Just made it back from seeing "Saving Mr. Banks."

If that movie does not get a nod for best picture it will be a P.L. Travesty!

As time has gone by I've thought less and less of it. It entertained me while I was in the theater but whenever I think about it ever since I like it less, it's just so trite in its psychobabble.

I'm still working my way through my extended Netflix queue. Today they are shipping me:

"Lady and the Tramp" and "Kill Bill vol. 1"

Says a lot about my life right there.

Yesterday I saw The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden, a documentary in pretty limited release (I think it is in 8 theaters).

Found it very interesting and recommend it if it is in your area (or when it is eventually streamed somewhere).

Primarily it is a documentary about the story told here, supported with lots of great home movie footage. But it also touches a lot on what it is to remove yourself from society (these are people who moved to an uninhabited island in the Galapagos specifically to get away from all society and authority) and how that trickles down into the next generation.

I'll have to look for it, the story looks really interesting.

I was guessing it was about an invasive species, I was wrong.

Well, you could argue you were still right.

Well, I finally got around to screening Saving Mr. Banks. On the home big-O-vision, which is less than optimal than the big screen.

I was a little bothered by some of the glitchy modern things, like the security door lock in the hotel room for P.L. Travers. Back in the day it would have been a chain people, nto the sliding hinge! Also, I realize they could not CGI the Carousel in Fantasyland to the original location, still bugged me. That's all minor crapola caveats.

I loved Thompson (as always) and thought Hanks was good but he just did not really try to sound like Walt at all. Or is that just me and a faulty aural memory? Just sounded like Tom Hanks.

Other than that, I adored the movie. Wept like an 8 year old.

So apparently JJ Abrams have tapped a writing team from within the unwashed ranks of Bad Robot writers to write the script for the next Star Trek movie. They have no produced credits to their name (though apparently they've also been asked to write an upcoming new Flash Gordon movie being produced by Fox).

Briefly met one of them at a party this weekend. Unfortunately didn't have much of a chance to talk to him (and he was a little embarrassed that the host made a point of announcing those two facts to those within earshot). But I had 2 observations. 1) Dude appeared younger than me. Weird. 2) I overheard him talking positively about the influence of Bob Odenkirk on his sensibilities, so I have some faith that I like this guy's style.

My version of that story:

Yes, you can take a 4 year old to a party by the beach with nothing but adults in attendance.
Yes, you might meet a person who is co-writing the next Star Trek film.
No, you won't be able to talk to him.