Comiditas

Guisantes con jamón y Cordon Bleu (¡qué nivel Maribel!)

Cocido soriano-madrileño

Salteado de pollo

Arroz a la Noé

Puré de zanahorias y salchichas de Frankfurt

Blonde Ambitions Part III (The "Older does not mean old" Pt.1)

Blonde TV actresses that have grown up can also be ambitious. Some of them have fared better than others through those ambitions nevertheless...

Elizabeth Perkins as Celia Hodes in Weeds

Celia is that neighbour we all want to have, don't we? If she is portrayed by Elizabeth Perkins I definitely want her close. She is so fun in the role (or was, I should say...) that even though in real life she would be annoying it is impossible not to love her on the show. Reading Elizabeth's Imdb page I only remember her in The Ring 2. (WARNING: Embarrasing story follows) I went to see The Ring 2 to the theatre (I had already seen the first one and I liked it) and in a magazine I had read that Sissy Spacek appeared in the film. It was curious because of her portrayal of Carrie in the homonymous film. Well, back then, I had not seen Carrie, and so I thought she was the actress playing the doctor in that scary needle scene (or was it a scary pair of scissors? Scary either way...). Yes, I thought Elizabeth Perkins was Sissy Spacek. And they do not look much alike actually...

Felicity Huffman (Lynette Scavo in Desperate Housewives)

Felicity Huffman is the only woman on this post to have been nominated for a Best Actress Oscar. Even so, she is not the most succesful of the lot by far. Right now, she seems condemned to play Lynette Scavo forever. Not that she's not good at it but her storylines are lately the most boring ones. Plus, Tom Scavo is possibly the most annoying character ever to appear on television. Nevertheless she will always be able to say that she worked with Paul Thomas Anderson... 

Julie Bowen as Claire Dunphy in Modern Family

And we encounter the third housewife in a row, the one without a known job, the magnificent Claire Dunphy. To be honest I'm more on Team Gloria but since she is not a blonde... Not to worry because my love for Claire is also great. Julie Bowen entered my life as Jack's I-want-to-dance-at-my-wedding-wife in Lost. Then she was the MILF on Weeds that allowed us to see Silas' on action (the gif is very small but if you saw the scene, you will remember it). For her future, she is set to appear on Horrible Bosses playing Kevin Spacey's wife if I recall correctly. Playing the wife of Kevin Spacey in a Jennifer Anniston /Jason Bateman (The Switch was quite endearing) comedy might not seem much but less is nothing...

Kelly Rutherford (Lily Van Der Woodsen Bass Humphrey... in Gossip Girl)

Lily could also be considered a housewife, only her chores consist on sitting at a table writing thank-you notes rather than kneeling to scrub the floors... I love Lily even when she is mean or has ulterior motives (once every two episodes) because Kelly's portrayal makes her so endearing... even when she's next to hateful-Rufus! Anyway Kelly has done a lot of films, a lot of TV and though her future seems to be solely occupied by Gossip Girl she will always be able to say that she was killed in a Scream film...Isn't that what every actress want?

Rosemarie DeWitt is Charmaine in "United States of Tara"

THE CHEAT FACTOR: Yes, I know she is not a blonde but it's my party and I'll cry if I want to. Besides, Rosemarie's talent is too big to be overlooked. I think that picture is from Rachel Getting Married where she also played a woman outshined by her sister craziness. She brings so much life and wit into Charmaine that it is impossible not to love the self-absorbed bitch she is. As to her ambitions, she had a great role on Mad Men and was very well received though not near as much (in quantity) as she deserved for her Rachel. She plays Ben Affleck's wife or girlfriend or something (they are in bed in the trailer) in The Company Men. And I fondly remember her as Miranda's mean co-worker in a Sex and the City episode...

To be continued...

Oscar Nominations

Oscar Nominations were a day ago and writing this post I feel like I'm getting late to the party... Well, that's me! A turtle! Anyways, Oscar voters were good this year. Of course, some things were good, some were bad but I don't think any of those things was awful à la Blind Side last year...

