Not since that day long ago, when I heard on my car radio that John F. Kennedy had just been shot, have I been so disheartened and felt so deeply such a loss for we the people. The so-called Supreme Court of the United States has rolled over and decided a clearly Constitutional issue on political bias. And to think, we the people thought the court would be above such tawdry action.

Not long ago, a dear old lady scolded the Republican presidential candidates through your paper for not talking about the so-called contraceptive issue. She found it "appalling" that they didn't.

I always try to get as excited as possible about the Academy Awards, that time-honored annual tradition in which Hollywood enrages the nation’s cinephiles by consistently displaying the most remarkable lack of good taste and common decency imaginable.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and are enjoying the final hours of 2011. My holiday season has been quite relaxing indeed, with the exception of the screening blitz I’ve been embroiled in since I realized the first draft of my year-end top 10 list was woefully inadequate. I’m trying to cram in as many movies as I can before my list is due for publication next week, and the experience has been mind-reeling but, of course, invigorating in  its own way.

It’s been a very hectic holiday season for me, and I have not fulfilled my role as movie guru nearly as thoroughly as I should have. This has more or less been the case for the majority of the year, actually, and consequently I find that there are a bevy of promising 2011 releases that I simply never got around to seeing (in my defense, the closest most of them ever played was San Francisco).

I had promised reviews of “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and “The Sitter” this week, but those plans were altered by the fact that my online source for such matters had listed an incorrect wide release date for the former, and the nation’s critics and moviegoing public have convinced me that I should skip the latter. So we are left with “The Descendants,” now playing in general release after generating incredible word of mouth during its run on the art-house circuit. I found it to be consistently engaging yet slightly disappointing given the buzz, but your mileage may vary.

Just one review this week, as I didn’t make it to “My Week with Marilyn,” playing in limited release. A look at that will come next week, along with reviews of the wide releases “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” and, time permitting, “The Sitter.” The studios’ insistence on conducting a take-no-prisoners December blitz with their prestige pictures has left things a tad crowded for the next few weeks, but I’ll do what I can…

How quickly things can change. Just a week ago, I was so desperate for a movie to review that I actually sat and watched “The Twilight Saga — Breaking Dawn: Part 1” for two hours. (I’ve broken bones, suffered through mono, gotten tattooed and had a wisdom tooth wrenched out of my head without Novocain, but honestly, all pale in comparison to the sheer unpleasantness of the “Twilight” experience.)

Right now, “The Muppets” and Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed family film/cinema ode “Hugo” are playing in theaters across the country. “The Descendants,” the triumphant return of director/screenwriter extraordinaire Alexander Payne (“Election,” “About Schmidt,” “Sideways”), is expanding in limited release.

As Thanksgiving approaches, I’m trying to brighten my attitude about life in general and the fall movie season in particular. After all, despite my bloviating, perhaps things aren’t so bad. It may not look like it judging by the current wide-release roster, but awards season is indeed upon us, and there’s actually quite a few promising titles to look forward to in the coming weeks  —  starting with “The Muppets” (admittedly not an awards contender, though I’m looking forward to it more than anything else this season), which opens Thursday. Nothing  —  I repeat, nothing  —  will brighten your holidays like the lovable antics of the Swedish Chef.

“In Time.” “The Three Musketeers.” “Footloose.” “Johnny English Reborn.” These are among the films now playing in multiplexes across the country. I find this roster to be strange and unsettling, as I have apparently been laboring under the misapprehension that we were supposed to be smack-dab in the middle of awards season. Silly me.

I had intended to tackle “30 Minutes or Less” this week, but horrible reviews and the film’s highly questionable subject matter have tilted me toward using this column as an opportunity to take a quick look back on the summer movie season as it winds down, and preview some promising fall/winter releases.

When Dustin Hoffman’s character, Benjamin Braddock, graduates from college in the 1967 cult classic “The Graduate,” he is given this career advice: “Plastics.” What advice would you offer Lodi’s class of 2011? We asked Lodians who know a bit about pursuing their dreams. These are their words of wisdom — from where to live to how to make money doing what you love.

Another possible sign of the end times: It seems that our multiplexes are in danger of being overrun with meta-level exercises in self-aware genre filmmaking. Strange thing, that, because this time last year I would have thought such a prospect a dream come true, if completely at odds with Hollywood’s bottom line. After all, in this increasingly post-modern, ironic-chic world, genre retrospective is becoming an invaluable tool to connect audiences not only to the immediate story being told, but indeed an entire rich history of genre lore.

Galt native Amber Kloss has never met Lady Gaga, but she did help the pop star break a world record Saturday before the Grammy Awards.

Happy New Year to all, and I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Mine was a quiet affair, with Heather and me relaxing with a few bottles of wine and a stack of DVDs, including “Nation Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” “Scrooged,” “A Muppet Family Christmas” and, of course, “Die Hard.” In a word: perfect.

Sure, it's easy to rattle off a list of your favorite movies -- but what about your favorite individual scenes? This can be tricky, because even your favorite films don't necessarily have a specific scene that stands out above all others. And I'm not talking about scenes you "like"; I'm talking about the scenes that make you want to throw on a DVD at 3 a.m. when you're tired and drunk and slovenly but can't bear the thought of going to bed before you catch just that one scene... for the 250th time.

• She appeared in The Muppets' "She Drives me Crazy" video.

In Charles Dickens' Victorian England, Christmas was not even distantly similar to what it evolved into 200 years later.

Over the past 10 years or so, I've made every effort to establish myself as "the Christmas guy." My friends and family may be annoyed that I start playing Christmas carols on my car stereo no later than Nov. 1, but one thing that everyone can seem to enjoy together is the tradition of trying to cram in as many Christmas movies and television specials as possible during the weeks heading up to the big day.

Note: Continuing with the new "film log" format for this column. Films marked "Masterwork Selection" should be considered special recommendations, and are subject to more in-depth, spoiler-laden examinations at any time in the future. More tweaks and alterations on the way as I iron this thing out.

"Sesame Street" fans rejoice: Several of the original episodes have been collected on "Sesame Street: Old School" in two volumes (so far), available at the Sesame Street Store and elsewhere.

Tom Jones in Stockton