Jack, Bobby, MLK, all of them fit the deceased man whose words and legacy mean something

That's a good point too and why I immediately thought politician instead of celebrity.

I thought it was either JFK or MLK, with the most obvious choice being the former. Which might also explain what Jon Hamm was doing. I want to watch it again to try and focus on his scene more. May pick something up next time.


Also, yikes... 7.2 mil opening weekend. That's really unfortunate.

I said it before, but why release it THIS weekend? Of all weekends? Why not August or September where it would have almost no other competition? Sucks to see that number, but hopefully it takes off on streaming.

Wow, even First Man struggled with only $16M.

It's kind of sad that a movie as mediocre as Venom is repeating as #1.

Pretty solid. Felt like Clue meets Tarantino.

Jeff Bridges never stops amazing me

"How many people have you killed?"
"A hundred and twenty-three."

Can honestly say that came so out of left field that it made me laugh loudly.

Just a very good movie. So well made and great acting all around. The less you know about this movie when you see it, the better.

Oh, and my guess is it's RFK on the film roll.

Saw it tonight and really enjoyed it. For a pretty long movie, I felt like it flew by. The acting was great, the story was well done, and it was something different, which is nice in the age of remakes and superheros.

Also, my theater tonight was maybe 3 seats short of selling out which surprised me considering the numbers from the weekend.

Saw it over the weekend and really enjoyed it.

The first act is a really slow burn that I can see not being everyone's cup of tea, there's some great little moments but it's definitely setting up the later events.

I did love the sudden shocking moments interspersed throughout, and the ending was pretty nuts. I appreciated that every character really had a purpose and wasn't just there for the sake of being there.

The thing I always wonder about films like this, is how do you even start creating something like this? I can't comprehend the writing process for developing a story that comes together in the way that this or other films in this "genre" (for lack of a better term) do.

Saw this tonight in a theatre that might have been sold out. Pretty close if it wasn't. Not the best movie ever but it was damn enjoyable.

And my guess is MLK for the tape. The FBI wouldn't have been interested in spying on the sex lives of the Kennedy's. And how they played off which character wasn't interested in knowing who it was and who destroyed it.....

And based on the large role that religion, faith, and so forth played in the film that makes more sense.

Saw this movie and really enjoyed it. I hate to be a broken record with everyone on here and Rotten Tomatoes but it really felt like a Tarantino film.

The hotel itself and feel of the movie is truly phenomenal. I loved the acting as well. Honestly, not surprised by Bridges or Hemsworth because I really like them, but I though Dakota Johnson did a great job. I only know her from Fifty Shades which I've never seen but her acting has looked pretty weak in the trailers so I guess I had low expectations but left being really impressed. I also loved the lounge singer (Cynthia Erivo) but couldn't think of anything I've seen her in before. The hotel clerk was phenomenal as well and looked him up and saw that he's Bill Pullman's son.

Anyways, really enjoyable movie.

Tonyperkis said:

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The hotel clerk was phenomenal as well and looked him up and saw that he's Bill Pullman's son.

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I can totally see that now.......

Haha. Yeah, once you know there's no denying it.

Lewis Pullman. That kid was fantastic, and held his own with everyone in the cast. Once the script is complete, we're going after him for a role in a movie we're writing. One of my partners knows his manager really well. He would be PERFECT for this project.

Agree. He had me completely connected with his character/emotions. Really impressed.

Hope yall lock him down.

TCTTS said:

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Lewis Pullman. That kid was fantastic, and held his own with everyone in the cast. Once the script is complete, we're going after him for a role in a movie we're writing. One of my partners knows his manager really well. He would be PERFECT for this project.

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That would be awesome, he was great... And mind blown that's Bill Pullman's kid

Got tickets at the Star Cinema Grill Tuesday (half price night whoop!) based on the early posts in this thread. I stopped reading due to worry about spoilers but will come back Wednesday and share my thoughts. If it sucks you guys owe me $10.

A bit dark and violent and plodding at times but it has some great twists and characters and is pretty original.

Overall I give it 4/5, it could be edited a bit it plodded along in a few parts.

My thought was MLK especially since padre gave it to the lounge singer so she could toss it. The theater on a Tuesday night in Aggieland was over 50% full.

