Danke für all die Liebe

A few days ago, fellow blogger and friend Ruth from the wonderful FlixChatter passed the Liebster Blog Award to me (along with ten other lucky bloggers). Thank you Ruth for this distinction! Accepting the award entails a few responsibilities, though, and they are: 

  1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
  2. Answer the 11 questions the person giving the award has set for you.
  3. Create 11 questions for the people you will be giving the award to
  4. Choose 11 people to award and send them a link to your post.
  5. Go to their page and tell them
  6. No tag backs (what does that even mean?) 


So, without further ado, here’s 11 things about myself: 

  1. I’m an agnostic atheist and 100% a dog person.
  2. I don’t really like going out to bars or clubs (those nights do nothing for me; I prefer house parties or doing something new), I drink tea, coffee or water all the time, and my hobbies are watching films, reading and writing, which means I’m probably the oldest, most boring 22-year old out there.
  3. I keep Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, John Mayer, Michael Bublé, Adele, Jason Mraz and Maroon 5 on heavy rotation, every day. I’m always listening to one of them (or a jazz station).
  4. The first time I cried with a movie it was an Adam Sandler one (Click). What is wrong with me?
  5. My favorite song is Fly me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra and my favorite movie is a toss-up between Volver and Kill Bill Vol. I. 
  6. I’ve seen every Friends episode several times and I can probably recite half of their lines by heart. Will & Grace, Community, Modern Family, Glee, Pushing Daisies, How I Met Your Mother, Lost and 30 Rock are also among my all-time favorite TV shows.
  7. I wish I had a great singing voice or great talent for sports (I have neither).
  8. I come from an (almost) drama-free, loving, beautiful family. I have 2 brothers (18 and 20) and a sister (18, too, but she’ll turn 19 in a few days). My parents are 54 and met in law school. They’ve been together for more than 30 years and happily married for 26.
  9. Me and my family visited Japan and Thailand in 2002. It was an awesome, unforgettable trip. I only wish I hadn’t been 12 years old. I would appreciate a trip like that so much more at this age.
  10. My first film-star crush was Drew Barrymore. I saw her in Charlie’s Angels when I was in 5th grade and I couldn’t stop thinking about her afterwards. I fell hard. 
  11. I suck at every sport known to man, except swimming. I’m actually good at it and I did it for 8 years of my life. I left the team at 16 because I grew tired of the swimmer’s lifestyle. Last weekend, I went on a trip with some of my friends from school and I swam for the first time in about 5 years. I was so happy.

 Answering Ruth’s questions:

