Oh friends, I have a confession to make. Let’s start with the good news though.

Two weeks after back surgery, I feel MUCH better. I can walk around comfortably, and sitting down for longer than 15 minutes at a time is less painful every day. I am also practicing driving, as I prepare to go back to work next week. Considering how horrible the first two days were following the procedure, I couldn’t be happier with the progress of my recovery. And believe it or not, I’m tired of feeling stoned all day (in a prescribed-medicine kind of way), so as my re-entry back into the workplace and behind the wheel approaches, I am easing off of the good stuff.

And now, for the disappointing news…at least to the 14 of you who were nice enough to enter my Recommend a Movie/Win a Movie contest. I am a bum. I haven’t watched very many of the films that you suggested. Here are some excuses.

1. I couldn’t drive to the video store to stock up on rentals.
2. I am somewhat cheap; my Netflix subscription is only for 1 DVD at a time.
3. I am lazy. I started to TiVO tons of movies I haven’t seen, and VERY few of the ones you recommended have been on cable lately.
   
4. I have been watching at least two episodes of Lost (Season 3) per day, taking detailed notes in anticipation of a Season 4 preview blog next month. Nerd alert!
   

So I am extending this contest into the new year. Even though I won’t have as much time after returning to work, I plan to watch all of your selections. Obviously it will take a few months to get through all 35 movies, so I thank you in advance for you patience!

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Happy Christmas Eve and Merry Christmas. I hope your holiday has been lovely so far. I am quite a happy camper myself, having received the following:

• Season 3 of Lost
• Season 3 of The Office
• Knocked Up
• Waitress

Combined with two seasons of The Sopranos and Season 2 of Extras, which I gave to my better half, our DVD collection has taken a major leap in the right direction.

So the strangest thing has happened; I have returned to an old but familiar hobby…reading. Actual books. For the first time in years, I am buried in books rather than glued to my laptop. Don’t get me wrong; I love reading and majored in World Literature, so perhaps I have been subconsciously rebelling against the ridiculous number of tomes that I ingested during those four years of college. And I’m sure that this renewed interest is a result of having more time on my hands than usual, and slowing down in general. But I am absolutely loving it.

I recently picked up and am in the middle of reading Eat Pray Love, which is easily one of my favorite books in recent memory. But I’ve reached the spiritual India section, and wanted something on the lighter side for the holiday.

This afternoon I took my first long walk since having surgery. I went to the bookstore and bought Candy Girl, an autobiographical and very entertaining look at a year in the life of Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody…back when she was a stripper in the Midwest. I’ve been obsessed with seeing Juno and haven’t been able to go due to physical limitations, so this was the next best thing. And let me tell you, I can’t put this one down. It is postpone-my-pain-meds-so-I-can-stay-focused good. Her writing and her story are very forthright and refreshing, and I am now certain that Cody deserves every bit of the hype being hurled in her direction. I also recommend her blog, which is just as deliciously frank.

After re-reading that I now have Knocked Up and Waitress on DVD and that I can’t wait to see Juno, it might appear that I am fascinated by pregnancy. Mere coincidence, I assure you.

Happy holidays! Let me know what your favorite gift was, and if you have any book recommendations as well.

- Jo

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Or so the song says. But I call bullsh*t right now.

Quick daily health summary: feeling much better, almost human today. Back on the pain meds, able to walk around a bit. Actually went outside to get the mail. Napping far too often. Still a Cranky Pants having a Pity Party. Movies watched while standing up: Reign Over Me and Puccini for Beginners. But I am looking forward to tomorrow, as my first visitors will be coming over and my better half will be baking holiday cookies all day.

And now, a few thoughts about the recently announced 2008 Golden Globe nominations. First up, the nominated films. Let’s just get this out of the way – what the hell is with the separate categories for best picture? They separate them into Drama and Comedy or Musical, and most of the time they f*ck that up. Same with television nods.

Granted, I have not had the time to see as many of these films as I would have liked. But of course I’ve read all about them, watched all trailers and formed my own opinions. Hello, this is my life.

