This Is Not A World Warr II movie ....

Valkyrie
2008, dir. Bryan Singer.
stars Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Thomas Kretchmann, Tom Wilkinson, Eddie Izzard
2 hours

Saw this on Christmas Day at Silvercity, with Paddy, my aunt Susan, my cousins Steve and Lauren, and Lauren's friend Malcolm, all the way from Scotland.


Tom Cruise stars in Valkyrie, one of a few movies this winter that deal with Nazi Germany and World War II. In this case, Valkyrie is the story of a group of German officers and businessmen who believe that Hitler has done only harm to Germany (specifically, militarily), and that he must be replaced. And of course to replace him, he must be assassinated. The film covers the 15th and last such attempt, with Cruise leading the team to kill Hitler and use the SS’ own mechanisms against itself to facilitate a coup d’etat.

The disadvantage this film has is that it’s a well-known fact that Hitler was not assassinated, but committed suicide in his bunker near the end of the war. So of course, the audience knows this plan will fail. Thus the film, in order to generate any suspense, must show the whys and hows of that failure, and for good measure, should show just how close it was. To give credit the film, I, only half-seriously, thought the plan was going to work. By that I mean that film is successfully suspenseful, in that the visceral part of my brain took over from the logical.

Cruise is surrounded in the film but a host of talented British actors, including Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, and Kenneth Branagh but despite what some have said, I thought Cruise held together the ensemble well. Don’t get me wrong here, he is definitely more Tom Cruise than Claus Von Staffenberg (the officer he portrays), but he is convincing in his portrayal.

Valkyrie may not be the deepest film you see this year, but it is an entertaining movie, and hopefully might lead Tom Cruise to some favoured status.

3 stars out of 5.

Upcoming movies in the next week

Welcome to the holiday edition of Upcoming Movies, and on this Christmas weekend, there are a bunch:

Tomorrow, Christmas Day. If your family is starting to annoy you and you want to escape to the movies, you have no less than 7 new movies opening in Ottawa tomorrow. Here are your choices:

The Reader
This adapation of the bestselling German novel (and Oprha's Book Club pick) is about a man who discovers that the older woman he had as a lover when he was young might have a terrible secret in her past. Psst .... the secret involves Nazis. Directed by Stephen Daldry (The Hours) and starring Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, Brune Ganz and my favorite Romanian actress, Alexandra Maria Lara (this is the 3rd film in 4 years with Ganz and Lara, all of which involved Nazis).




The Spirit
Comic Book writer Frank Miller directs this comic book adapatation, which is getting some downright awful reviews. Stars Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes, Scarlett Johansson.




Bedtime Stories
From Disney comes this Adam Sandler movie where he tells stories to his nephews, and the stories come to life. Sarcastic Yay!




Doubt
This new film is about a power struggle between a head nun and a young idealist priest in a New York parish in the 1960s. The play was a huge hit on Broadway, and teh film has garnered lots of awards attention already. Stars Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis. Opens on Christmas Day, but also heads to the Bytowne a week later on New Years Day if you want to support your local independent theatre.




Valkyrie
Want more Nazis? Instead of Oprah's Book Club pick The Reader, you can have Oprah's Couch Club pick Tom Cruise in Valyrie, where Cruise must single-handedly assasinate Adolph Hitler in order to restore Scientology as the dominant force in Germany. From director Bryan Singer, and also starring Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp, and Bill Nighy.




Marley & Me
Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston adopt the worst puppy ever, but grow to love it. If you want to see a real bad dog, rent White Dog.




And my pick for a Christmas movie this year, David Fincher's
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Brad Pitt stars as a a baby born as an old man who then ages backwards, while the world keeps going forward. The movie looks fantastic, and I encoruage everyone to check it out. Also stars Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton.




I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas.