Some last minute, pre-Emmy Emmy thoughts

The Emmys are this Sunday and I'm actually happy with the nominations. Well, happier than I've been in past years. Since lists of nominees are posted all over the Internet, I'm just going to list the categories I'm going to comment on.

Outstanding Drama Series

Lost
Breaking Bad

Dexter
Mad Men

True Blood

The Good Wife

I think we can just give this one to "Lost" right now, since the Emmys love to give send-off awards for shows that are leaving and had a lasting impact on popular culture. I really hope they don't do this, as I think "Lost" has seen better days and was rewarded for those better days already. This most recent season was rushed, uneven, and rather unfocused. You could feel the writers trying to wrap up storylines as quickly as they could to appease fans when we now know that there was no master plan all along and they just made up most of their answers just for the sake of answering something. Now, I wanted answers and a satisfying conclusion, but "Lost" was at its best when the focus was entirely on the characters. I would love to see "Dexter" finally get its due, especially since it came off a stellar season. I would hate to see "Dexter" never win the Emmys it deserves because it was eclipsed by bigger pop culture sensations. "Breaking Bad" or "Mad Men" are possibilities, neither of which would upset me. They're both excellent shows and they deserve the critical praise they get. The Emmys love "Mad Men," so I wouldn't rule that out completely. "True Blood" getting nominated was enough to make me gag, but I don't anticipate an upset. I regret to say I've never seen "The Good Wife" and can't really comment on it either way.

Outstanding Actor in a Drama

Jon Hamm (Mad Men)

Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights)

Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)

Hugh Laurie (House MD)
Michael C Hall (Dexter)

Matthew Fox (Lost)

Hamm, Fox and Laurie are consistently good, but Hall and Cranston are in a league of their own, in my humble opinion. I would bet Chandler is in the latter group as well, but I've never seen "Friday Night Lights." I'm a bad TV addict for this, I know, but all the critical praise in the world doesn't make me interested in some Texas football family small-town drama. Cranston would make me happiest for the win for his work on "Breaking Bad." I finally caught up with this show this summer and he is truly remarkable in that role.

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Beau Bridges (The Closer)
Ted Danson (Damages)
John Lithgow (Dexter)
Alan Cumming (The Good Wife)
Dylan Baker (The Good Wife)
Robert Morse (Mad Men)
Gregory Itzin (24)

I'm still biased because of my love of "Dexter," but this really should be John Lithgow's award. Critics and viewers alike were blown away by his role as the Trinity killer. He should win the award just for the Thanksgiving episode alone.

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Mary Kay Place (Big Love)
Sissy Spacek (Big Love)
Shirley Jones (The Cleaner)
Lily Tomlin (Damages)
Ann-Margret (Law & Order: SVU)
Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost)

The only reason I list this one is because of Elizabeth Mitchell's nomination. Seriously? I love her, and I loved her in past seasons, but did she even have fifteen minutes of screen time in the last season?

Outstanding Comedy
Glee
Modern Family
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Nurse Jackie
30 Rock
The Office

By now, everyone knows this is a race between "Modern Family" and "Glee." I can't shake the feeling that "Glee" is going to take it because of the media adoration, but "Modern Family" was consistently funny and well written. I'm no fan of "Glee," but I did watch most of the season in an effort to see what people love about it. I can understand its appeal for a certain demographic, but the show is very uneven and, with the exception of Jane Lynch's love-it-or-hate-it snarky bitch role, it's just not that funny.

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy
Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm)
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)
Matthew Morrison (Glee)
Steve Carell (The Office)
Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
Tony Shalhoub (Monk)

I only posted this list because of the craziness that is Tony Shalhoub getting nominated again. Did "Monk" even air this year? I'm not as invested in the comedies as I am the dramas just by nature of what shows I watch, but I don't want to see him take this award one more time, even if it is the last time he could.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy
Chris Colfer (Glee)
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother)
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family)
Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men)
Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family)
Ty Burrell (Modern Family)

Someone from "Two and a Half Men" must have some incriminating information or something, because someone has to be getting blackmailed for that show to keep getting Emmy recognition. There are a lot of people behind Colfer, and he is funny sometimes on that show, but I have a hard time getting past the character as it's such a complete and total stereotype walking. Same with Lea Michele and her character. I feel like people have pulled off their cliche characters better in other programs. I think this award should and probably will go to Ty Burrell for his work as Phil Dunphy. He nails that character, and much as I love Stonestreet, Burrell is the stand-out. The clever writing helps, but it would be nothing without Burrell's absolutely spot-on delivery.

I have nothing to say about reality, as I don't watch any, but I'm still really pissed that "Torchwood: Children of Earth" wasn't nominated for the miniseries category. I can't blame this on the Emmys, however, since The Powers That Be didn't submit "Torchwood" for consideration. I don't understand this for one second. The five-part miniseries was brilliant and deserves recognition. It should go down in television history as one of the best sci-fi programs ever just for the recent miniseries event.

As far as snubs go, "Cougar Town" is my most egregious snub. Busy Phillipps should have been nominated, without a doubt. Emmy voters should know better than to be turned off by a bad title. I'd also add "Ugly Betty" and, more specifically, Vanessa Williams to the snub list. The show had a creative resurgence in its last season and Williams was always excellent, as was Michael Urie. The Emmys keep giving "Monk" awards and even recognized Kristin Chenoweth's performance on the by-then deceased "Pushing Daisies" last year so "Ugly Betty" shouldn't have been overlooked just because it's over. It's also refreshing this year to see some deserved snubs, like "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives" being largely ignored. And rightly so. I love those shows still, but they didn't deserve nominations.

I'll most likely return with a post-Emmys article, reviewing what thrilled me and what enraged me. I'm not expecting much from the host this year, since it's Jimmy Fallon. But anyone is better than reality show hosts.

Haven't I seen this before? - "The Last Exorcism"

I've been seeing commercials for a new movie called "The Last Exorcism" lately and, as one would guess, it looks like a mishmash of plenty of other horror flicks. That's really nothing new as most horror movies draw largely from the ones that came before it. However, "The Last Exorcism" looks exactly like "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" in every commercial I see for it. The former movie seems to focus more on the actual exorcism in the style of "The Exorcist," whereas the latter film is more of a courtroom drama. They each try to grasp for some realism with the audience, "The Last Exorcism" presented as "found footage" or documentary style (not surprising, after the reception for "Paranormal Activity"), and "Emily Rose" presented as based on a true story. "The Last Exorcism" looks like "Emily Rose" minus the courtroom drama aspect. Aside from that? I'm not sure what new ground this new movie is breaking. I suppose these types of movies have built-in audiences and a built-in group of people who will always be terrified by exorcism-themed movies because of the basis in religion. I personally enjoyed the melding of courtroom drama and supernatural forces in "Emily Rose," but I don't know if I feel like seeing the same movie again. I also have a hard time imagining the lead's performance in "The Last Exorcism" could be nearly as strong and disturbing as Jennifer Carpenter's performance in "Emily Rose."