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

• American Gangster (agreed)
  
• Atonement (haven’t seen it, want to, good buzz)
  
• Eastern Promises (not worthy)
  
• The Great Debaters (haven’t seen it, Oprah produced = golden)
  
• Michael Clayton (agreed)
  
• No Country For Old Men (haven’t seen it, want to, great buzz)
  
• There Will Be Blood (haven’t seen it, want to, mixed buzz)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

• Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth: The Golden Age (haven’t seen it, loved the 1st one, love her)
  
• Julie Christie – Away from Her (haven’t seen it, but sentimental favorite)
  
• Jodie Foster – The Brave One (surprising nod, totally deserving)
  
• Angelina Jolie – A Mighty Heart (agreed)
  
• Keira Knightley – Atonement (no surprise)
  

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

• George Clooney – Michael Clayton (agreed)
  
• Daniel Day Lewis – There Will Be Blood (he should have won Oscar for Gangs of New York)
  
• James McAvoy – Atonement (no surprise)
  
• Viggo Mortensen – Eastern Promises (for the bathroom scene alone)
  
• Denzel Washington – American Gangster (badass once again)

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

• Across the Universe (haven’t seen it, heard it was odd)
  
• Charlie Wilson’s War (haven’t seen it, want to)
  
• Hairspray (was entertaining but not award worthy)
  
• Juno (can’t wait to see it, heard it deserves all noms)
  
• Sweeney Todd (ditto above)
  

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

• Amy Adams – Enchanted (no surprise, she was the movie)
  
• Nikki Blonsky – Hairspray (good but not award winning)
  
• Helena Bonham Carter – Sweeney Todd (always a dark horse)
  
• Marion Cotillard – La Vie en Rose (need to rent this)
  
• Ellen Page – Juno (bingo, we have a winner)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

• Johnny Depp – Sweeney Todd (the pirate moves to the barber shop and sings)
  
• Ryan Gosling – Lars and the Real Girl (not sure this is a comedy)
  
• Tom Hanks – Charlie Wilson’s War (welcome back, Mr. Hanks)
  
• Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Savages (again, a comedy? heard he was better in Charlie Wilson’s War)
  
• John C. Reilly – Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (love it, even if he doesn’t have a chance)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

• Bee Movie (was it worth the over-promotion, Jerry?)
  
• Ratatouille (no surprise)
  
• The Simpsons Movie (hysterical)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM (haven’t seen any)

• 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days – Romania
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – France and USA
• The Kite Runner – USA
• Lust, Caution – Taiwan
• Persepolis – France

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

• Cate Blanchett – I’m Not There (double nods, totally deserving)
  
• Julia Robers – Charlie Wilson’s War (welcome back, red)
  
• Saoirse Ronan – Atonement (haven’t seen it, heard she was great)
  
• Amy Ryan – Gone Baby Gone (hear this one’s a slam dunk)
  
• Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton (agreed)
  

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

• Casey Affleck – The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (haven’t seen it, but good for him)
  
• Javier Bardem – No Country for Old Men (if Hannibal Lecter can win an Oscar…)
  
• Philip Seymour Hoffman – Charlie Wilson’s War (wait, a minute ago this film was a comedy…)
  
• John Travolta – Hairspray (Seriously?! Yikes. Horrible.)
  
• Tom Wilkinson – Michael Clayton (agreed)
  

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE

• Tim Burton – Sweeney Todd (love most of his work)
  
• Ethan & Joel Coen – No Country for Old Men (ditto)
  
• Julian Schnabel – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (haven’t seen it)
  
• Ridley Scott – American Gangster (didn’t love direction as much as acting)
  
• Joe Wright – Atonement (loved his work with Pride & Prejudice)

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE

• Diablo Cody – Juno (bingo, another winner)
  
• Ethan & Joel Coen – No Country for Old Men
• Christopher Hampton – Atonement
• Ronald Harwood – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
• Aaron Sorkin – Charlie Wilson’s War (should give Juno a run for her money)

Moving on to Television, where it seems the nominating committee had their heads shoved further up their collective arses…

BEST TV SERIES – DRAMA

• Big Love (can’t agree)
• Damages (hallelujah!)
• Grey’s Anatomy (oh hell no, not this season)
• House (again, not the best season)
• Mad Men (agreed)
• The Tudors (ugh)

Ok, no Lost? Friday Night Lights? Brothers and Sisters? Dexter? Hurrah for cable and all that, but COME ON.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TV SERIES – DRAMA

• Patricia Arquette – Medium
• Glenn Close – Damages (should be a slam dunk)
  
• Minnie Driver – The Riches (dark horse newbie, totally deserving)
  
• Edie Falco – The Sopranos (could be a sentimental send off)
  
• Sally Field – Brothers and Sisters
• Holly Hunter – Saving Grace
• Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer

Look, I like Medium. But I think the glaring omissions in the category have to be Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights), Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost), and Chandra Wilson (Grey’s Anatomy).