Let's break those things down:

THE BAD

- No Andrew Garfield.

- No Mila Kunis.

- No Black Swan screenplay.

- No Black Swan in Costume Design.

It's good that all bad things are snubs and not horrific inclusions. Wait, I forgot:

- Tom Hooper: Is there anything more bland and generic than The King's Speech direction?

- Alice in Wonderland (it was butt-ugly and it was not intended as in Biutiful so... what is the achievement exactly?)

- The Best Song category. Let's hope this year they don't perform or Lauren Bacall will fall asleep...

THE HILARIOUS

- No Nolan in directing. Fanboys must be burning stuff...

THE GOOD

- A great array of ten nominees for Best Picture.

- Twenty respectable performances (of those I've seen HBC is the weakest one and she is good)

- Four auteurs in Best Director. 

- The Way Back for Make-Up.

THE GREAT

- Exit through the Gift Shop.

- Dogtooth.

- The Social Network's score (and all the other seven nominations).

- I Am Love for Best Costume Design.

THE FANTABULOUS

- Black Swan's cinematography.

- Black Swan's editing.

- Natalie Portman.

- DARREN ARONOFSKY.

- Black Swan for Best Picture.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

- Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole!!

The Year of the Father

SPOILERS THROUGHOUT. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

This is not exaggerated. Spoilers are evil...

Sotigui Kouyaté in London River

Aaron Eckhart in Rabbit Hole

2010 has been a very fruitful year for the figure of the father. There are fathers separated from their children whether it is because of a bombing in London as the main character in London River, played by Sotigui Kouyaté, because said father is wanted for a crime he did not commit as Cobb in Inception, played by Leonardo DiCaprio or because of a car accident as Howie in Rabbit Hole, played by Aaron Eckhart. The first two parents don't have interactions with their children during the film but all their actions are directed to being reunited with them. Whether in the end they achieve that or not is not as relevant to this analysis as the fact that they pause their lives to be with their offspring again. In the case of Howie, his life is paused as well but because he has no hope, he has no goal. He won't be reunited with his child and he has to learn to live with that brick in his pocket.

Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception

Juan Diego Botto in Todo lo que tu quieras

 On the other hand, there are two fathers who are "forced" to be with their daughters. The character played by Juan Diego Botto in Todo lo que Tú Quieras has to be a dad and a mom after his wife's death. Literally. He has to dress up as her late wife to please his daughter. He faces his fears and world views out of love for his daughter.

Stephen Dorff in Somewhere

 Johnny Marco is a famous actor (played by Stephen Dorff in Somewhere) who spends a few weeks with his daughter. He probably was not a bad father, just an absent one. In this case it is not what he can do for her daughter but what she can do for him. He was lost in his incredibly comfortable life (So Sofia, right?) and the lovely Cleo finds him and balances him.

Mark Ruffalo in The Kids Are All Right

John C. Reilly in Cyrus

Other cinematic men never really thought of themselves as fathers and for one reason or another they need to reevaluate those beliefs. Mark Ruffalo's character in The Kids Are All Right donated sperm once upon a time and pretty much forgot about it. How can he be a parent when both of the seats in the parenting slot are taken? Is he a father in the first place? Blood (or sperm in this case) might mean nothing. But it works the other way around too. When John C. Reilly's character in Cyrus falls in love with the perfect woman (she is Marisa Tomei, of course she is perfect) he is not aware that a psychotic son is included in the pack. But he is. And in the end, even though there's no blood between them, a chance at being a family seems possible.

