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stuffp
Keeping it Light
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 8:06 am Posts: 11204 Location: Bright Falls
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Bad Times at the El Royale
Quote: Bad Times at the El Royale is a 2018 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written and directed by Drew Goddard. The film stars Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman, Nick Offerman and Chris Hemsworth, and follows seven strangers who each are hiding dark secrets that come to a head on one night in a shady hotel. It premiered at Fantastic Fest on September 27, 2018, and is scheduled to be released in the United States on October 12, 2018.
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Tue Oct 09, 2018 8:42 pm |
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publicenemy#1
Extraordinary
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 12:25 am Posts: 18879 Location: San Diego
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Re: Bad Times at the El Royale
Pretty entertaining and the cast is good, it just doesn't come together in a memorable way. Felt characters were flat and the film didn't really need to be 140+ minutes.
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Sun Oct 14, 2018 2:01 pm |
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Dil
Forum General
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:48 pm Posts: 8942 Location: Houston, Texas
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Re: Bad Times at the El Royale
Yeah this should have been two hours tops, but man is it engaging. I was honestly never bored and the mystery aspect is great. I really wanted to know what was going on, and how everything was going to come together in the end which ended up being pretty damn satisfying. That third act was something else and the performances all around are very solid with two of the best being Jeff Bridges and Cynthia Erivo. I also thought Chris Hemsworth really shined in his villainous, cult leader role as well and I wouldn't mind seeing the dude play more roles like this.
B+
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Fri Dec 21, 2018 12:58 pm |
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stuffp
Keeping it Light
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 8:06 am Posts: 11204 Location: Bright Falls
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Re: Bad Times at the El Royale
Decent flick, it has a lot of good ingredients but they just don't mix together well enough to fulfill their potential. The script, cast and score are all pleasant, but not excellent and I guess it's mainly because of an overkill on the run time. It seems it would have really benefited from a faster pace and quicker resolution of events to make the most of it. Especially because it feels it has the right intentions and is well made for the most part, but the slow build-up and also just moderate finale make it a bit underwhelming eventually.
B-
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Mon Dec 31, 2018 2:49 pm |
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Algren
now we know
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 9:31 pm Posts: 67043
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Re: Bad Times at the El Royale
I get the impression Goddard thinks this film is cleverer than it actually is, and I think he had hoped it would become a sort of cult favourite, such as a Fargo or L.A. Confidential. Unfortunately, it never will. With that being said, there is a lot to enjoy in Bad Times at the El Royale. It features nobody that I particularly like. Jeff Bridges, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Chris Hemsworth ... all kinda meh. The most disappointing character is probably Hemsworth as the Charles Manson type. But none of them are particularly intriguing. But overall the film has a cool atmosphere with crisp dialogue and palatable non-linear storytelling. It ends badly, though. And it's such a shame because it was building to something that could have been excellent. No twist (or reveal) ever catches a gasp. It's all fairly pedestrian, and that's why it won't be remembered as the modern crime gem that its runtime and marketing suggested it might be. Also none of its plot strands are given closure.
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Tue Jan 01, 2019 6:02 am |
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Felipe
Child Actor
Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2018 9:20 pm Posts: 36
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Re: Bad Times at the El Royale
Surprising... slow at the beginning... then 180 degree U turn... decent actor's performance. Nice environment... back and forward storyline ... enjoyable.... (I suck in critics hahahaha)
Can I say between B- and C+?
Cheers....
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Wed Jan 02, 2019 9:20 am |
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stuffp
Keeping it Light
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 8:06 am Posts: 11204 Location: Bright Falls
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Re: Bad Times at the El Royale
Cool, sure, you can grade it whatever you like.
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Wed Jan 02, 2019 9:32 am |
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Flava'd vs The World
The Kramer
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:36 am Posts: 23787 Location: Classified
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Re: Bad Times at the El Royale
Two hours and thirty minutes of nothin’.
It’s got style though.
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Sun Jun 16, 2019 4:35 pm |
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