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TV SERIES – DRAMA

• Michael C. Hall – Dexter (bingo, a clear winner)
  
• Jon Hamm – Mad Men (agreed)
  
• Hugh Laurie – House (agreed)
  
• Jonathan Rhys Meyers – The Tudors (ugh)
  
• Bill Paxton – Big Love (um, no)
  

Yes, this will sound repetitive. But where is the love for Matthew Fox’s amazing season on Lost or Kyle Chandler’s on Friday Night Lights?

BEST TV SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

• 30 Rock (agreed; brilliant season)
  
• Californication (not a comedy; The Office should take its place)
• Entourage (great, but not this season; Ugly Betty should take its place)
  
• Extras (love it)
  
• Pushing Daisies (fav new show)
  

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TV SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

• Christina Applegate – Samantha Who? (um, ok)
  
• America Ferrera – Ugly Betty (agreed)
  
• Tina Fey – 30 Rock (agreed)
  
• Anna Friel – Pushing Daisies (she’s good, but Jenna Fisher deserves the spot)
  
• Mary Louise Parker – Weeds (my choice)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TV SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

• Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock
• Steve Carell – The Office
• David Duchovny – Californication
• Ricky Gervais – Extras
• Lee Pace – Pushing Daisies

I don’t have too many problems with this particular bunch.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TV (a.ka. Best Supporting Actress in a TV role)

• Rose Byrne – Damages (great)
  
• Rachel Griffiths – Brothers and Sisters (my pick)
  
• Katherine Heigl – Grey’s Anatomy (what, for having to suffer through Gizzie?)
  
• Samantha Morton – Longford (didn’t see it)
  
• Anna Paquin – Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (didn’t see it)
  
• Jaime Pressley – My Name is Earl (hysterical, but wrong category)
  

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (yada yada yada, see above)

• Ted Danson – Damages (slam dunk; unbelievably strong)
  
• Kevin Dillon – Entourage (not this year)
  
• Jeremy Piven – Entourage (not this year)
  
• Andy Serkis – Longford (Gollum gets a nod)
  
• William Shatner – Boston Legal (is his name mandatory every year?)
  
• Donald Sutherland – Dirty Sexy Money (um, ok)

Ok, that list was far too long for my fragile state. I need a nap. I’m sure further thoughts will develop as I heal. Please excuse any spelling errors.

What did you think of the nods?

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The last movie I watched before going under the knife was Lucky You. I will watch almost anything from Curtis Hanson (except 8 Mile; no thanks). LOVED LA Confidential and Wonder Boys, enjoyed In Her Shoes.

But here was my reaction after sitting through Lucky You on DVD: “Nothing can happen to me tomorrow, because this cannot be the last film I watch before I die. Yikes.”

So no, I didn’t like it.

And I think I was delusional when I agreed to watch several movies a day during recovery. Because frankly, my eyes are rolling to the back of my head when I attempt to read Entertainment Weekly, so they certainly aren’t capable of focusing on indies and character-driven pieces of cinema.

Oh, and I also found out right before anesthesia that several members of my favorite baseball team have undergone the same procedure, at the same facility. Wow, do I feel like a wuss. Those guys are out there playing professional ball a few weeks after being operated on, and all I want to do is curl up in a corner and throw books at the wall in a wallowing pity party. But I can’t curl up, because I am a stiff beast right now. And I can’t really lift those heavy books either. Like I said, wuss.

See you tomorrow.

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I will be the first to admit that I did not see very many quality films this year, and because of my back, I will not be able to actually go out to the movies again until early 2008. However, I watched more than my share of television, so here are my selections for the best and worst of the big and small screen in ’07.

