Top Ten of 2018!

I always put a great deal of thought into my top ten movies every year, because I always use it as a touchstone for this moment in my movie watching journey. If a certain movie lands in my "top ten," it enters a special place in my heart forever. So here are ten of my favorite films from 2018 that have entered into the "Peter Waters" pantheon!

10. Green Book
Dir. Peter Farrelly

Dumb and Dumber is (abashedly) my favorite movie of all time, but even after defending that 90s goofball comedy for years, even I was surprised that director Peter Farrelly could pull a movie like Green Book off! The film, based on a true story, follows the budding friendship between Dr. Shirley (Mahershala Ali), a world-class African-American concert pianist, and his driver Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), a tough-talking Italian American from the Bronx, as they embark on a concert tour through the Deep South in 1962. Although it's a little hokey, it's the good kind of crowd-pleaser. Funny, heartfelt, and socially-conscious, Green Book is a pleasant deviation from Farrelly's typical low-hanging slapstick material!

The Talkies: 2018 "Best Of" Superlatives!

Welcome to my 7th annual movie blog superlatives: "The Talkies!" Leading up to my official Top Ten of the year, here I will honor the year in movies through different categories, from acting to music to cinematography! At the end, also enjoy a special Spotify playlist of the tracks featured in this post! Thanks again for reading, you loyal blog readers!

BEST ACTOR - Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread

Supposedly Daniel Day-Lewis's "final" performance before his announced retirement (we'll see how long that pans out), his portrayal of Reynolds Woodcock, a meticulous, strict, self-absorbed dress designer in 1950s London, is yet again up to the master-class level we expect of him.

Despite his extremely particular tastes, Woodcock winds up courting a bright-eyed waitress unaccustomed to his lifestyle and is one of the few people to challenge his routine. Similar to Hitchcock's Rebecca, their mutual attraction and distrust lends to some tense scenes as their small rebellions build off of each other. It's such a particular, specific, genius, and subtly comical performance and although I don't believe it's the last we'll see of Day-Lewis, it would be a fantastic note to end his career on!

Review Round-Up: December

Happy holidays everyone! These will be my last reviews of the year before I post my "Best Of" Superlatives, Top Ten of the year, and most anticipated of 2019. I just want to say thank you to all my readers out there! I may not be writing as frequently as I once did, but I have been super busy! Whether you're reading this in a waiting room or on your laptop or sitting on the toilet - I hope you enjoy!

Aquaman

Dir. James Wan

Aquaman, with his gaudy orange and green costume and ability to talk to fish, has sort of been the laughing stock of DC Comics characters for a long time. But in the latest DCU film from director James Wan, Jason Momoa ups the character's "cool factor," making him a hulking, tatted-up surfer bro with a Rob Zombie beard. Simultaneously embracing Aquaman's innately silly concept while giving the character a "badass" revamp, this latest superhero flick does do a considerable job bringing the character to new places - but the story of this half-breed Atlantian/ human and his adventures trying to unite the surface world and the water world is a mostly incomprehensible, CGI-filled mess with cringe-worthy acting and insane plot devices that make no sense at all (this movie argues that, yes, dinosaurs are alive and well, living in the Earth's core).

Final Verdict:

SKIP IT