#59 The Impossible (2012) Dir. J.A. Bayona

I really love Bayona’s previous movie The Orphanage and his development as a filmmaker is even more interesting now considering he’s made something completely different with The Impossible. This is a technically and emotionally superb movie full of visceral punch and delicate intimacy. Naomi Watts’ performance especially is brave and unforgettable and Ewan McGregor hasn’t had the chance to flex this many acting muscles in years. The kids too are terrific. I also thought the score was very unconventional in places which made many sequences that much more interesting. It leans too far on the sentiment here and there but with a true story this powerful, I’ll give it a pass.

For me she’s not exactly a muse, the person who inspires. She doesn’t inspire me for stories but she inspired something very important which is confidence and that is very, very important work. But of course we can call her a muse in the sense that when I finish the first draft and I am thinking of the faces of the characters, I’m always looking for one that fits her or trying to adapt it for her, because I think there is a big chemistry between us. I think that when I work with Penelope now, I’m a better director, thanks to Penelope - and Penelope’s probably a better actress thanks to me. - Pedro Almodovar

Wes Anderson and the cast of The Royal Tenenbaums, behind the scenes

wolfcrown:

“I’ll never forget the day Marilyn and I were walking around New York City, just having a stroll on a nice day. She loved New York because no one bothered her there like they did in Hollywood, she could put on her plain-jane clothes and no one would notice her. She loved that. So as we we’re walking down Broadway, she turns to me and says ‘Do you want to see me become her?’ I didn’t know what she meant but I just said ‘Yes’- and then I saw it. I don’t know how to explain what she did because it was so very subtle, but she turned something on within herself that was almost like magic. And suddenly cars were slowing and people were turning their heads and stopping to stare. They were recognizing that this was Marilyn Monroe as if she pulled off a mask or something, even though a second ago nobody noticed her. I had never seen anything like it before.” - Amy Greene, wife of Marilyn’s personal photographer Milton Greene

Martin Scorsese photographed by Steve Schapiro on the set of Taxi Driver

#58 Maniac (2013) Dir. Franck Khalfoun

Been looking forward to this and while there’s a bunch of stuff I liked, it didn’t really amount to enough for me. I really enjoyed the retro score (it has the same 80s New York-at-night neon pulse as Drive) and thought Elijah Wood was a clever casting choice, being a complete 180 from Joe Spinelli in the original. He delivers an effective if not very subtle performance not too far from his turn in Sin City. Khalfoun’s daring aesthetic choice to shoot the whole movie from his protagonist’s POV gives it an interesting gimmick that surprisingly never becomes tiresome. Everything on the surface is great but once you start digging a little deeper there’s not much to chew on. Still, a fun experiment and a nice companion piece to William Lustig’s grimy original.

#57 Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) Dir. Robert Wise

I’ve seen a good 20 or so episodes of the Original Series and really dig it but hell fire this movie was painfully slow paced and close to watching paint dry. The special effects and art direction are great but the story is just a real snooze-fest. From what I’ve read it seems the worst is over with now so I look forward to getting stuck in with the rest of the series. Up next: Wrath of Khan!

Attempting to watch Star Trek: The Motion Picture but jesus christ this thing is so slow paced and boring kill me now then wake me up when it’s time for The Wrath of Khan.

#56 Iron Man 3 (2013) Dir. Shane Black

This movie is great, a massive piece of entertainment. Marvel have skyrocketed their golden streak into Phase 2 with their most confidently authored stand-alone movie yet. It also proves once more that the key to these movies is by picking a filmmaker with a very distinct style that can improve the foundations already in place. The Batman movies soared because they felt at home next to Nolan’s previous films like Memento, the Spider-Man series was at it’s most thrilling when Raimi let the right amount of his sensibilities seep into the action and ofcourse The Avengers was destined for success once Joss Whedon signed the dotted line. What Shane Black brings to Iron Man 3 is his signature Christmas setting, buddy-comedy banter, a pitch perfect tone and an ear for sharp, biting dialogue, I mean, let’s face it, who better to write lines for Tony Stark than the man behind Martin Riggs? This is my favourite Iron Man movie by far and while at least one of the twists has me torn between declaring it bold and brilliant or devastatingly disappointing, it’s still an awesome, thrilling piece of popcorn fun.