The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

I had some fun with the trending hashtag #AddTrumpRuinMovie on Twitter yesterday. Here are my posts, ordered from the most popular to the least popular (all my tweets can be read here - https://twitter.com/CraigRozniecki ): 1) Cloudy With a Chance of Horsesh*t #AddTrumpRuinMovie 203 Likes, 43 Retweets 2) One Belongs in the Cuckoo's Nest #AddTrumpRuinMovie 188 Likes, 33 Retweets 3) I Know What You Tweeted Last Summer #AddTrumpRuinMovie 181 Likes, 31 Retweets 4) The Gropes of Wrath #AddTrumpRuinMovie 163 Likes, 38 Retweets 5) The 70-Year-Old Pervert #AddTrumpRuinMovie 149 Likes, 34 Retweets 6) Fifty Shades of Pay to Play #AddTrumpRuinMovie 136 Likes, 31 Retweets 7) Little Hands of Horrors #AddTrumpRuinMovie 137 Likes, 29 Retweets 8) Coming to Destroy America #AddTrumpRuinMovie 133 Likes, 25 Retweets 9) Eternal Darkness of the Empty Mind #AddTrumpRuinMovie 112 Likes, 22 Retweets 10) Jealous Father of the Bride #AddTrumpRuinMovie 105 Likes, 25 Re...

I love cinema, and as a lover of cinema, I like to believe I'm pretty open when it comes to the art of filmmaking. While I, like most everyone, have genre favorites and least favorites, I try to view and appreciate selections from each (well, besides porn). Regardless of the genre, however, there rarely comes a time when a film "wows" me - meaning a film significantly impacts me on a mental or an emotional level (or both), to the point of goosebumps and my mind being unable to shift its attention away from the viewing for several hours or even days. Well, this happened to me recently while viewing the 2016 French film, Evolution , and I felt the need to sing its praises. Here's a summary of the film, posted on movie-review site, Rotten Tomatoes : "10-year-old Nicolas lives with his mother on a remote island, in a village inhabited by women and young boys. In a hospital overlooking the ocean, all the boys are subjected to a strange medical treatment. Only Nicol...

There are probably between 5 and 10 films I can't ever get tired of watching (that may be an understatement), and Rob Reiner/Nora Ephron's classic, When Harry Met Sally , is one such film. It is, without question, my favorite romantic comedy of all-time, and every now and again, I feel the urge to watch it again for the umpteenth time. Just recently, for whatever reason, I began thinking about some classic dialogue from the film regarding platonic friendship between men and women. Here are the two back-and-forths from the film about the matter: Harry Burns: "You realize of course that we could never be friends." Sally Albright: "Why not?" Harry Burns: "What I'm saying is - and this is not a come-on in any way, shape or form - is that men and women can't be friends because the sex part always gets in the way." Sally Albright: "That's not true. I have a number of men friends and there is no sex involved." Harry Burns...

For whatever reason, whenever I hear the name Liam Neeson in a movie trailer, the name Leslie Nielsen springs to mind. This got me wondering how the two actors would have played some of the other's better known roles. Here are three possibilities: Airplane! Dr. Rumack (played by Liam Neeson): "Can you fly this plane, and land it?" Ted Striker: "Surely you can't be serious." Dr. Rumack: "I'm always serious... and what the hell did you just call me?" The Naked Gun Jane Spencer: "I've heard police work is dangerous." Lieutenant Frank Drebin (played by Liam Neeson): "It is. That's why I carry a big gun." Jane: "Aren't you afraid it might go off accidentally?" Frank: "I used to have that problem." Jane: "What did you do about it?" Frank: "Kicked the crap out of people, well, and Viagra" Taken Bryan Mills (played by Leslie Nielsen): "I don't k...

I didn't really know what I was getting into last night when I sat in the recliner to watch a film I had taped on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) a couple months ago. The film was the 1962 Spanish classic El Angel Exterminador (The Exterminating Angel), co-written and directed by surrealist great Luis Bunuel. After seeing this film, I have to say I'll make it a point to see many of Bunuel's other works. This is the kind of film that frustrates many viewers, while marveling others, for it leaves open to interpretation the point and message it's trying to get across, while being able to provide just as much power and marvel behind one interpretation as with another. As for me, I'm definitely in the latter of the two groups I mentioned. Some people need a very black-and-white message, void of symbolism and ambiguity, to be fully satisfied with a film-viewing experience. While I can be satisfied with such a viewing, I tend to more enjoy an experience where my mind is stim...

That's right, the film starring Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston and a dog named after Bob Marley saves families. I didn't know this until yesterday, when a friend of mine posted a status on Facebook asking if she was the only person to not like the movie and a friend of her's laid claim that because of that very movie, she and her family are closer than ever, that it in essence saved the family. Never in my life did I ponder for a moment, "Forget religion. Forget politics. Forget employment. Forget illness. Forget education. Forget vacation. What brings families together is 'Marley & Me'!" Okay, so perhaps I'm being a tad (very) sarcastic. I don't know this woman's story. In any case, I'm glad that she's doing better, as is the rest of her family. However, I still have trouble buying the tale that they were saved by this film. I can't help but laugh at the notion. Let me give some hypothetical examples that this woman'...

When I first heard of the lingo used on the social-networking site, Twitter, I immediately began to chuckle, a chuckle which could signify one thing and one thing only - perverted thoughts. Whenever I hear the word tweet, depending upon how it's used, I interpret it to mean one of two things: 1) That funny looking thing males have of which they seem so fond (his "tweet") and 2) The display of love (or lust) through the art of penetration (they "tweeted"). With perverted interpretations at code-level orange, I now bring to you The Top Ten Twitter Pornos in the history of the ever-growing genre: 10. "Tweeting Sarah Marshall" 9. "When Harry Tweeted Sally" 8. "The Man Who Tweeted Too Much" 7. "Tweet at the Museum" 6. "My Big Fat Greek Tweet" 5. "I Know Who You Tweeted Last Summer" 4. "Tweeting in the Rain" 3. "Pee Wee's Big Tweet" 2. "White Men Can't Tweet" ...

Those were the exact words I heard today when discussing movies with someone. He brought up some films in which he felt there was ultimately no point, such as: "Lost in Translation," "The Life Aquatic" and "The Royal Tennenbaums". I was going to explain the "points," but he was reluctant on listening. What's the point of any movie or work of art? To entertain, to bring about emotions, to provoke thought, open minds, bring about laughter and tears, to teach, to inspire, to let one escape, to provide a cathartic release, I could go on and on. Now, after viewing a film so awful that it made your parents' home movies look like Oscar-contenders, is it logical to then ask the question, "What was the point in the making of that film?" Yes. But, is it logical to ask, "What was the point?" As in, what message is the movie trying to relay onto its viewers? No. Because, sadly enough, even the worst of films probably have some...

That's right, the film starring Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston and a dog named after Bob Marley saves families. I didn't know this until yesterday, when a friend of mine posted a status on Facebook asking if she was the only person to not like the movie and a friend of her's laid claim that because of that very movie, she and her family are closer than ever, that it in essence saved the family. Never in my life did I ponder for a moment, "Forget religion. Forget politics. Forget employment. Forget illness. Forget education. Forget vacation. What brings families together is 'Marley & Me'!" Okay, so perhaps I'm being a tad (very) sarcastic. I don't know this woman's story. In any case, I'm glad that she's doing better, as is the rest of her family. However, I still have trouble buying the tale that they were saved by this film. I can't help but laugh at the notion. Let me give some hypothetical examples that this woman's ...