MOVIES

BEST FILMS/PERFORMANCES
American Gangster
Into the Wild
Knocked Up
Michael Clayton
A Mighty Heart
Once
The Simpsons Movie
Waitress

MUST-SEE A.S.A.P.
Atonement
Charlie Wilson’s War
Juno
No Country For Old Men
Sweeney Todd

OVERHYPED and/or DISAPPOINTING
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
Eastern Promises
Superbad
Transformers
Year of the Dog

TV

BEST NEW SHOWS
Damages (FX)
Flight of the Conchords (HBO)
Life (NBC)
Mad Men (AMC)
Private Practice (ABC)
Pushing Daisies (ABC)
The Riches (FX)

BEST RETURNING SHOWS
30 Rock (NBC)
Bones (FOX)
Brothers and Sisters (ABC)
Dexter (Showtime)
Entourage (HBO)
Friday Night Lights (NBC)
Lost (ABC)
The Office (NBC)
Top Chef (Bravo)
Ugly Betty (ABC)
Weeds (Showtime)

GUILTY PLEASURES BUT NO SEASON PASS
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Dirt (FX)
Men in Trees (ABC)
My Name is Earl (NBC)

ON THE FENCE
Chuck (NBC)
Samantha Who (ABC)

MOST DISAPPOINTING NEW SERIES
Back to You (FOX)
Big Shots (ABC)
Cane (CBS)
Bionic Woman (NBC)
John From Cincinnati (HBO)
Tell Me You Love Me (HBO)

MOST DISAPPOINTING RETURNING SERIES
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
Heroes (NBC)
The L Word (Showtime)
Rescue Me (FX)

R.I.P.
Six Degrees (ABC)
The Sopranos (HBO)
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC)

LOOKING FORWARD TO 2008

Films (all of which make me seem like SUCH a guy and giant nerd)
Cloverfield
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
Speed Racer
Star Trek
The X-Files 2

Television
Cashmere Mafia (ABC)
Eli Stone (ABC)
Lost, Season 4 (ABC)
The Sarah Connor Chronicles (FOX)
Swingtown (CBS)

So, fellow couch critics, let me know what you loved in 2007 and look forward to next year…

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I should be at the movies right now, watching a preview of the one film I have been looking forward to all year (Juno). But it’s pouring rain outside. And I am not allowed to get sick before minor surgery next week. So I sit am sitting here instead, dry and pouting.

In other more relevant and exciting news, the cast is coming together for the new X-Files movie, which is scheduled for release in July of 2008. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will be joined by Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly and rapper/Pimp My Ride host Xzibit. Seriously. Ok, I’ll give him more credit. He was in Derailed, 8 Mile and Gridiron Gang, among others, so this won’t be his first big screen gig.

There is also a rumor that former Deadwood sheriff Timothy Olyphant has a role in the film, and judging from his recent appearances in Hitman and Live Free or Die Hard, I’d venture to guess that he won’t be playing good cop for the FBI.

Although the new X-Files movie was scheduled to begin filming next week, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that the start date has been postponed due to the Writer’s Strike. The X-Files is in my Top 4 Favorite Television Shows of All Time (along with Six Feet Under, Lost and Deadwood), and I will be there on opening day for this next installment, just as I was when the first film came out in 1998. In the meantime, the unbelievably loaded 61-disc DVD box set of the entire series tops my wish list this Christmas. That was not a typo; there are 61 DVDs of episodes and extras from all 9 seasons, all for less than $250 on Amazon! However…

Dear Santa,

I am conflicted. As much as I would love to find this lovely box of sci-fi under my tree in a few weeks, the 45 brilliant men and women who wrote all 202 episodes of The X-Files will only receive a combined $8.08 in residuals per box set sold. As you know, right now those very people are on strike to receive an additional $.04 per DVD sold. And I support them every step of the way. So as much as I really, really, really want to add this phenomenal set to my collection, I will wait until the strike terms have been resolved and the scribes receive their just due. I guess you can put it on the shelf for me until next year. Thanks, daddy xmas.

Your patient friend,

- Jo

p.s. I’m actually Jewish, but I celebrate your holiday and love bacon. So there’s that.

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