Richard Jenkins in Let Me In

Lambert Wilson in Des Hommes et des Dieux

Other fathers are just... not traditional. They can be classified according to their boss: God or the Devil... Well, Chloe Moretz is (very unfairly) hated in some blogs but even her more ardent detractors would not say she is the Devil, just a thirsty little vampire girl. And Richard Jenkins plays, in Let Me In (the surprisingly good remake of Swedish masterpiece Let the Right One In), her father figure. He provides for her and he goes to any length to protect her (not that she's meek and needs protection...) but it all maybe because of incestual reasons. On God's Corner we have Lambert Wilson's Christian (in Of Gods and Men) the spiritual father of a group of monks. As any other father he has to make decisions for his "children" even if they'll be mad. He has to take responsibility and keep his family together. Nevertheless he must be a cool dad because he allows music during dinner (or Swan Lake at least).

Miguel Gallardo in María Y Yo

And finally we have the perfect fathers. Miguel Gallardo does not play a perfect father. He is. María y Yo is one of the best documentaries of the year (and one of the best Spanish movies of the year for that matter...). In it we discover the relationship between Miguel and María, his autistic daughter. She may be sick but that won't stop Miguel from treating her as a healthy kid and as daddy's princess at the same time. It is wonderful to see their moments of complicity.

Another perfect father is Uxbal, the recently nominated for an Oscar performance by Javier Bardem. Let's say it up front: Biutiful is a terrible movie. And yet Javier's performance is masterful. His Uxbal is suffering from every possible angle. He has a drug addict brother, a bipolar wife, a gift to talk to the dead and on top of it cancer. But he also has two kids. And that is what he puts first every moment. He may not be a great help for his daughter's English homework but he cares about them very much. It was this film and a remark by Deivith that got me thinking in cinematic fathers. So it is proper that if he started it, he finishes it.

Javier Bardem in Biutiful

When Awards Get Predictable...

 ...dresses are always there! Sidenote: I am so not complaining about the awards because for the most part (Glee over Modern Family, seriously?) they were very much fair and awesome. And now let's talk dresses... Best ones, specifically.

HONORABLE MENTIONS (Eco-friendly: Think Green)

Mila Kunis (Honorable Mention)

Elisabeth Moss (Honorable Mention)

Both Honorable Mentions wore green and both were winners (spiritually, at least). I still haven't seen Black Swan (even though earlier today I cried hearing an interview with Aronofsky) so I can't say about Mila but Elisabeth was robbed. Her work in Mad Men's fourth season has been her best so far. And her previous work was already perfect! I'm a little glad for Katey Sagal but only because Ed O'Neill was happy for her...

#10. Julianne Moore

10. Julianne Moore in Lanvin.

Julianne Moore was so cool in this hot pink. And she was so happy when Annette won... Those two should be lesbians in real life and adopt another couple of should-be lesbians (Amanda Seyfried and Ellen Page) [Theory adapted from Deivith's twisted mind]

#9 Angelina Jolie

9. Angelina Jolie.

No offense to Mila and Elisabeth but this is wearing green. She was so beautiful and so Goddess-like. I love how she spent the gala cuddling with Brad and applying lip-gloss. It's like she has taken a page from the Kate Winslet book and she wants to convince us that she is NORMAL and that she has done her own make-up.

#8 Sofía Vergara

8. Sofia Vergara.

SHE WAS ROBBED. She was. God knows I love Lynch's work but Gloria is beyond goodness. And on top of it she makes it look effortless. The episode where she learnt to bike was pure gold "What if someone tries to grab me?". O woe, I hope she gets the Emmy in August... Anyway, the dress fitted her like a glove in all her "volumptuosity" and the color was so bold and flattering...

#6 & #7 Heather Morris and Naya Rivera

Heather Morris

Naya Rivera

Not only were they incredibly beautiful but also matched each other! If in one season on Glee they have gone from backup dancers to fan-favorites these two girls will win Oscars in about five years. That, or worldwide domination... And they are so slender...

