Emmys 2010: Predicting the winners

The past few years I just haven't been able to get into the Emmys. They frequently award the same people or shows year after year, leading to an overly long and unintersting ceremony. But for the first time in a long time, this year's nominees actually piqued my interest, with a few familiar faces and lots of new ones. The 2010 ceremony, hosted by Jimmy Fallon, is just a few days away, so who will walk home a winner and who will leave empty handed?

Best comedy series

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Glee

Modern Family

Nurse Jackie

The Office

30 Rock

Will win: "Modern Family." "Glee" took home the Golden Globe and is probably the hottest show on television right now, but unlike "Modern Family," it's not a straight-up comedy. Some of the most memorable moments from "Glee" this season leaned on the dramatic side, such as the moving scenes between Kurt and his father. "Modern Family" puts a hilarious new spin on the traditional family sitcom, which will likely resonate more with voters.

Should win: "Modern Family." I do love "Glee," but the back nine weren't nearly as strong in quality as the first part of the season. "Modern Family" was consistently hilarious and is one of the smartest family comedies to emerge in a long time.

Should have been nominated: "Community," "Parks and Recreation," "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

Best drama series

Breaking Bad

Dexter

The Good Wife

Lost

Mad Men

True Blood

Will win: "Mad Men." The AMC drama is an Emmy favorite, and that's unlikely to change this year.

Should win: "Lost." Sure, the sci-fi drama's final season had its weak spots, but overall it was a stellar end to what is possibly television's most original show. "Lost" was such an intelligent, mind-bending and emotional show, and try as they might with shows like "Flash Forward" and the upcoming "The Event," the networks will never be able to replicate it. An Emmy for "Lost" this year would be just as much about awarding the show's overall excellence as recognizing its finale.

Should have been nominated: I honestly don't watch any dramas that weren't nominated, but I hear fans of "Friday Night Lights" and "Fringe" are pretty livid that those critically acclaimed shows were ignored.

Best actor - comedy

Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock

Steve Carell - The Office

Larry David - Curb Your Enthusiasm

Matthew Morrison - Glee

Jim Parsons - The Big Bang Theory

Tony Shalhoub - Monk

Will win: Jim Parsons. He was widely regarded as the favorite to win last year but lost to Alec Baldwin. But given that "Monk" ended this year, it's possible that Emmy favorite Tony Shalhoub could pull an upset.

Should win: I love Parsons and would be thrilled if he takes home the trophy, but given that Steve Carell's reign as Michael Scott is about to draw to a close and he has yet to win, I'd love to see his work recognized.

Should have been nominated: Joel McHale - "Community," Ed O'Neil - "Modern Family" (Yes, I know he submitted himself as supporting like the rest of the cast, which makes me respect him all the more. But Jay is the true patriarch of the family, and if he submitted himself in the lead actor category, he likely would have won.)

Best actress - comedy

Toni Collette - United States of Tara

Edie Falco - Nurse Jackie

Tina Fey - 30 Rock

Julia Louis-Dreyfuss - The New Adventures of Old Christine

Lea Michele - Glee

Amy Poehler - Parks and Recreation

Will win: Edie Falco. This is a tough category to call because there are so many strong contenders here, but Falco is an Emmy favorite in the drama category, and voters love it when an old favorite wows them with something new. Her darkly comic performance on "Nurse Jackie" should secure her the statuette.

Should win: Amy Poehler. "Parks and Recreation" saw a huge leap in quality in its second season, thanks in large part to Poehler's performance. She makes Leslie Knope just as intelligent and lovable and she is daffy and awkward.

Should have been nominated: Courteney Cox - "Cougar Town." Honestly, what is Emmy's problem with her? She was the only member of the "Friends" ensemble to never be nominated and now they have to snub her again? As "Cougar Town" evolved as the season progressed, so did Cox. Maybe next year...

Best actor - drama

Kyle Chandler - Friday Night Lights

Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad

Matthew Fox - Lost

Michael C. Hall - Dexter

Jon Hamm - Mad Men

Hugh Laurie - House

Will win: Bryan Cranston. This is another one of those categories where the past winner is likely to remain the favorite.

Should win: Though I'd love to see Hugh Laurie recognized for his fantastic work on "House," I'm going to have to go with Matthew Fox. He really pulled out all the stops this year, and his performance in the finale alone should be enough to secure him the win.

Should have been nominated: Peter Krause - "Parenthood," Kiefer Sutherland - "24"

Best actress - drama

Connie Britton - Friday Night Lights

Glenn Close - Damages

Mariska Hargitay - Law and Order: SVU

January Jones - Mad Men

Julianna Margulies - The Good Wife

Kyra Sedgwick - The Closer

Will win: Julianna Margulies. She's swept every other award for her role on "The Good Wife" so far, and I don't expect that to stop here. She's a phenominal actress, and most critics and fans alike seem to agree she should win.

Should win: Julianna Margulies

Should have been nominated: Anna Paquin - "True Blood," Lauren Graham - "Parenthood"

Supporting actor - comedy

Ty Burrell - Modern Family

Chris Colfer - Glee

Jon Cryer - Two and a Half Men

Jesse Tyler Ferguson - Modern Family

Neil Patrick Harris - How I Met Your Mother

Eric Stonestreet - Modern Family

Will win: Ty Burrell. It's tough to choose between the three "Modern Family" men because they all turn in such consistently hilarious performances, but Burrell takes a character that could be grating and makes him completely lovable.