I originally thought the film was of JFK, but the timing doesn't work out. Miles mentioned it was shot a year earlier. There was television footage of Nixon discussing a cease fire during the Vietnam war, so the movie was likely set in the early 70s ( 71 or 72 would be my guess). Kennedy was killed in late 63. RFK nor MLK work out either - both killed in 68.

I now think they really didn't have anyone in particular in mind for the subject of the film, just something to make the audience speculate about... like the glowing gold contents of the briefcase in Pulp Fiction. A nod to QT?

Great catch, and you're probably right.

Saw it this past weekend and thought it was good. I will say I though it worsened after the first act; after around when John Hamm's character discovered the secret passageway I think there was a real drop off. I really thought up until around that point it was incredible. And the opening with the complete wide shot of the room with Nick Offerman was fantastic to me at an unreasonable level. Then the transition to 10 years later when they arrived and the kid gave the introduction it was teetering on possible best movie ever level for me. What brought it down for me after all that was the dialogue between Jeff Bridges and the black singer. They talked to each other more than any of the other characters and they were the least interesting characters. Their dialogue reflected that imo, felt very dry and drawn out with no emotion. I really thought it was odd how often they had her sing; I mean she had a great voice but it seemed like they're were too eager to show that off which didn't fit. I did think the ending was pretty good, and agree that my initial thoughts of who was on the tape were JFK and possibly MLK (though I don't know how often he went that far west), but it almost felt like the final act had a completely different director and writers. The plot aligned with the earlier portions fine but it seemed like a different movie outside of that. Also I'd like to add that I think John Hamm's character was by far the most entertaining save maybe Chris Hemsworth's, I think they messed up by killing him so early.
The entire thing surely isn't all spoilers but better safe than sorry.
I know that was likely overly critical for a movie I said I liked and thought was well made, but that's because of how good I thought the beginning was.

My wife had a few questions this morning.

1) The news story about the murdered pediatrician. Why was that highlighted? Just because?

2) Who were "the owners" that Miles was reporting to?

KidDoc said:

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2) Who were "the owners" that Miles was reporting to?

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The mob is my guess

KidDoc said:

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1) The news story about the murdered pediatrician. Why was that highlighted? Just because?

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I was talking about this Monday with a coworker. We think maybe that's who they showed brainwashed girl killing?

Ag Since 83 said:

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KidDoc said:

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1) The news story about the murdered pediatrician. Why was that highlighted? Just because?

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I was talking about this Monday with a coworker. We think maybe that's who they showed brainwashed girl killing?

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Could be but I thought that was their abusive/alcoholic father?

Ag Since 83 said:

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KidDoc said:

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1) The news story about the murdered pediatrician. Why was that highlighted? Just because?

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I was talking about this Monday with a coworker. We think maybe that's who they showed brainwashed girl killing?

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Yeah, that's who she killed

Yes, Rose killed the pediatrician. Billy Lee asked Em if she told them (everyone tied up) what she (Rose) did. Em shook her head. Rose asked what she did... then said - oh that, sorry. Billy Lee then replied... see, she's sorry.

There was also a cut scene showing Rose with a knife over a body outside the house in the news report (I'm nearly certain).

Just watched this on iTunes Movies - fantastic movie! One of my favorites in a really long time -

Finally getting around to watching this tonight. Haven't looked forward to a flick this much in a while. Hoping it measures up to the love y'all have given it. Cheers.

Agree with Boomin that the first act was really good and it was less interesting from there. For me it felt like the pace slowed and the movie dragged. I thought it was good not great overall.

Saw it the other night and loved it. Some of the best work Chris Hemsworth has done.

Watched it this weekend, definitely felt like a Tarantino movie with 50% less blood splatter and monologues.
Top notch acting and great music. I enjoyed the "feel" of the movie... the rain & the setting of the hotel was great.

The "El Royale" hotel is based on the old "Cal Neva" hotel at Lake Tahoe which has an interesting history. (Sinatra owned shares along with the Mob, the Kennedy brothers debauched with hookers and strange, etc)

It's an interesting read if you enjoyed the movie or that era of history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cal_Neva_Lodge_%26_Casino

Just watched this. What a great, entertaining movie! That was a fun movie to watch. I highly recommend it.

Not to go red stone on this but we were pretty underwhelmed. It wasn't necessarily predictable, but the ending was pretty unsatisfying. The first half or 3/4, even we're really good, it just ran out of steam.

Ha, man, I had the exact opposite reaction. I was honestly surprised that they stuck the landing so well, IMO.