  1. Who’s your favorite movie actor who’s currently starring in a TV show? Laura Linney, who’s doing The Big C. I haven’t seen a single episode but I bet she’s doing a fantastic job. I also loved Gwyneth Paltrow’s guest stint on Glee.
  2. Could you date someone who does not love movies? I don’t think I could. It would be really awkward since I talk about film all the time. Or maybe that person could be the yin to my yang. Who knows?
  3. What makes you want to have a movie blog? Well, I love film and I love writing. I started reviewing movies at Flixster and opening my own blog felt like a natural step. I also got inspiration from Mark at Fast Film Reviews.
  4. Which director/actor collaboration you’d like to see [it has to be people who have never worked together before]? Tom Hiddleston and Christopher Nolan, Meryl Streep and David Fincher (she should do darker stuff again), Woody Allen and Jessica Chastain, Daniel Day-Lewis and Pedro Almodóvar, Ewan McGregor and Martin Scorsese. By the way, lazy guy that I am, I just matched a few of my favorite actors with some of my favorite directors, but you can’t say those aren’t awesome pairings.
  5. What dish are you good at making? There’s this egg-and-potato pie that I do, very similar to a Spanish tortilla, that’s my signature breakfast dish. It’s really good and you can pour anything on it and make it your own (which is what my family likes to do), be it sour cream or ketchup or hot sauce. I also make a mean potato salad and frijoles puercos (fried beans with chorizo, onion and jalapeños).
  6. Any encounter with a celebrity you care to share? I met Academy Award nominee Adriana Barraza (Babel) at a local film festival when I was about 15 years old and took a picture with her. Later in the day, I caught sight of her at a store but for some reason I didn’t walk up to her again. I also exchanged a few brief words and shook the hand of director Alejandro González Iñárritu in January of last year.
  7. Since the Olympics are still going on, what’s your favorite movie set in London? Match Point (although it’s been a long time since I’ve seen it). Least favorite is Attack the Block. I hated it!
  8. Which is your favorite movie writer [could be a journalist, novelist, etc.]? Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) from Midnight in Paris. I love how much he loves the city.
  9. Which do you prefer: sweltering heat vs. cool, rainy days? Cool, rainy days! I’d be happy living in a city like Seattle or London. Heat makes me cranky and drowsy.
  10. Favorite outfit/costume from a movie? I have trouble picking one. The Elizabeth movies have incredible costumes, true works of art. Can I pick an accessory? I love Paul Child’s (Stanley Tucci) turquoise ring in Julie & Julia. It’s very cool and I want it.
  11. Which actor/actress you initially detest but then slowly warming up to [feel free to reverse the question, that is an actor you initially love but now can’t stand]? From hate to love: Tom Hanks, Zooey Deschanel, Antonio Banderas, Gerard Butler.  Viceversa: Johnny Depp.

I’m passing the award to:

Here are the questions they’ll have to answer (I answered these ones too, just for the sake of discussion):

Favorite scene in a film?
The baptism sequence from There Will Be Blood. Still gives me chills. Sometimes, I pop in the DVD and just watch that scene. A close second: Remy running through an apartment building, “meeting” some of its tenants and discovering he’s actually in Paris (from Ratatouille).

Worst performance by your favorite actor/actress?
I had a hard time finding a bad Jimmy Stewart or Meryl Streep performance, so I went with another one of my favorites: the mighty Daniel Day-Lewis. His performance in Nine was not bad per se, but the role left much to be desired and some of the songs he had to sing were atrocious.

Favorite drink (alcoholic or not)?
Three-way tie: coffee with sugar and only a splash of milk, iced green tea with any fruit juice (cranberry, preferably) and iced water with a few slices of lemon, lime or orange.

Any interesting rituals before/during/after watching a movie?
I did this question to see if any of you guys had any interesting rituals; I don’t. Unless you count doing a little research and writing a review an interesting ritual.

Oscars: agony or ecstasy?
Ooh, ecstasy. It’s my favorite day of the year and I wait anxiously for it. I hope I can throw a kick-ass Oscar party soon.

Name your top 10 actors and actresses.
In no particular order: Meryl Streep, James Stewart, Daniel Day-Lewis, Laura Linney, Kate Winslet, Kevin Spacey, Frances McDormand, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Penélope Cruz and Robert De Niro.

Favorite musical/dance scene from a movie?
“El Tango de Roxanne” from Moulin Rouge!

Name 3 movies with great cinematography.
Citizen Kane, The Tree of Life, Los Abrazos Rotos. Bonus obvious choice: The Fall.

Favorite film poster?
Not the prettiest but I love love love this Drag Me to Hell poster.

Coolest thing in your movie collection?
I actually bought this a few days ago. It cost me just 20 pesos (around 1 dollar and 60 cents) at a swap meet. A limited edition (#70, 999 of only 250,000) Disney Treasures package called On the Front Lines, consisting of Disney-produced WWII propaganda.

Favorite city/country you’ve never been to?
Visiting France, especially Paris, is a lifelong dream. Hope it comes true soon.

Thanks again to Ruth for the award and congrats to the new winners! Hope everyone is able to answer the questions and pass the Liebster on to 11 other people!

Category : Awards Stuff