cwstone

The Hunley is a type of entertainment that we unfortunately don't have anymore. Ambitious made for TV movies that dramatize historical events and the people involved. Did they all succeed? Of course not. Even in their heyday most were mediocre at best. But the fact that they were made in the first place is reason enough to respect their attempt.

Having not seen The Hunley since it premiered on the TNT network in 1999, I was revisited it with a blank slate. I'll be honest, my expectations were not very high. But The Hunley surprised me and I love when films do that to me. This is a solid and entertaining historical drama. It's also one that carries very real levels of historical and educational value.

The story of the HL Hunley is a smaller and lesser known chapter of the American Civil War. Made for television movies often had to deal with monetary and time restraints. This was before the time streaming services and channels like HBO were willing to drop serious cash on their own original programming.

The Hunley isn't a masterpiece and its limitations are often apparent. But this actually makes me admire it all the more. The filmmakers involved are clearly trying hard to do justice to the story. To make the best movie as was possible.

The Hunley's direction is quite good. Some of its CGI is less than great but par for the course at the time. The characters are kind of interesting but Armand Asante's character gets most of the attention. I thought he was fine in the role and brings a humanity to the role that I found convincing. The historical authenticity is over all pretty good but it gets shaky at times. It's depiction of Charleston South Carolina circa 1864 looks quite good.

The Hunley works best during the underwater scenes. The claustrophobia and fear of the men operating that death trap is palpable.

Any student of the Civil War knows the story of the HL Hunley and won't be surprised by the ending. Nobody knows exactly what the last moments were like for the crew of the Hunley. This film takes a stab at it. The scene in which we part company with our characters was, in my opinion, a real gamble for the filmmakers. If read on paper it would seem mawkish and corny. The scene could have very easily been bungled. But it isn't, they were able to pull it off. In fact there's some real emotional heft to the scene and I found myself genuinely touched by it. That's no mean feat either.

So I say kudos to the makers of The Hunley. They did the very best job they could with the tools available. The results are truly admirable.

The Battle of the Bulge (BOTB) was released in 1965. Unfortunately the sweeping "War - Epic" genre was officially on life support. Times they were a changing. Films like BOTB were losing their power to satiate a rapidly changing palette of mainstream movie audiences. Perhaps 1962's "The Longest Day" was the high water mark. A wonderful film; unapologetically grand in scope, scale, and star power. It also very wisely took a semi documentary approach to the subject matter. But by 1965, cultural shifts were leaving audiences hungry for different types of movies with different types characters. Kelly's Heroes, MASH, and The Dirty Dozen shortly became the torch bearers. For better or worse lol.

Supposedly BOTB usurped another film about the same battle which was to be made by another studio (Columbia?). It would have had the backing of the US Defense Department with some of America's most prolific veterans as technical advisors. Ike, Omar Bradley, you name it.

Yet this is the film that got made instead and that's very unfortunate.

But I can't in good conscience advise you to stay away from BOTB. As far as straight up entertainment, you could do a whole lot worse. On a very superficial level it can be enjoyed. But if historical inaccuracies were a crime, BOTB would probably get the electric chair.

The real battle was fought during one of the worst winters on record. The film, shot primarily in Spain, is almost devoid of ANY snow. I could spend hours listing the downright infuriating liberties taken by BOTB. But I won't do that to you.

So go ahead, have a watch and enjoy yourself. But just keep in mind how wrong this movie gets it. Watch BOTB then please, please, please, do your own research if so inclined. Reputable books about the battle (and much better movies) do this great battle the justice it deserves.

When even the trailer can't make a supposed "comedy" look funny, red flags get to flying, But I did my due diligence in attempting to be objective. There are good films / series out there with trailers that either suck or mischaracterize the story. Again, I really tried to not be biased. Especially due to the fact that I either dislike or am indifferent toward the "talent" involved in this project. Mel Brooks (who I love), is of course the major exception. I was truly hoping Mel would flex his comedic muscles and find a way to force these people to bring the funny. Pipe dream? Yes. But one can never totally give up hope.

Well unfortunately what I knew was going to happen ended up...happening. There is nothing funny about History of the World Part 2. Every shot at the basket is a brick. This "style" of comedy doesn't even offer a whiff of Mel Brooks. It's just manifestly unfunny people being unfunny. What's more baffling is that these idiot's apparently think they nailed it. Any rational minded actor / comic would fall over themselves trying to change their credit to Alan Smithee.

It's all just so embarrassing and ultimately depressing. Our society has suffered many cultural casualties since HOTW Part 1 was released in 1981. One of them is that comedic giants no longer really exist. Funny people used to be able to go out there and be funny. Nobody can take a joke anymore. So it's really no mystery as to why comedy is dead. This garbage showed up DOA, it never had a chance.

I'd only recommend it to Nick Kroll super fans. I'm sure both of them would love it.

YUCK.