The Bobbs Beat: Movies with Peter

2018: My Top 10 Movies of 2018 (non-superhero movies) 2018: Top 10 Movies 1.      Searching- A thrilling mystery with an unconventional approach. 2.      Mission: Impossible- Fallout- A superb spy movie with unbelievable practical action sequences. 3.      Isle of Dogs- Wonderfully animated, unpredictable and heartfelt. 4.      A Quiet Place- Tense and exciting, if there is such a thing as a family horror sci-fi film, this would fit into that category. 5.      Upgrade- A low budget sci-fi that exceeds expectations and tropes for the genre. 6.      Creed II- A worthy addition to the solid Rocky franchise with powerful themes of fatherhood and redemption sewn into it’s story. 7.      Bohemian Rhapsody- An enjoyable musical/bio pic with likable characters. 8.      Widows- A twisty heist movie with a to...

Aquaman 3 stars The character of Aquaman has had quite the re-imagining recently. A few years ago, Aquaman was a punchline, a running gag in an episode of Entourage  or Big Bang Theory . Then Jason Momoa was cast, fresh after his brief but crucial role of Khal Drago in Game of Thrones. Aquaman begin to take on this new, ultimate bad-boy persona. I wasn't very impressed with Aquaman's appearances in either Batman V. Superman  or Justice League , so I was highly anticipating his solo film. So what do I make of this new king of Atlantis? In general, Jason Momoa is a very affable protagonist. He's not as frat boy bro-ey as he was in Justice League  (no "My man!" catchphrase) but also not as competent as other characters, such as Wonder Woman. He's portrayed as a reluctant hero who's a bit of an immature slob. I thought they could have leaned even more into the "I'm just a dumb jock, I'm not fit to be king" persona but Momoa's ...

Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse 5 stars When I first saw the trailer for this film, I was highly skeptical. It seemed like a cash-grab for Sony to try to cram in another Spider-man film (in a very Spider-man heavy year) and make a quick buck by throwing in as many popular characters as they could. And then I saw it. This movie blew me away. As a Spider-man fan, I could not of asked for anything more. Not only is this movie visually stunning (combining multiple types of drawing and animation styles and comic book elements) it has a fantastic script. The dialogue is funny and heartfelt and the story moves at a speedy pace. I was most worried about Miles Morales not getting enough screen time, and while the movie does split the time between the different characters, Miles has some amazing scenes where it's completely focused on him. I really love Miles' no nonsense police officer father who is tough but caring. All the spider-people are completely unique, from their per...

Creed II 4 stars Creed II is a satisfying addition to the mostly-solid Rocky franchise. The fights are brutal, the training montages are thrilling, and the plot is straightforward but effective. While MBJ is top-notch as the title character, my favorite part of this film was probably the Drago family storyline. Ivan Drago didn't do much in Rocky 4 besides looking intimidating. He has the "I must break you" line, but besides that he's more of a cartoon. Here, even with limited screen time and sparse dialogue, Ivan and his son Viktor paint a pretty clear picture of what their life has been like the last 30 years. After Ivan lost to Rocky, he lost everything except his son. He now lives vicariously through Viktor, trying to reclaim his position as Russia's golden boy. The most emotional part of the final fight for me actually had to do with Viktor and his absent mother. Again, considering how little screen time the Drago family got, I was completely engaged ...

Fantastic Beasts and the Crimes of Grindlewald 3 stars The Harry Potter franchise is an amazing accomplishment. The scope and scale of the world they built on it's own is an impressive feat. With each movie the tension grew and the stakes got bigger and the acting got better. All in all, they came out with 8 pretty solid films in 10 years without people being completely burnt out on the magical world. Comparatively the fantastic beasts movies seem much more forced. While the characters are enjoyable and visuals are stunning, the story feels choppy in. I wasn't totally sold on the weird Ezra Miller/Obscurial twist from the first film in the series and unfortunately that focus on the obscurus carries over to this one as well. The plot for this film seems a convoluted, but also that not that much happens. I was wondering if I was watching the film like people who were unfamiliar with Harry Potter watched the original franchise. I was able to enjoy the visuals and spells but un...