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I was supposed to go see the early screening of Hotel Artemis with fellow reviewers, at a theater in St. Louis. My delayed flight from Boston to STL thought otherwise, and I missed it. So, I had to see it on my own when it officially dropped. What a shock it was that when I got my ticket, went into the theater expecting to have to search for good seats, and no one was in the theater. Well, there was a group of four which made for six people total, at matinee hours.
A sci-fi crime film with Jody Foster and STLās own Sterling K. Brown, and this is how St. Louis supports it?!? I was disgusted. Flabbergasted. Taken aback, if you will. We are talking about Sterling K. Brown. The āadopted sonā from This Us. Killmongerās father from Black Panther. The overzealous love interest from Insecure. Hollywoodās new darling, Sterling K. Brown.
And when the man gets a good script and does a film about a futuristic hospital that looks like a lavish hotel, where you literally have to be a member to get in to save yourself after getting hurt doing crime comes out, and NO ONE shows up?!?
Everyone Iāve spoken to about this film has no idea what Iām talking about or are waiting for it to hit Netflix. Omg!! Wtf?!? Even the real buffs that I know who went to see it said they were damn near in the theater by themselves. This is a travesty, in this reviewerās opinion. Not saying Hotel Artemis was the new Citizen Kane, but dammit it has promise.
Another fair-weather film watcher I know said āit looks like they ripped off the hotel on John Wick. To this I say, nope. In this film criminals with a membership to Hotel Artemis are not allowed to bring weapons into the facility. Literally the rules are no weapons and donāt kill your fellow patients. With heavy hitters like Charlie Day from Itās Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Dave Bautista from Guardians of the Galaxy, Jeff Goldblum, even Brian Tyree Henry of Atlanta fame graces the screen in this wild tale of an invalid and her holy crusade to help the wicked of society.
Itās fun.
Itās fast paced.
Itās definitely worth a watch. When I think of this film I think of films like Donnie Darko, Mallrats, Heathers, and Blade Runnerāfilms that bombed at the box office but became classics once their audiences put the bongs down and find these movies, in time. Yep, I predict that this will the realm of cult classic. Maybe Iām prejudice. Maybe I really think the concept is dope and believe there could nine sequels, none connected to the other. Maybe Iām just rooting for Sterling K. Brown to win. Whatever it is, Hotel Artemis is worth a viewing.
Enjoy, Knuckleheads. Talk soon.
Rockwell Knuckles, Esq.
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