Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for August 28, 2022

Christopher Nolan movies are pretty easy to follow.

On a related note, I think that Key Largo is one of the most boring and pointless films ever made, and that people only feel obligated to praise it because Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall are in it. The presence of stars doesn’t turn garbage into gold.

Honest Ernest is brave enough to admit what he doesn’t know, that takes a lot of confidence!

Ernie is the honest one, the rest are talking just to impress the others

In the first panel, I thought Ernest was using a blind person’s stick. I guess that was incorrect, but he nevertheless manages to miss the more complex movie critiques. Watch what you like, Ernest.

When I was young, I enjoyed movies. Then I learned to read. Now, when Spouse insists, (and assuming it’s not Covid times) we will go see something she thinks “we” will like. At best, they’re “eh” and it trends down from there. Pawky plot lines (if you wanna call that a “plot”) cardboard characters, cliché situations and FAR TOO FREAKING LOUD!

I probably will continue to go to movies every several months, just to keep the peace. But I doubt I’ll ever enjoy one as much as it cost to get in. Note: I can spend 2.5 hours dancing to live music for $10. That’s more time and only a tad more money. And it’s great exercise. And you get to interact with friends. And the endorphins! Good music too!

Is there a reason Ernest is wearing a red cap? Actually, I don’t really care.

At last! A hero for our times!

Me thinks Nolan is highly overrated. He just makes terrible movies. With the exception of Inception that is.

I hope Ernest isn’t talking about The Dark Knight. How could you not follow that?

I have watched “Sons of the Desert” probably a thousand times. Once on “The IT Crowd” they did an exact parody of the movie’s opening scenes.

We need more honest folks like Ernest to critique some of these lousy films coming out!

The movie “wetlands” left me wondering why it was made, but I haven’t forgotten it. The argument here today is basically “What’s your favorite color?” with everyone seeing the hues differently. But here we are.

Is Ernest out of jail?

Nolan has the right mind. I can say the same for many modern animated films such as Frozen (leaves me cold), Big Hero 6 (ain’t gonna save me), the Cars franchise (drives me nuts), and pretty much every Pixar sequel after Toy Story 4.

And we haven’t even considered all of the European films of the 50’s and 60’s..L’Avventura, Wild Strawberries, etc. Let the games begin!

I watched Tenet and half the dialogue was indecipherable.

Inception was cool.

Interstellar was good until the last half hour when it went off the rails.

The Dark Knight was outstanding.

One of my favorites is " The Italian Job " with Mark Wahlberg : )

I feel like they are discussing “Inception”. Very strange movie and I’m with Ernest on that one. But I’ve enjoyed other movies by him. Based on a quick glance at IMdB I’ve seen about half his movies.

Are they talking telepathically? No noses or mouths.

It’s people like Honest Ernest that I respect the most. This is mostly because I am just about as blunt as he is.

That’s the best part, Ernest.

I had to look to make sure, but I have not seen any Christopher Nolan films. Not one. Only Dunkirk is of any interest to me.

I can’t stand The Prestige. The two main characters are both awful, but the one who comes out on top is clearly the more awful (I would go so far as to call him a psychopath), and yet Nolan crafts the outcome as a happy ending. Ugh.

I tried to watch some older films and just couldn’t wrap my mind around them..compared to today, they were lousy actors, and especially John Wayne…

I want to vomit!

Ernest is channeling the kid in the story about the emperor and his new clothes.

The fable of the Emperor’s Clothes comes to mind….

I only like Nolan films that are scored by Hans Zimmer…

Even worse is when you do understand it and think it is pretentious, predictable WOKE agenda horse puckey. Like Jordan Peele films.

Don’t worry Ernest, I used to feel that way about Ingmar Bergman’s and Frederico Fellini’s films.

How is everyone gonna react to Ernest’s honest opinion? Are they gonna throw him out for being so brutally honest?

One of Hitchcock’s rules of movie making: Never lose your audience.

Blade Runner…best movie of all time…(and Daryl Hannah’s best movie, too).

Nor did anyone else. They either fell asleep or walked out.

They’re quoting Rotten Tomatoes.

I’M GOINH TO THROW A NAME OUT THERE AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS…..GRORGE CARLIN .

@carlosrivers. Your comment Is spot on! Unless we’re looking for historical context as in war movies or deep drama plots, fantasy and comedy movies can take your mind to the “soft” places where hurtful realities vanish at least temporarily.

Everyone has different tastes. It’s sad when someone demands that everyone’s taste in movies (or anything) agree with theirs.

Probably because the dialogue track was unintelligible.

He truly is the hero for our times.

Having enjoyed many movies that a lot of people didn’t get (to the point that they angerly called them trash), I’ll say I’m very glad those people don’t get to decide what gets made. It’s hard (perhaps impossible) to express in words why a movie (which uses visuals and many audio tracks to present ideas and feelings simultaneously) touches parts of the mind where words simply aren’t used—sometimes it’s only knowing that it has that makes it a treasure to those who love it.

Thankfully, his SciFi films prove to me that imagination is still alive and well. This genre hooked me in 1951 at the theater watching The Thing from Another World, and earlier through my long-lost comic book collection and trading capabilities. So, this long retired Bell Laboratories and AT&T Network Engineering middle manager still seeks to find, including books about the real thing.

Must be talking about Inception.

Could have been worse Ernest. They could have been discussing David Lynch.

I guess if I were in that group, I would be the one changing the topic to the New Romanian Cinema film movement…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_New_Wave

Yes! Some of the worst movies I ever saw were loved by the critics and received awards.

remember it’s @ before # except after $

Amazing how the five of them can talk without mouths.

I actually enjoyed Key Lardo. It’s very hard today to judge movies based on today’s “attitude” and the availability of special effects. However, as far as bad movies and bad books, Lord Jim is perhaps the worst piece of trash ever produced.

How are any of them talking about anything when none of them has a mouth

Tenet is best watched backwards

He didn’t understand The Batman?? It’s no Memento. It’s not rocket science.

There is a bottom line, here.. what makes us unique, is our differences. If we all liked the same movies, for the same reasons, where would our individuality be…our personal tastes, and preferences? I like what I like, for the reasons I like them, and consequently, what I dislike, for my own reasons. “One man’s trash, is another man’s treasure.” :)

Hurrah for Ernest!

Puncture the pompous preaching of professional ’critics"!

I suspected that none of the others had even watched the film. They said nothing specific about that particular movie.

Who’s Christopher Nolan? ;)

No organized clubs, but I have often been Ernest in conversations like that. Maybe I need to find better friends.

The great truth at last!!Burt Ward and Adam West were better with their eyes closed

See Citizen Kane for an example of a movie with a fundamental plot hole big enough to drive the Titanic through, but no one dares to say anything bad about it.SPOILER – the plot hole will be given below

Kane’s last word was “Rosebud”, which drives the entire movie – but no one was with him in the room to hear it, so how did anyone ever know?

Not quite sure what Pastis is satirizing here… people who love movies and know a lot about them, to the point where they can understand things that a less immersed person would missed? That’s, like, how learning works. Maybe Honest Ernest should have an open mind—and maybe after reading about film and watching more classic films and talking to people in the industry, Inception (or whatever movie) will still be too convoluted for his tastes, and he still will think it’s a bad movie. That’s fine. But Pastis seems to think that the knowledgeable, passionate people are the problem, and not the guy who walked in with no regard for the basic elements of film and tore everyone else down. And yes, I know it’s a joke, but it’s also a tiresome take and I’m not too sure he’s kidding, anyway.