There is a first for everything.

Although I am a great admirer of the Coen brothers and basically have seen everything they've written/directed, it was only today that I watched True Grit. The thing is, I don't like westerns and not even the strong belief that they could make something beautiful and entertaining in this genre could convince me that it was time for me to sit it through.

However, I was pleasantly disappointed - it not only is your "typical" Coen movie (and in their case, typical means impeccable acting paired with mesmerizing photography, brilliant directing and, of course, that signature wit) but I also happened to enjoy the story. I knew the script would be well-written (after all, it always is) but I never thought I would actually find it so exciting, especially because it is an adaptation.

Film makers like them are the reason I still have faith in modern cinema - they know special effects and cliché stories might be indispensable for blockbusters but their quality ingredients are a recipe for masterpiece. And that, my friends, is priceless.

My Hero.

Finding Larry David and Seinfeld was probably one of the best things that ever happened to me. Before them I had thought I stood alone as this socially awkward person who worries about and gets annoyed by things people consider "normal" and won't say anything about because that is what's expected from us.
What started with Seinfeld continued and was developed in Curb your enthusiasm. One of the taglines of the series says "Deep inside you know you're him" and frankly speaking I couldn't agree more.
There is not one day I don't encounter an irritating social situation that was analyzed in one of these series and most of the time I wish I had the guts to pull a Larry David. The man himself said that his character on the show is "[his] version of Superman. The character is really me, but I just couldn't possibly behave like that. If I had my druthers, that would be me all the time, but you can't do that."

So here he is, Larry David, my hero.

Two days in Paris.

I have always found it quite annoying and hard to understand that everyone's obsessedly in love with Paris. Frankly speaking, I have never been a francophile and my visit to the City of Light left me unimpressed. Add my infitie love of neurotic characters and sense of humor to this disinterest and you'll understand why I found 2 Days in Paris so irresistible.

Written and directed by (and starring, of course) the almost-legendary Julie Delpy, at first glance it might seem your typical multilingual indie film but the thing is it is much more than that. Aside from being witty and lifelike, it actually is a beautiful movie filled with emotions we all know very well but presenting and analyzing them so truthfully and closely that the result is something very much like an eye-opening experience.
Adam Goldberg gives his very best and you can't help thinking about Woody Allen while watching him act. I wonder how long until he discovers him and Goldberg will pull a Woody Allen, instead of a Polanski...

The life-saver.

There are certain songs that not only comfort you but give you strength and dare I say, save you when you're at your lowest. I know for many people this song is Sinatra's My Way but for me it is Neil Diamond's Solitary Man.
It reminds you that it doesn't matter how many loves you thought were right broke, you can always have the hope that the real thing will arrive one day. And until then, you can live and be happy as a solitary (wo)man...

Let there be light.

I know a lot of people are anti-Christmas when it comes to the commercial part of it, but I have to admit I kind of like it because it helps me get in the mood and somehow I was never one of those who gets stressed when seeing all the Christmas stuff in stores. Of course there are several things I can not stand either - the Christmas songs are the first ones on my hate-list and I also have difficulties with handling the crowd but my two favourite indispensable Christmas elements make up for it big time: Christmas lights and coconut turrón (which is basically a huge block of coconut with some sugar... and some dark chocolate if you're lucky!).
I really love Christmas lights in Madrid, especially when they are not that obviously for the holiday... for example the ones near my home: