Bad Times at the El Royale: Review by @Kush_Hayes
Someone finally gave Producer Drew Goddard the Quentin Tarantino 1990s Toy Playset in 2018. Dont get that mistaken, Director and Writer of Cabin In The Woods is great with ensembles and he knows where to place the pieces of his characters on the chess board that is Bad Times At The El Royal.
Two Characters, walk into a hotel and meet a wacky character, who meet another wacky character Oop, now theyre in a situation, thats trumped by another situation with another wacky character trumped by another wacky situation that takes place before this wacky situation…
...NOW WE’RE IN VIETNAM!!!...
Its a lot of fun in the same vein of Smoking Aces and 2006s Running Scared and even Pulp Fiction.
Theres tension and comedy, theres style and grit, while being scared for the characters as having fun with them. The only occurring theme that is clear in the movie is balance.
While the rooms of the El Royale are characters in their own right, our actual characters chew the scenery not just with monologues but with looks and gestures.
I was in a position where I had to see this movie in two separate visits to the theater. Im glad I came back, as I was enjoying the first half but you never know, these things can fall flat real fast.
Broadway Actress Cynthia Erivo, keeps your attention the entire time. It feels like they force her to sing too much in this movie, however every one of her performances are fantastic.
Jeff Bridges is great as the alzheimic former bank robber ex con, whose alias carries the namesake of a Tron reference.
Lewis Pullman is the stand out of the movie as the hotels multipurpose employee, (Bellman, Bartender, Desk Clerk, Housekeeping, etc), with many layers to that onion that you never see coming.
The rest of the cast, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, Caliee Spaeny and of course Chris Hemsworth all kill it in their performances.
I enjoyed this movie, but I feel its going to find its audience on Netflix.
Four Blueberries out of Six
© 2018 TheBosNet Family All Rights Reserved
