#btater

[bug-on-the-mic]

new least favorite trope: character saying he'll "try to be a better man" even as the light fades from his eyes

[dakotajohnsxn]

Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) dir. Drew Goddard

[kookietb]

me: *sees Bad Times at the El Royale*

me:

[everygif]

[sylars]

Movies I’ve Seen in 2018: Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)

It’s a game. It all starts with a simple choice. Which side are you on? Right? Wrong? God or no God? Red or black?

[adriisamused]

Decorative Title Cards in Bad Times at the El Royale

Warning:  Spoilers ahead

Room One:  Laramie Seymour Sullivan/Dwight Broadbeck Design mimics his plaid suit jacket, a relatively loud & characteristic piece of attire compared to those of the other characters we meet early in the movie.

Room Five:  Darlene Sweet Design ties in this iconic record motif, launching into the exposition of Darlene’s music career.

Washington, D.C. Pretty standard title card with clean lines & no ornate flourishes.  Perhaps reflecting DC’s role as austere, unfeeling Big Brother?

Room Seven:  Emily & Rose Summerspring Design seems to be inspired by the embroidery on Rose’s dress, as well as her seemingly whimsical & naïve attitude.

Room Four:  Father Daniel Flynn/Dock O’Kelly Design ties in the iconic cross motif, more than just a nod to Flynn’s presumed identity.

Billy Lee Holy flower child, Billy Lee!  But perhaps the stars start to peek at something more sinister?

Maintenance Closet:  Miles Miller As our emissary to the dark roots within the El Royale & for someone whose eventual death really pushed the good/evil/limbo overtones of the film, this title card didn’t really say much about Miles’ character or history.  If anyone sees anything in this seemingly standard title card, though, let me know!

Side note:  I am hoping to do a fun little redesign for this title card because dangit, Miles, you deserve it!

Reno Darlene’s record motif returns(!) with slight variation.

[anotherfirstkiss]

Someone: yea I heard that movie has Chris Hemsworth playing a cult leader

Me (watching trailer):

[allthefilmsiveseenforfree]

Bad Times at the El Royale

This is the true story (truuuuue storyyyy) of seven strangers, picked to stop at a hotel, work against each other, and have their lives filmed. Find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real at the El Royale. Ok, so it’s not a true story. But the basic formula works as well here as it did way back in 1992 on MTV - seven strangers, packed together in one larger-than-life location, and shit’s gonna get real. We’ve already seen this in one psycho-thriller hotel drama this year, Hotel Artemis, with mixed results. So what exactly do you get when you check into the El Royale? Well...

Writer-director Drew Goddard apes every Tarantino trick in the book except for virulent racism, and weaves a tale of some good people with bad pasts, bad people with bad pasts, and some people that live somewhere in between all running into each other one dark and stormy night. Everyone’s got a secret, but not as many secrets as the El Royale herself...and as they say, secrets secrets are no fun, secrets secrets hurt someone. Pretty sure the pile of dead bodies this movie racks up would agree.

Some thoughts:

The movie’s strongest asset is its cast, and, given the 2 hr 21 min running time, each of them gets the chance to shine brightly. None moreso than the standouts Cynthia Erivo as a lounge singer trying to make her way in a hostile industry, and Chris Hemsworth as Billy Lee, a charismatic and deeply violent cult leader who acts as the nitroglycerin in the film’s explosive third act. Erivo is radiant, and actually gets the chance to show off her incredible singing skills, which is a rarity in movies that cast Broadway musical stars. Hemsworth is - well just look at him up there! He’s oily, volatile, completely unhinged, and absolutely magnetic. You can’t take your eyes off him, and I promise it’s not just because of the abs. (Not that they hurt, cause like DAMN).

Also I’ve always told myself “I’m too secure and independent to ever be vulnerable enough to join a cult” but if Chris Hemsworth looked at me that way...bitch, i might be.

Shoutout also to Jeff Bridges, whose scheming and conniving are underpinned by an actual heartbreaking confession of vulnerability - a vulnerability that allows him to start a beautiful and begrudging partnership with Erivo. Their dynamic is the emotional through-line of the movie and it’s STRONG.

The soundtrack, mostly of 60s era doo-wop and Motown hits is incredible at building atmosphere, and at times, dread. Its as much a character as the seven strangers, and is incorporated into the tension and rhythm of more than one scene in ways I just don’t see directors taking advantage of that often. Really masterfully done.

I wish the pacing had been just a hair tighter. Letting everything spin out gradually is a boon to all the performances, but it definitely feels like it takes us awhile to get anywhere and then we have to double back at multiple points for all the puzzle pieces to fit together. I think some good editing could have made the whole thing feel tighter, and less lethargic in places.

Mini Parks and Rec reunion with Nick Offerman and Jim O’Heir in bit parts! I’ve actually met Jim O’Heir and I am just so happy he keeps getting character actor work because he is the nicest, sweetest man. Go Jerry!

I wish the ending of the climax hadn’t felt quite so deus ex machina - even the tiniest bit of foreshadowing would have made that puzzle piece stick a little bit more easily - but it was certainly satisfying and explained a lot about Miles’ character, even if it was a bit too out-of-nowhere.

I’m so happy to see Dakota Johnson in something other than Fifty Shades and learn that she actually can do some acting! 

Hotel movies are some of the most fascinating ways we can explore all the different lives of highly disparate people meeting up in the same place, because at the end of the day, all people have the same basic need - a place to stay for the night. Bad Times at the El Royale is a sometimes meandering, sometimes violent, always entertaining look at how all those different lives can intersect even if no one means for them to. I’ll certainly be thinking about those intersections the next time I check in to a hotel.