Full of opinions, but free of spoilers.
Who’s ready for another bonkers movie? If you physically raised your hand or you audibly yelled “I am!” then you’re in luck! Bad Times at the El Royale opened this weekend and boy is it crazy- in the best way possible. I was honestly excited about this movie the first time I saw the trailer. The trailer left you wanting to see more but made you wonder what on earth the movie was even about, and to me, those are the best kinds of trailers.
Just like with A Simple Favor, I found myself wondering where this story was going and what the story was even about throughout the movie. This movie takes you through many twists and turns and doesn’t leave you bored or unsatisfied. Once you think the story revolves around one character you’re quickly proven wrong and the story elevates even more. Bad Times at the El Royale is definitely one of those movies you wonder how the writer came up with the idea, or where the inspiration came from. The film is beautiful in terms of cinematography. Set in the 70’s, the décor of the hotel and the costumes make for beautiful shots and really sets the mood for the film.
This is another great star-studded cast including: Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo (doesn’t Widows look amazing?!), Dakota Johnson, Lewis Pullman, Jon Hamm and Chris Hemsworth. The acting across the board is great! I loved Chris Hemsworth in this role, I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll just let you wait and see who his character is. Jeff Bridges was of course amazing, as was Jon Hamm but you expect those guys to be great. Dakota Johnson was good but she gave me Anastasia from Fifty Shades of Grey vibes still. I don’t know if it’s because that’s what she’s well known for, or it’s because all of the characters she plays have the same whispering voice.
I was really impressed with Lewis Pullman in this film. You may know him as Luke from the last The Strangers movie, The Strangers: Prey at Night. His character was complex and had a nice arc to him. Another leading role is held by Cynthia Erivo, Cynthia Erivo is starring in the upcoming feature film, Widows and if I had to make an educated guess the character in Bad Times and Widows are completely different. She’s actually a Tony award winner and you get a taste of her pipes in this movie. I liked her! Her character wasn’t the most complex in the movie, but I liked her performance and it makes me excited to see her performance in Widows. There’s a movie in production about Harriet Tubman and she’s playing Harriet, so I expect to see Cynthia a lot more in upcoming projects.
All in all, we have another bonkers movie on our hands, and it’s just what we need. The story is so original and crazy, it makes you want to re watch it ASAP just so you can enjoy the ride to the fullest without thinking “What the heck is going on here?” multiple times. It’s definitely not a bad time in my opinion (good one, right?) but rather a fun time! Don’t get too excited though, it’s not a kid-friendly fun time.
So, find you a babysitter and leave the kids home for this one, folks.
Let’s chat! What are your opinions about the movie? What upcoming release should I check out? Email me at ocrutchf@aum.edu.
Hey, my name is Olivia Crutchfield! I’m not a movie expert but I just so happen to live with one, and our love for movies takes us to the movie theaters every single week to see new releases. So, be on the lookout for a review from me almost every week.
If you consider yourself a movie expert or you just really love them like me and want to listen to three guys giving their opinion on movies, all the while being hilarious, you may want to check out the podcast Best Pictures anywhere you get your podcasts.