re: Bad times at el royale

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Yeah, they were the ones who set up the cameras and bugs and everything.

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The FBI didn't know about the cameras, or they wouldn't have sent Hamm in to remove their bugs without telling him.

The film is set in 1969, Monroe died in '62 and JFK was shot in '63. It's a bit of a stretch for Bill Pullman's kid to have worked at the hotel in the early 60's as a young teen (and been the point man for the mob), gone off to Vietnam in '65, then returned to take his old job back (with the film still there).

More likely that he had interacted with RFK or MLK, who had both died the previous year.

The mob despised Bobby Kennedy, so film of him would've been invaluable to them.

Saw this tonight and loved it. Kinda similar to The Hateful Eight if it was set in the 60s

This movie was fun as hell, very much like a Tarantino film in pretty much everything. Was not expecting that twist.






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Dakota Johnson dying caught me completely off guard and Offerman went full badass until he actually thought Rose wasn't insane.

Also the actress who played Rose is 21 not sure how old she was supposed to be in the film but I'm guessing Hemsworth was a Pedo

While I am leaning towards MLK being the one on tape, I'm not sure that her being the one that threw it in fire has any significance. If I recall correctly she never actually looked at the film nor did anyone actually tell her who was on the film. So when she threw the film in the fire she did so not knowing who was on the film.

How much is this like Cabin in the Woods?

Not at all.

The tape is either MLK or Bobby Kennedy.

Man on tape was JFK.

Although there is no confirmed sex tape of JFK in real life, there are several employees at various hotels that have come forward that he had many extramarital affairs, including one with Monroe, who was pictured (at the beginning of the movie) as visiting El Royale.

There was an actual hotel and casino on the border of California and Nevada that El Royale is based on. It was called Cal-Neva and was frequented by mob bosses, the Rat Pack, numerous celebrities and the Kennedy family in the '60s. The real hotel had a huge underground labyrinth of tunnels and secret passageways that allowed mob bosses and JFK’s mistresses to come in and out undetected .

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Timeline doesn't work.
FBI after MLK or mob after RFK.

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Watched this last night with the wife, very well done bit of storytelling.



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The tape is similar to Marsellus Wallace's briefcase in Pulp Fiction, we aren't really supposed to know what's in it (that helps heighten the intrigue).

Although it wouldn't shock me to find out it was the writer's intent for it to be JFK, RFK would indeed be the most logical choice due to the timeline.

If the hotel was owned by someone indebted to the mob (the PO box in Pennsylvania) then this would explain why they lost their Nevada liquor license (the mob cut them off for failing to provide the tape).

If I had to nail down a favorite part of the movie, it would be the moment Miles got his hands on the pistol. Normally you'll see in movies where the other person is allowed to negotiate, Miles was having none of that shite. He went full-on Call of Duty, even shooting that one chick through the sofa. Dude was badass, but let his guard down because of a pretty face.

Footnote: Hemsworth did an excellent job on the accent.

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Watched this last night with the wife, very well done bit of storytelling. 

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Ok, I also watched it last night with my wife. I'm not sure I liked it as much as you did, but it wasn't bad.

I agree on the tape, that a big part of the story was not knowing who. I took from it more about the evolution of attitudes towards celebrity scandal. Miles didn't send the tape because the guy was nice. Fast forward a few years, and the tape is more valuable than the money.

I did think a number of the characters were effectively fleshed out and acted. My biggest criticism was that I was waiting for a bigger payoff than came. It built well, but then I didn't think the payoff was as good as the buildup.

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2018 was a down year for sure but I thought this movie was one of the highlights. Thoroughly enjoyed it

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It wasn't bad by any means. I thought the acting was very good and the story kept me into it as it built.

It just made me wish that it kicked into that extra stratosphere at the end. Except for the reveal about Miles, I liked that last part the least because it wound up being more by the numbers than the remainder of the movie.