December 07, 2008.

America's Nightmare retold .

Rating: 4
This story begins with the reason why Vietnam began and how it spiraled out of control. How it began with just a few retaliation strikes and blew up to be a full fledged war. Johnson misled by his advisors and generals believing that to act forcibly would be the only way to stop communism from spreading through southeast Asia. McNamara was the principal drum beater for this course until he realized that the policy could not win. Unfortunately he leaves the cabinet and Johnson has the full brunt of the blame for the war. Concise, beautifully portrayed acting by Michael Gambdon (Johnson)and Alec Baldwin (McNamara)not to mention Donald Sutherland as Johnson's close friend and advisor. For those who like historical movies a must have

December 06, 2008.

Very Surprising!.

Rating: 5
After watching the film "Nixon" (which I thought was over-the-top in its representation of how Nixon behaved) I didn't know what to expect from this film. WOW, this is well acted and balanced concerning the views of the Vietnam war. No doubt the real LBJ went thru hell about Vietnam and it comes out in this film. Of course, McNamara has already confessed to his wrong positions that he held, and he was finely portrayed by Alec Baldwin.

Now, somebody get a copy of this to McInsane and Obama.

December 25, 2008.

Great Item!.

Rating: 5
I know Johnson had his flaws, But If I were in his shoes maybe I would of done the same thing.

December 30, 2008.

McNamara's Way In Living Color; LBJ Still Unknown.

Rating: 4
Oh man. Yet another movie that doesn't hammer it home about LBJ, almost yet another item out of thousands of seeming-like disinformation. But, what's actually interesting is that when it comes to McNamara, it does seem a great deal more accurate when one actually looks into McNamara's track records compared to the gentle old soul in "Fog Of War" who tries to distance himself from what he really was - Donald Rumsfeld's unknowing teacher. I'd say this flick is good at looking at McNamara instead of Johnson. Anything out there regarding Johnson is always going to be a guessing game and this movie, in that regard, is no exception. I'd say this movie makes LBJ look like a sincerely good guy whereas others make him look like a Bush/Cheney combo. Probably best to pick somewhere in between if you're looking for reference to the actual LBJ, thus making this movie worthy of seeing and possibly owning.

December 20, 2007.

EERIE SIMILARITIES.

Rating: 5
PATH TO WAR is an HBO film, almost a docudrama, about the war in Vietnam-not the one fought on the battlefield but the one being fought in the White House. Donald Sutherland (Clark Clifford) and Alec Baldwin (Robert McNamara) are outstanding and Michael Gambon (Lyndon Johnson) also turns in a terrific performance of a President fighting the battles of ego and conscience. LBJ was a very complex personality and much of that persona comes through in the film. The eerie part is the comparison between then and now-a President from Texas, with two daughters, a divided country, fighting a war that doesn't seem winnable, against an enemy that is hard to quantify. In fact, it seems like many times during the movie you could just substitute Iraq for Vietnam and it would fit perfectly. Combines actual newsreel footage in the film making it feel even more real. Obviously, a very traumatic period in American history, this is a fascinating look behind the scenes at how we got into Vietnam and, finally, the decision LBJ made to start the peace process and not run for re-election so he could concentrate on ending the war. Sadly, he never lived to see the official end to the war. Watching this and THE FOG OF WAR, the Academy Award winning documentary about Robert McNamara, gives a great inside look at people behind the decisions that affect millions of people, here and abroad. You see the human frailties as well as strengths. At one point, LBJ was complaining to
Clark Clifford about the advice he had been given, and Clifford looked him in the eye, and told him that no matter what the decisions had been there were his and he alone had to take responsibility. A very powerful film worth watching. While younger children probably won't be interested anyway, there is some language (LBJ was no saint) and a little bit of violence during the anti-war rallies. WWW.LUSREVIEWS.BLOGSPOT.COM