There’s going to be another Last Bookstore? Shouldn’t it be called the Next to Last Bookstore? No matter. I feel like Christmas came early this year. Call it another win for physical media, which is, of course, a win for us all.

I’m Glenn Whipp, columnist for the Los Angeles Times, host of The Envelope’s Friday newsletter and the guy happy to see that the tsunami warning has been canceled. Let’s look at the week’s movie news.

Awards season kicks into gear with AFI, NYFCC, NBR + other acronyms

I’m voting Sunday as a member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn., so I’ve been spending the week with my eyelids propped open, doing due diligence and binge-watching every documentary and international feature I’ve missed this year. Oh, and the delightful and deeply moving “Flow,” which is now easily my favorite animated movie of the year and one that will likely be playing at a theater near you starting today. It has a dog and a cat — along with a bird, a capybara and a lemur — working together. Maybe there’s hope for us after all.

Meanwhile, other groups have weighed in before our LAFCA vote, with the Gotham Awards, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Independent Spirit Awards nominations and the lists from the American Film Institute and National Board of Review arriving.

With the exception of the New York critics, none of these are all that important on their own. But collectively, they provide a first impression of the awards season, which, as I noted a few weeks back, looks like it’s going to be delightfully all over the place. “The Brutalist” and its star, Adrien Brody, won New York, but underwhelmed with other groups. “Wicked” took the top prize from the National Board of Review, a group with no transparency about its members or voting procedures. But, hey, it’s a prize and it puts the box-office hit in the win column.

Six movies — “Anora,” the upcoming Dylan-goes-electric biopic “A Complete Unknown,” “Conclave,” “A Real Pain,” “Sing Sing” and “Wicked” — made both the NBR and AFI lists. But so did “The Woman King” last year. And “The Tragedy of Macbeth” three years ago. So … yay? “Sing Sing” was a winner at the Gothams for actors Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin, picked up those NBR and AFI mentions and landed a best picture nomination from the Spirits. Its undeniable craft and inspirational art-uplifts-the-soul message should help it continue to land plaudits through the coming weeks.

It’s easy to see the season setting up as a battle between “Wicked,” which will steamroll through the Golden Globes nominations when they’re announced Monday, and whatever indie movie resonates the most with voters. And maybe that coalescing never happens. Maybe “Anora,” “The Brutalist” and “Sing Sing” all find champions. Maybe the winner of the best picture Oscar will be … unpredictable? That would be something, wouldn’t it? Keep the surprises coming, awards season voters. Me? I’m leaning toward a movie I haven’t even mentioned when I vote on Sunday. I’ll keep you posted.

The dream team — minus the bird — from the animated movie “Flow.”

(Festival de Cannes)

Will you be voting for ‘Gladiator II’ for best picture?

I didn’t mention “Gladiator II,” did I? Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator” won the best picture Oscar nearly 24 years ago, taking five awards from 12 nominations, including a lead actor trophy for star Russell Crowe. Now, “Gladiator II” has arrived in theaters — and in the viewing portal for film academy members. It’s done pretty well commercially but has yet to make its presence felt with awards voters.

Would you be inspired to return the sequel to the arena of the Academy Awards? I devised a very scientific quiz to find out. Here’s a sample question:

When you toured the Colosseum while visiting Rome, first question that crossed your mind:
Where’s the gift shop? (2)
Where’s the bathroom? (4)
Where are the sharks? (8)

So, at my signal, unleash hell and take the quiz. Now!

Sharks at the Colosseum!

(Paramount Pictures)

L.A. Times Studios debuts ‘Planetwalker’

Remember that documentary short Oscar that L.A. Times Studios won earlier this year for “The Last Repair Shop,” which put the spotlight on the technicians who maintain student instruments in the L.A. Unified School District? L.A. Times Studios is back this year, partnering with Bloomberg Green Docs, to release “Planetwalker,” which follows John Francis, who, after seeing an oil spill in the San Francisco Bay, took a 17-year vow of silence, renounced planes, trains and automobiles and began walking across the United States, looking for a deeper appreciation of our relationship with the planet.

You can watch the 30-minute film here. It’s well worth your time. I mean, who hasn’t dreamed of giving it all up to, you know, just walk the Earth?

John Francis in “Planetwalker.”

(Dominic Gill)