really put to the test when Toni Collette arrives on the scene as a mysterious new villain called The Sand Queen. Fatherly is pleased to share an exclusive clip that features Collette joyfully chewing the scenery as The Sand Queen cackles madly, unleashes swirls of sand, tries to outrun the heroes in a funhouse, and uses a potato sack to ride down a slide. Collette never seems to play the same role twice, as evidenced by credits spanning from Muriel’s Wedding, The Sixth Sense, and I’m Thinking of Ending Things to About a Boy, Knives Out, and Unbelievable. Her previous family-friendly fare – including The Magic Pudding, The Boxtrolls, and Blinky Bill The Movie – has been of the animated variety. Whatever the reason Collette signed on, we’re excited to see her summon the sand – and the fun – on Odd Squad. You can watch a preview clip below, pictures have been added to the photo gallery.

The great joy of running a fansite/archive is to come across a rare video or appearance that I have never seen, or, even better, never even knew existed. Such is the case for this 1996 video of baby-faced Toni and Ben Mendelsohn promoting their film “Cosi” on the Australian talkshow “Hey Hey It’s Saturday”. If found the video courtesy a wonderful fansite on Mr. Mendelsohn, which you should pay a visit :-) The appearance can be found in the video archive, screencaptures have been added to the photo gallery.

The TV industry’s shiniest night of the year, a.k.a. the Primetime Emmy Awards, looked much different this year, given the never-ending pandemic. The ceremony’s host, Jimmy Kimmel, was literally fired up to emcee the festivities again, this time from the mostly vacant Staples Center in L.A., with winners accepting awards remotely, virtually, and digitally. If you tuned in just for Toni, there wasn’t much to see. She was nominated as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for “Unbelievable” alongside Holland Taylor (Hollywood), Margo Martindale (Mrs. America), Tracey Ullman (Mrs. America) and Jean Smart (Watchmen), but “lost” to Mrs. America’s Uzo Aduba, and wasn’t featured by camera during the nominations. The category segment can be watched below and in the video archive.

Reviews for Charlie Kaufman’s “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” have been lifted a week ahead of its Netflix premiere. As of today, the surreal horror thriller sits comfortably at a 90% rating at Rotten Tomatoes with praises across the board for its story and acting. Below is a selection of spoiler-free bits from some of the recent reviews. Additionally, new production stills and a press junket interview with Toni Collette have been added to the archives.

The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney (August 27, 2020)
Toni Collette and David Thewlis, both riveting. The tragic grandeur of [Plemons’] performance and the aching burden of Jake’s secrets creep up on you, just like the chilly intimacy, the confronting stillness of the visuals by Żal, the gifted Polish cinematographer who shot Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida and Cold War. I’m Thinking of Ending Things may ultimately withhold as much as it divulges, remaining open to interpretation, but like the thought lodged in Lucy’s head, it lingers.

Parade, Neil Pond (August 27, 2020)
Plemons, so good in so many things—from TV’s Fargo and Breaking Bad to movies like The Irishman and Game Night—has a boyish face that looks like it was made for hiding something else, probably something devious and unsavory, which serves him well here. Buckley, so hugely impressive as a country singer in the movie Wild Rose (2018) and on HBO’s Chernobyl, is about to wow you again in the new season of Fargo. Already acclaimed as one the most promising young actors in her native Ireland, she plays Jake’s girlfriend (unnamed in the novel) as if Lucy is as confused and clueless as we are. And Collette and Thewlis—you can’t take your eyes off them as they create a three-ring circus of master-class crazy, pulling things into a Twilight Zone-ish madhouse swirl of delirium.

Entertainment Weekly, Leah Greenblatt (August 27, 2020)
Buckley and Plemons are left to carry that water for much of I’m Thinking’s 134-minute runtime, and they’re both fantastically game, infusing the movie’s heady concepts with a naturalism that borders on heroic. Their job, they seem to know, is not to be actors so much as ambassadors to this planet: prisms refracting all the strange marvels contained in Kaufman’s great, jittery brain. In moments that portal is genuinely thrilling, but it can be exhausting, too; like being set down and left to wander, without a compass or a map, in the center of someone else’s dream.

The Chicago Tribune, Michael Phillips (August 27, 2020)
Kaufman’s latest comes to Netflix Sept. 4. (It’ll play a theatrical run in Chicago starting Friday at the Landmark Century Centre.) Before writing about it, I went back and revisited certain scenes near the end of this very free adaptation of Iain Reid’s novel. I wanted to see if I thought I saw what I thought I saw. You’ll know what I mean if you see it, too.

Netflix has released the official trailer for the upcoming film, and there’s no shortage of bizarre moments, from a very wet dog to Toni Collette going full United States of Tara in the role of an overbearing mother to an all-knowing fast food employee. Is there anything this movie doesn’t have? Written and directed by Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), I’m Thinking of Ending Things stars Jessie Buckley as a young woman who takes a road trip with her boyfriend (Jesse Plemons) to his family farm. Buckley’s character is already hesitant about the relationship — as the title suggests, she’s thinking of ending things — but when a snowstorm leaves her trapped with her boyfriend’s quirky parents (Toni Collette and David Thewlis), she begins to question everything she knows about herself and the world around her. Netflix’s synopsis may make the film sound like a typical family dramedy, but the trailer suggests that I’m Thinking of Ending Things is anything but fun. Not only is Buckley’s character stuck with a boyfriend she’s unsure about; she’s also stuck with his out-there parents in a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. One interaction seems to sum up Buckley’s experience best. “Jake has told us so much about you,” his mother tells her upon their arrival. “He’s told me so much about you, too,” replies Buckley. “And you came anyway?!” asks Collette with a high-pitched laugh. Creepy. I’m Thinking of Ending Things, based on Ian Reid’s 2016 novel of the same name, is one of Netflix’s highest-profile releases of the year. With its fall premiere date, the drama is sure to pick up awards buzz (assuming that awards season still happens) in the weeks to follow. I’m Thinking of Ending Things premieres Friday, September 4 on Netflix. Watch the official trailer above.

Warner Bros has debuted a new trailer and poster for the upcoming feel-good story ‘Dream Horse’ featuring Toni Collette with a welsh accent. The story follows Jan Vokes, a cleaner and bartender, who recruits her initially reluctant husband Brian and local accountant Howard Davies to help her bring together a syndicate of local people to breed a foal – which they name Dream Alliance. On the racetrack, he proves himself to be more than a match for the multi-million-pound racehorses he comes up against – a true working-class champion, taking on the establishment at their own game. But much more than this, Dream begins to alter the lives of everyone in the syndicate, not least Jan’s. He is everything to her: friend, confidant and an escape from a life of always putting other people’s needs first. Directed by Euros Lyn the film also stars Damian Lewis, Owen Teale, Joanna Page, Karl Johnson, with Nicholas Farrell and Siân Phillips alongside Collette. The film has a UK release of April 17th. Screencaptures from the trailer as well as the US and UK poster have been added as well.