Review: Bad Times at the El Royale

Directed by Drew Goddard

Starring Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman, and Chris Hemsworth.

Set in 1969, the plot follows seven strangers who each are hiding dark secrets that come to a head on one night in a shady hotel on the California-Nevada border.

One of the movies I really was anticipating this year, after seeing the trailer when I saw Mission

Impossible: Fallout two months ago. I found it to be quite good, and I really enjoyed the film. The director Drew Goddard, was known for screenwriting films such as Cloverfield, World War Z, and The Martian, as well as directing my C.T Recommended film of this week The Cabin in the Woods. I was definitely excited to see what he had in store next, and this was it.

The film is really unique, and feels a lot like Murder on the Orient Express with every character being unique. I loved the way they introduced all the characters and their backstories, as well as how the film was edited and presented. The performances were great, especially Hemsworth who was really menacing. The film's tone was both eerie and humorous similar to Goddard's previous film The Cabin in the Woods.

The pacing and the overall presentation of the film's plot felt a lot like a Tarantino movie, and more specifically like Pulp Fiction. The set design was incredible, really immersing me into this film with its also great costume design. The cinematography was incredible, and the choice of licensed classic 50's and 60's music was great. A lot of themes were used in the film which was a nice touch to the setting and the time period of the movie, with themes such as racism, cults and PTSD.

The only problem I kind of had with the film, was it had a bit of a slow build-up, but it does pay off with its impressive and insane 2nd and 3rd act.

In conclusion, the movie has its laughs, has its shocks, and overall is really entertaining and worth watching. Really recommend checking it out when you can.

Yes guys, I am back on schedule writing reviews when they should come out (yay I guess). I want to let you guys know that I will be reviewing Halloween next week, as well try to watch First Man in the upcoming weeks. I decided I will probably watch A Star is Born (not really up to watching it though, to be quite honest) when it releases on Blu-ray. Damn October is a really good month for films isn't it?

My rating: 8.0/10

#FilmReview #2018