Is Barack Obama The Neville Chamberlain Of Our Era?

The world of the 1930’s was not an easy one to live in. The Great Depression had caused the economy around the world to collapse. Millions were out of work. The Great War, in which an entire generation of men were killed, was still on minds of those who lived through it.

In Germany, the Nazi Party was in power. The song, Deutschland über alles was heard throughout the country. It would soon be heard throughout Europe.

War was in the air, again.

Hoping to appease the Germans and prevent another war, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain offered the Czechoslovakian area known as the Sudetenland to the Nazis as a peace offering. Instead of appeasing the Germans and preventing war, it opened the floodgates to World War II.

Very recently, President Obama has been insisting that the nuclear deal with Iran is mutually beneficial.

I disagree. Instead of making deals with Iran and hoping that they will keep their end of the bargain, we should be drawing a hard and fast line. That line states that they disarm and hand over all nuclear weapons.

But President Obama knows better or at least, he thinks he does. I just worry if he will finally change his mind when nuclear bombs, courtesy of Iran, hit cities like Tel Aviv, London, Paris, Rome, New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles and finally, his hometown of Chicago.

Is Barack Obama the Neville Chamberlain of our era? Unequivocally, yes.

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Throwback Thursday-Will Smith Triple Feature-Men in Black (1997), I, Robot (2004), & Hitch (2005)

Over the years, Will Smith is known for playing a variety of roles.

In 1997, he entered the buddy comedy/science fiction genre with Men in Black. Jay (Will Smith), a streetwise New York City police officer is drafted to join the Men In Black, a secret organization whose job is to police the aliens who have landed on Earth. His partner is Kay (Tommy Lee Jones), a veteran of the MIB. When a bug’s space ship crashes and it takes the human form of a farmer to find the galaxy, an energy source that could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. Jay and Kay must find the galaxy and protect it before the bug finds it first.

This movie is just so good. It’s funny, entertaining and very well done.

Seven years later, in 2004,  Smith played another police officer. This time, it was in the movie, I Robot. It is the year 2035, human like robots have taken over the menial tasks that humans once did. Del Spooner (Will Smith) is a technophobic police officer who is investigating the murder of a doctor. The accused is the robot that he created.

What I liked about this movie was that it asked questions. We have all become so dependent on technology. What happens when the technology instead of working for us, thinks for itself?

A year after that in 2005, Smith jumped into the rom-com genre with Hitch. Hitch (Will Smith) is a professional coach of sorts. He helps the male schlubs of the world to win over their dream partners. While helping Albert (Kevin James), become the man that Allegra (Amber Valleta) would fall in love with, Hitch also falls in love. Sara (Eva Mendes) is a cynical gossip columnist whose latest subject is Allegra. Sara is hot on the trail of Allegra’s new boyfriend. It won’t be long before she connects the dots that lead back to Hitch.

I like this movie. While it has the predictable tropes of a rom-com, it is different because of protagonist, Hitch. Many rom coms have a female protagonist. Overall, it is an enjoyable film.

I recommend all three.

Throwback Thursday- Robert De Niro Double Feature- A Bronx Tale (1993) & Meet The Parents (2000)

Every generation has it’s iconic actors. They are the actors that audiences clamor to see on screen and the actors that young performers look to for inspiration.

Robert De Niro is one of those actors.

Known for playing gangsters, he played against type in 1993’s A Bronx Tale.

Lorenzo (Robert De Niro) is a bus driver in Bronx in the 1960’s. When his son, Calogero (Lillo Brancato), becomes friendly with a local gangster, Sonny (Chazz Palminteri), Lorenzo is concerned that his son is becoming too enamored of that life. While Calogero is spending his free time with Sonny, he is also falling for Jane (Taral Hicks), a young African-American woman.

Being a teenager is never easy, no matter what time period you are living in. Being a teenager means attempting to forge your own identity, even if that means disappointing the ones you love most.

In 2000, De Niro, once again played against type in Meet The Parents. Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) is getting ready to propose to his girlfriend, Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo). But before he can pop the question, Greg learns that he must get approval from Pam’s over-protective, ex CIA father, Jack ( Robert De Niro). Attending the wedding of Pam’s sister, Greg does everything to impress his potential in laws. The problem is that everything that could go wrong, does.

While some audience members might be disturbed by the inter religious relationship between Pam and Greg and the almost cartoonish attempts by Greg to win over his girlfriend’s family, I find this movie to be very funny. Meeting the parents/family of your significant other is always nerve wracking. While the hijinks in this movie are over the top, the emotions and the nerves are real.

I recommend both.