It’s 1969. Four guests check into the El Royale Hotel: a priest (Jeff Bridges), a vacuum salesman (Jon Hamm), a singer (Cynthia Erivo), and a hippie (Dakota Johnson). They all - save one - have something mysterious going on behind the scenes and the hotel itself is not what it appears to be. When they check in, there’s a storm a-brewin'.

Join Guy, Karen, Margaret, and producer/film festival programmer/Who Shot Ya contributor and now Pop Rocket guest Drea Clark as they pick apart Drew Goddard’s neo-noir ensemble Bad Times at The El Royale. They get into the movie's twists, turns, non-linear construction, Cynthia Erivo's breakout performance, and how it's kind of likeQuentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, but not nearly as macho.

All Abouts

Drea is all about a long read article from The Texas Monthly called The Love Story that Upended the Texas Prison System about the alliance and romantic relationship between a lawyer and an inmate that ultimately brought attention to a nationwide scandal and disrupted the system of abuse of prisoners in Texas.

Margaret is all about the second season of the Slate podcast Slow Burn, which covers the impeachment of former president Bill Clinton.

Karen is all about The LA Dodgers pulling ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers (as of last Wednesday) in the National League Championship Series.

Guy is all about Glenn Close's performance in her new movie The Wife.

That's My Jam

Karen - Trashcan Sinatras - All Night

Margaret - Alvvays - In Undertow.

Drea - Tierra Whack - MUMBO JUMBO

With Guy Branum, Karen Tongson, Drea Clark, and Margaret Wappler.

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Produced by Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org. Edited by Shana Daloria.