🎬 2025 Movie #42 | Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)

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This blog is a personal journal of all the movies, Tv-Shows, & Games I consume during a year which enhances my overall experience. The ratings that I give are fully based on my personal preference and enjoyment at the time of watching and I'm writing spoiler-free reviews. (All HBD earnings are used to get extra Hive Power Delegations!)

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I has almost been a month since I watched my last movie as I have been quite busy with other things while there are some weekly tv-shows that I follow on tv which simply makes me have not enough time or the sharpness late in the evening to watch many movies even though my backlog keeps on growing. Battle of The El Royale is one of those movies that I have wanted to watch for a long time ever since I heard it mentioned in a movies podcast on a sidenote in a way that it sold me knowing this likely would be a good movie and it was as I highly enjoyed it. This is one of those movies where you best go in quite blind so I'll be keeping this post fully spoiler-free!

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Bad Times at the El Royale (7.7/10)

This movie is directed by Drew Goddard who previously directed Cabin in The Woods which is regarded as a good horror movie that I also enjoyed. He also seems to have worked as a writer on cloverfield, The martian, and tv shows like Lost, Alias, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and I certainly will keep his name in mind.

The movie itself fully takes place at the El Royale Hotel ion the 60s-70s which is a fictional hotel inspired by a real hotel called the Cal Neva Lodge & Casino which sits at the border of California & Nevada splitting it in 2 with a red line. This represents one of the themes in the movie (good vs bad) which mostly went passed me.

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Movie Plot

1969. Four strangers check in at the El Royale Hotel. The hotel is deserted, staffed by a single desk clerk. Some of the new guests' reasons for being there are less than innocent and some are not who they appear to be.

The movie starts with a guy checking into the holtel hiding some money under the floor in one of the rooms and I kind of assumed that this money would he the main story driver which it wasn't. It's just one of the elements as there each of the 4 guests are totally unrelated and each kind of have their thing going on. This makes for a story that has a ton of coincidences and statistically is near impossible but it's fun and it just works. This movie also has a lot of twists and turns which was nice and kept things interesting all the way.

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The movie also has a nice cast with Jeff Bridges, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, & Cynthia Erivo who were cast perfectly. There is also a famous actor who came in the picture later in the movie coming as somewhat of a surprise. The entire setting and location for this movie was perfect, I liked the timeframe it was set in also and the music & sound were excellent.

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Trailer Full Of Spoilers.

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Conclusion
This movie is really hard to talk about as it's best to go in fully blind. If you are looking for a good time watching a 2 Hour 20 Minute movie with an interesting story that works and told from an interesting angle with many twists and turns. All while the cinematograpy, acting, & soulds are top notch, Bad Times at the El Royale certainly is an option. I'm really glad that I finally watched it and give it a Solid 7.7/10.

#	2025 Watched Movies	Score
#01	Heretic	7.8/10
#02	A Different Man	6.9/10
#03	Look Back	6.9/10
#04	Caddo Lake	7.5/10
#05	Sing Sing	6.0/10
#06	Paris, Texas	9.2/10
#07	The Greatest Night In Pop	7.2/10
#08	Sometimes I Think About Dying	7.3/10
#09	Memory Lane	6.8/10
#10	Winter In Sokcho	7.6/10
#11	On Falling	6.8/10
#12	Carry-On	6.9/10
#13	The Brutalist	6.6/10
#14	Dune Part Two	6.1/10
#15	Companion	7.8/10
#16	Under The Silver Lake	7.2/10
#17	After Life	7.5/10
#18	Hit Man	7.3/10
#19	The Edge Of Seventeen	7.3/10
#20	Anora	6.6/10
#21	Mickey 17	7.6/10
#22	Taste Of Cherry	7.3/10
#23	My Old Ass	7.7/10
#24	Drop	6.4/10
#25	A Silent Voice	7.9/10
#26	Conclave	7.0/10
#27	Fandango	7.5/10
#28	Sinners	7.9/10
#29	Perfect Blue	7.0/10
#30	Challengers	7.1/10
#31	Bring Her Back	7.0/10
#32	Ghost In The Shell	7.6/10
#33	F1: The Movie	7.7/10
#34	Jurassic World Rebirth	7.0/10
#35	The Social Network	7.0/10
#36	Jeanne Dielman 23 Quai Du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles	8.9/10
#37	The First Slam Dunk	6.9/10
#38	Das Lehrerzimmer	7.4/10
#39	The Farewell	8.0/10
#40	Weapons	7.8/10
#41	Superman	6.4/10
#42	Bad Times at the El Royale	7.7/10

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