Uberfluff

So, I finally saw the new Star Trek movie, and (as much as it pains me to admit this) I really liked it.  I've never been much of a Star Trek person--it always had too much goofy alien stuff and not near enough shooting for me--but I do have a rudimentary awareness of the characters.  (Other Star Trek gripes: Do the shields ever not fail on the Enterprise?  Why even bother having them if even the simplest space fight has the damn shields immediately diminishing to the point that all energy has to be shifted to the forward ones?  And don't get me started on the silly relativism of the Prime Directive.  Which they don't even always follow anyway.  Probably because of the aforementioned silliness.)


Anyway, I thought that the new movie was fun.  And actually pretty ingenious in how it dealt with the problems of continuity and authenticity in a re-make.  (I don't think it will spoil things too much if I say that the movie essentially creates an alternate Star Trek universe.)  To some extent, it was about watching younger actors do impressions of the classic Star Trek characters, but more in an "old, forgotten friend" way than in a bad acting way.  (And isn't bad acting the essence of Star Trek?)  Eomer from Lord of the Rings and Sean from Sean of the Dead (like you would recognize the actor's names) do an especially good Dr. McCoy and Scotty.


And speaking of Eomer (barely), the gossip says the script for the new Hobbit movie is finally complete.  Apparently, they're breaking it into two movies, and while Guillermo Del Toro is on to direct and Ian McKellan will be back as Gandald, they're still casting Bilbo.  The names being thrown around consist primarily of British actors I'm totally unfamiliar with (that guy from Dr. Who, for example), so I don't really have an opinion about it.  Except that I hope that this version doesn't require quite so many soulful shots of wistful hobbit eyes.  I had my fill of that in Return of the King and can probably draw the upper half of Elijah Wood's face from memory.


Anyway, have a Happy Thanksgiving.  And if your holiday plans have you driving through Breezewood, Pennsylvania this weekend . . . then you have my sincere condolences.


PS--There's also a new Daily Fluff today.