In 1960, LBJ is a genius in the Senate, though he\u2019s profane, even vulgar, the opposite of the Kennedy clan. Johnson won\u2019t say whether he plans to run for president in 1960 because, his aides suggest, \u201che\u2019s afraid he\u2019ll lose.\u201d Lady Bird (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh) overhears and corrects them: \u201cHe\u2019s afraid people won\u2019t love him.\u201d<\/p>\n When Jack Kennedy (Jeffrey Donovan) surprisingly asks the Texan to become his vice president, Johnson accepts. You think it may be as much to tweak Bobby Kennedy (Michael Stahl-David), who obviously loathes him, as anything else. One of the most uncomfortable scenes occurs when he corners Bobby in a door alcove and says, \u201cBobby, why don\u2019t you like me?\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson never expects this office will be a sure path to the presidency, especially not after a mere thousand days. Seeing how the public loves Jack, and the outpouring of grief after the assassination, he apparently decides the best way to make people love him is to pursue Kennedy\u2019s policy relentlessly. And, thankfully, he did.<\/p>\n That decision brought us new Civil Rights laws, the War on Poverty, Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start\u2014and, tragically, the full-on Vietnam War. (The War just received the full Ken Burns treatment and isn\u2019t touched on much here.) He achieves those programs by continuing his masterful managing of the Senate, personalized here by Texas Senator Ralph Yarborough (Bill Pullman) and Georgia Senator Richard Russell (Richard Jenkins).<\/p>\n Though the critics are cool to it, for the accurate history and some fine performances, it\u2019s nevertheless worth seeing.<\/p>\n Rotten Tomatoes<\/a> critics rating: 52%; audiences 64%.<\/p>\n Battle of the Sexes <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n In 1970, women tennis players received far less (about a tenth, I think) prize money than the men, because, as the head of the lawn tennis association explained (Bill Pullman again), women\u2019s tennis is just less interesting. King led a walkout, and the women left the association to form a new league. With Virginia Slims cigarettes as a sponsor, they had their own competitive tour (ironically, none of them smoked), managed by highly entertaining Gladys Heldman (Sarah Silverman) who does.<\/p>\n In that context, Riggs\u2014a hustler and clown, playing tennis costumed as Little Bo Peep, complete with sheep, wearing swim fins, and the like\u2014said he could easily beat the best woman player. \u201cI love women,\u201d he says, \u201cin the kitchen and in the bedroom,\u201d an attitude, unfortunately, newly topical. King takes up the challenge. While she trains, he cavorts.<\/p>\n Home life isn\u2019t simple for either of them. Riggs\u2019s wife has left him, tired of his gambling, and King, though married, has her first lesbian relationship. At the time, public knowledge of that might have destroyed her career.<\/p>\n Emma Stone does a fine job\u2014likeable and focused\u2014and Carell is a believably driven character, teetering on tragedy as comics convey so well.<\/p>\n Rotten Tomatoes<\/a> critics rating: 84%; audiences 76%.<\/p>\n Spanning the short period 1960 to 1973, these two movies are based on real events\u2014political, in the largest sense, and human, with their subjects\u2019 vulnerabilities and strengths on view on a very public stage. LBJ Woody Harrelson as LBJ? Actually, … Continue reading ![\"LBJ](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vweisfeld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/LBJ-Harrelson.jpg?resize=319%2C287\")
<\/a>Woody Harrelson as LBJ? Actually, the Texas actor does a fine job in this eponymous movie written by Joey Hartstone and directed by Rob Reiner (trailer<\/a>). When it comes to the history depicted, this film gets it more right than most, partly because Reiner took the time<\/a> to read and absorb the Robert Caro and Doris Kearns Goodwin histories.<\/p>\n![\"Battle](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vweisfeld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Battle-of-the-Sexes-e1510231188836.jpg?resize=304%2C240\")
<\/a>This film is much lighter fare, though it certainly has moments of intensity (trailer<\/a>). Written by Simon Beaufoy and directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, it shows the lead-up to the famous 1973 tennis match between world number one women\u2019s tennis player Billie Jean King (played by Emma Stone) and former men\u2019s champion Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell). You even get a bit of Howard Cosell, though filmmaking magic.<\/p>\n![](\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0375713255&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=victoweisf-20\")
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