Should win: Ty Burrell

Should have been nominated: Charlie Day - "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," Danny Pudi - "Community"

Supporting actress - comedy

Julie Bowen - Modern Family

Jane Krakowski - 30 Rock

Jane Lynch - Glee

Holland Taylor - Two and a Half Men

Sofia Vergara - Modern Family

Kristen Wiig - Saturday Night Live

Will win: Jane Lynch. Is there even a question about this? She's the epitome of comedic awesomeness.

Should win: Jane Lynch. Although Julie Bowen and Sofia Vergara are also consistently hilarious.

Should have been nominated: Busy Phillips - "Cougar Town," Christa Miller - "Cougar Town," Kaitlin Olson - "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"

Supporting actor - drama

Andre Braugher - Men of a Certain Age

Michael Emerson - Lost

Terry O'Quinn - Lost

Aaron Paul - Breaking Bad

Martin Short - Damages

John Slattery - Mad Men

Will win: Michael Emerson. Especially in the final season, he turned Ben from pure villain to one of the show's most complex characters.

Should win: Michael Emerson

Should have been nominated: Josh Holloway - "Lost," Nestor Carbonell - "Lost," Sam Trammell - "True Blood"

Supporting actress - drama

Christine Baranski - The Good Wife

Rose Byrne - Damages

Sharon Gless - Burn Notice

Christina Hendricks - Mad Men

Elisabeth Moss - Mad Men

Archie Panjabi - The Good Wife

Will win: To be honest, I don't watch any of these shows, so I can't judge the performances. But most critics are choosing Christina Hendricks as the frontrunner, so we'll just go with her.

Should win: Christina Hendricks, for the same reason as above. Or Elisabeth Moss, because I like her even thought I don't watch "Mad Men."

Should have been nominated: Deborah Ann Woll - "True Blood," Khandi Alexander - "Treme" (another show I don't actually watch, but Alexander is an incredible talent, and the fact that she has never been recognized for her television work is a crime)

Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

How is it that movies like "Transformers," with their massive explosions, scantily-clad young actress, cringe-worthy writing and directing that's about as original as a cardboard box, continue to rake in hundreds of millions at the box office while gems like "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" fall by the wayside?

Maybe it's just because I'm a 20-something dork, much like Scott and his friends, that this movie resonates so strongly with me. But "Scott Pilgrim" is one of the most refreshingly original films I've seen in a long time and is a welcome change of pace from the sequels, reboots and remakes that so often dominate the box office.

Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a 22-year-old slacker from Toronto whose only job is playing bass with the band Sex Bob-omb. He's dating a high schooler named Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), and he lives with his gay best friend and confidant Wallace Wells (Kieran Culkin).

He coasts by in a world of hipsters, gamers and slackers, but everything changes when he meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), an American punk who works as a delivery girl for Amazon. She's hesitant to his dorky advances at first but ultimately falls for him because unlike her former lovers, he's actually a nice guy.

But being with Ramona is no easy task. Scott soon discovers if they want to be together, he'll have to fight and defeat her seven evil exes, ranging from macho skater-turned-movie star Lucas Lee (Chris Evans) to pint-sized punk Roxy Richter(Mae Whitman) to slick record exec Gideon Gordon Graves (Jason Schwartzman).

If you're reluctant to see "Scott Pilgrim" because of Cera's "he always plays the same role" stigma, think again. True, he does play another scrawny, nerdy underdog here, but he does it with a renewed vigor that has been missing from many of his other recent performances. His comic timing and line delivery is perfect in this film.

Director Edgar Wright has assembled quite the who's who of up-and-coming young talent for his supporting cast. In addition to Winstead, Wong and Culkin, Alison Pill, Johnny Simmons, Mark Webber, Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza round out Scott's ragtag group of friends. All of them click as an ensemble but Pill and Culkin emerge as the standouts, her with her stone-cold glares and him with his matter-of-fact wit.

Wong and Simmons are also frequently scene stealers, with her over-the-top attempts to re-gain Scott's affections and his mellow, deadpan reactions to his friends' zany adventures.

All of the actors playing the seven evil exes are perfectly cast, especially Evans and Schwartzman, but Brandon Routh as vegan bassist Todd Ingram is an absolute riot in his scene. Between this movie and his "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" cameo, it's clear Routh needs to leave his Superman image behind and pursue more comedic roles.

Wright and Michael Bacall's sharp script is some of the sharpest writing I've seen in a long while, and Wright's direction, as usual, is practically flawless. With "Spaced," "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" already under his belt, he's quickly proving to be one of the most innovative directors working today. Fast-paced action, eye-popping visuals and quick cuts are all trademarks of his that work wonders with "Scott Pilgrim." All of the movie's elements fall neatly into place, but it is Wright's imaginative vision that makes all of that possible.

True, its paltry fifth-place opening makes it a box office disappointment, but since when has box office been a good indicator of the quality of a movie? (The fact that a stale amalgam of pop culture references like "Vampires Suck" could outgross the raw brilliance of "The Hurt Locker," for example, is astounding.) It might not be resonating with the mainstream right now, but "Scott Pilgrim" is the type of movie that years down the road a generation of gamers, hipsters, punks and nerds will remember fondly as the film that captured their youth. A-

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD: Movie Trailer. Watch more top selected videos about: Chris Evans, Kieran Culkin