Malos momentos en el Hotel Royale

It is a surprising , perfect puzzle. All is familiar. And you feel that more than you know. The build up is incredible, the mix of western, policier, horror and adventure, war and Tarantino, conspiracy theory, few drops of Scorsese and few crumbs of romance are almost incredible. A film admirable crafted. And that - from impecable story to the acting are ingredients defining it as real special.

Just watched this for the first time after stumbling across it on demand. Figured I would give it a chance, since I loved Cabin in the Woods and Jeff Bridges is one of my favorite actors. I'm no film major or snooty critic, just a guy that enjoys movies. It is definitely a film that pays homage to QT, Coen Bros, etc, but I don't think it is trying to be one of their films as others have said. I'm impressed when a director can pull off an interesting story that takes place in a small setting, such as Hateful Eight, Cloverfield Lane, Devil, Insomnia etc. At nearly 2.5 hours, I didn't feel like the movie was too long, and there were several twists to keep it interesting. I believe all good artists are influenced by their predecessors, but they also put their own spin on it. I think if you are a fan of the above directors, you will enjoy the movie. Just don't try and hold it to QT standards.

A pretty solid crime thriller with loads of retro cool, a well-stocked cast and gorgeous cinematography - and a glut of extraneous flashbacks. If Bad Times at the El Royale has a weakness, it's pacing. It's not a problem during the opening act, as the hotel's emptiness (as well as who the hell are these people?) offers ample intrigue. Plus, there are the sets, I mean this looks incredible. But eventually night falls, backstories start piling up and ... it's enough already.

I have the same problem with El Royale that I did with The Hateful Eight; lots of talent and craft put into the film overall, but it's never again as good as its opening.

And absurdly long-winded.

For the most part this is a really good, if not excellent film, with a fantastic central performance from Jeff Bridges, ably supported with an equally compelling performance from Londoner Cynthia Erivo who I recently saw in Stephen King's The Outside TV series. beautifully shot and confidently and surely constructed to have us spellbound but not fully aware of just what is going on. Is it the hotel that is weird or just the people? Jon Hamm is great in the early stages and looked a bit like a young Robert de Niro. Things really only go wrong, for me, in the last half hour. The film is certainly some fifteen minutes too long and there is simply too much time allowed for Chris Hemsworth to unconvincingly develop his character and similarly with Lewis Pullman who had been great as the hapless bellboy cum hotel manager but with whom we spend a little too long in the end. Disappointing end or not this is well worth a watch and always going to be worth it for a late great showing from Jeff Bridges, and those 60s songs where even just a line or two can be surprisingly effective, indeed it is 'strange how potent cheap music is.'

I really wanted to like this movie. For about the first hour, I really did, but by about the two-hour mark I was ready for the film to end, and by the time the credits rolled I found myself walking from the theater slightly disappointed. "Bad Times at the El Royale" was written and directed by Drew Goddard ("Cabin in the Woods"), a man whose work I've been largely split on, but whenever he hits the nail on the head, his stuff really works for me. This film started off great; there were lots of great twists and turns, memorable and diverse characters, and a mysterious premise. But as the film rolled on, and the character's secrets were unveiled, I found myself growing disenfranchised with the film. Goddard continuously hints at darker things happening, but he never really delivered what he promises. The movie felt like it was trying to emulate the overlapping storylines of "Pulp Fiction", and even some of the dialogue felt like it was Tarantino-esque, but Goddard never quite reaches the level of snappiness Tarantino infuses into his films. Goddard's writing seems uneven; some of the lengthy dialogue scenes are great, while others are dull, borderline boring.