#5 Olivia Wilde

5. Olivia Wilde in Marchesa.

I don't like Olivia Wilde much (even though she was very nice in Tron and she played a lesbian in O.C. [I've just realized that excepting Sofía every woman up to now has played a lesbian or a bisexual; am I sensing a theme?]) but this dress definitely makes my esteem for her grow. I love it when not-so-famous people really commit to a dress. It's like they're saying: "I might be a boring character in boring House but look at my dress, I could be a star" and I like that, yes, I do...

#4 Scarlett Johansson

4. Scarlett Johansson.

I really don't like Scarlett Johansson but when she appeared on the red carpet last night both my boyfriend and I went "OHMYGODSHELOOKSSOGOOD!!" And she did. She has lost some weight and it is good because now her boobs are smaller than her head, something quite tasteful if you like to display them like on a window-shop (only exception to the rule: Christina Hendricks, of course). It may be related to the divorce but if it was Ryan who left her he must be regretting it now (specially if the rumors are true and he is in fact doing the nasty with Sandra Bullock who since yesterday is to be known as Latoya Jackson's lost twin). And the hair... So dramatic. I love it!

Scarlett's amazing hair

#3 Emma Stone

3. Emma Stone in Calvin Klein.

Blonde hair looks so good on her (don't misinterpret me, she is freakingly beautiful as a redhead), it makes her look older and more sophisticated... And that dress. So simple and yet so effective. It looks seamless like the dress Lisa Marie Presley wears in Mars Attacks! This girl (Emma, not Lisa Marie) sure does know how to become a star. Question: Wouldn't it be great if she got the fifth spot in the Oscars? Answer: Yes, it would be!

#2 Anne Hathaway

2. Anne Hathaway in Armani Privé.

It would also be extremely cool that the fifth spot went to Anne. Ok, the film is not very good but she is so devilishly charming. She is the new Amy Adams only with extra charisma. And I don't think she has ever been as chic and beautiful as she was last night. This 70s vibe totally suits her, in my opinion better than the princess thing though she is lovely as well in that mode (remember the Oscars '08: "Frank Langella was sitting right next to me"). I can't wait to see her host the Oscars. And I've just read that she's going to be in Glee. Which is awesome because she sings soooo well and that's why she should sing at the Oscars because she does it well... Duh!

#1 January Jones

1. January Jones in Versace.

January Jones won't go for second best, baby. She won't settle with being the most mesmerizingly beautiful woman (make that human being [make that being in general]) on the Universe and in every possible alternate universe. No. She has to be a killer dresser as well. Not to mention the creator of one of the most complex and accomplished characters ever in the history of the audiovisual. But going back to the clothes... She is such an amazing dresser, always thinking outside the box. I remember being completely obsessed with her outfit at the Met Gala (the Superheroes one)... And this red Versace (she is the new face) is perfection. It is so risky and yet she wears it with more ease than what I can have when wearing my pajamas. It's like she was born to wear this dress, and let's face it, the dress is amazingly beautiful in all its detail but without January's attitude it would not be the same. And what about her face? I could be looking at it forever... It is art!

Isn't she gorgeous?

Viajar cada día

 Me encanta que mi universidad no esté en Madrid capital. Y es que I love el Cercanías. No solamente por las obvias ventajas pragmáticas (es mucho más rápido que moverse en metro y siempre hay más asientos) sino por la noción romántica del viaje. Habiendo crecido en Zaragoza capital, para mí, ir en tren y ver campo significa viaje. Aunque, como en este caso, sea de solo veinte kilómetros, porque en el estómago siento lo mismo que en un viaje largo... Viendo caballos, nieve o pinos del amanecer entre Almazán y Quintana. ¡Y la unión que ha roto la muerte un día!

Echando de menos a Honey Bee

Sí, echo de menos la voz de terciopelo de la más grande entre las grandes. Estadísticamente el cuarto disco tiene que estar al caer (Dangerously in love (2003)- 3 años - B'Day (2006)- 2 años - I am... Sasha Fierce (2008) -ya van más de dos años...). En los días tontos (y nunca mejor dicho) vendría muy bien...