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Opening Thursday

Bedtime Stories Adam Sandler stars in this fantasy about a hotel handyman who tells stories to his niece and nephews that magically begin to come true.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton star in this adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald story about a man who is born in his 80s and ages backward.

Gran Torino Clint Eastwood directs and stars as a bitter Korean War veteran who sets out to reform a young neighbor who tries to steal his classic car.

Marley & Me A young reporter (Owen Wilson) and his wife (Jennifer Aniston) adopt a dog that teaches them about life, in a movie based on the best-selling book by former Inquirer columnist John Grogan.

The Reader A law student in postwar Germany discovers that the older woman he once had an affair with is on trial for war crimes. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet.

The Spirit A man turns himself into a superhero and battles a deadly villain, the Octopus, in this adaptation of Will Eisner’s graphic novels.

Valkyrie Based on the true story of Col. Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise), who joined other German officers in trying to assassinate Hitler.

Excellent (****)

(Source: Philly)

This review says: “It’s one of the more fascinating thrillers in recent memory, even though everyone who paid attention in history class will know exactly how it turns out.” and “…reuniting with McQuarrie has done wonders — he has produced an exciting, taut historical thriller in “Valkyrie.” ”
Read it here:

It had a troubled production, and it has gone through numerous shifting release dates, but the historical drama “Valkyrie” is a nice surprise — an entertaining historical drama that loses no momentum despite its not-exactly-unknown ending.

Director Bryan Singer and screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie, who combined to make one of the best films of the past 20 years (1995’s “The Usual Suspects”) re-team here on a film that’s not quite as well-constructed, but is still supreme cinematic entertainment.

“Valkyrie” tells the story of a failed attempt by a group of German military officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler in July of 1944, in the last of 15 known attempts to kill the Fuhrer. We see the plotting and the questions of who is with or against them until the attempted coup itself unfolds in nearly real time in the film’s second half.

Tom Cruise, who also produced the film through his United Artists mini-studio, stars as Claus von Stauffenberg, a German colonel who lost an arm and an eye in battle and seeks to redeem both himself and his country by murdering Hitler, ending World War II and making peace with the Allies.

The film gets off to a slow start, but once it gets going, it’s one of the more fascinating thrillers in recent memory, even though everyone who paid attention in history class will know exactly how it turns out.

The assassination plot actually has two parts — the actual murder of Hitler (via a bomb in a briefcase) and then the coup, which entails executing “Operation Valkyrie,” a military exercise that leads Berlin police to believe the S.S. is staging a coup and placing them all under arrest. The whole depiction of the plot unfolds brilliantly — much more brilliantly, that is, than the plot itself.

Throughout, the storytelling is tight and concise. Even better, the film also doesn’t try to be too bombastic or “important.” It doesn’t strive for modern-day political relevance or historical parallels, and it’s also surprisingly short, clocking in at under two hours. Aside from his comedic tour de force in “Tropic Thunder,” this is Cruise’s best performance in years, even though he makes absolutely no effort to look or sound German, while just about every other character in the movie is, at the very least, European.

Sure, a German accent might have been even worse, but it’s hard not to notice that when we see Cruise’s kids, they’re Aryan, but he’s, well, Tom Cruise.

The film does find some very good roles for a wide variety of skilled character actors like Tom Wilkinson, Kenneth Branagh, Terrence Stamp, Bill Nighy and even Eddie Izzard.

Singer, since his 1995 masterpiece, has had an up-or-down career, reaching such highs as the first two “X-Men” films, and such lows as “Apt Pupil” and the mediocre “Superman Returns.” But reuniting with McQuarrie has done wonders — he has produced an exciting, taut historical thriller in “Valkyrie.”

(Source: BSCN, Philly community)

Rolling Stone talks about “palm-sweating suspense” and a “satisfying movie”:

Tom Cruise starring in the fact-based story of a plot to kill Hitler by Nazi Col. Claus von Stauffenberg sounds like Oscar bait. It isn’t. And the sooner you accept it, the more fun you’ll have at this satisfying B movie. Hearing Cruise’s American accent is jarring at first. But his British co-stars, including Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson and Eddie Izzard, don’t sound German either. No worries. X-Men director Bryan Singer and his Usual Suspects screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie will keep you in the game. Operation Valkyrie referred to a shadow government that would control Germany in case the Führer (David Bamber) bit the bullet. Stauffenberg and his cohorts planned to assassinate Hitler, kick in Valkyrie and forge a truce with the Allies. Since he lost his left eye in battle, as well as his right hand and two fingers on his left hand, Cruise wears an eye patch and prosthetics. Nice details, but it’s the palm-sweating suspense that counts.

(Source: Rolling Stone)

The Hollywood Reporter says that Christopher McQuarrie and his writing partner Nathan Alexander manages to maintain suspense and involvement in the unfolding conspiracy.” The coup itself makes for “fascinating viewing and much what-if speculation that should continue long after the credits roll”. The details are “convincing and presumably well researched”, and the film has a “documentary-like authenticity yet remains a sleek thriller filled with flawed heroes and catastrophic missteps. Singer has crafted a fine film. One just wishes for greater details — and a different ending.”

Film Review: Valkyrie

Bottom Line: Well-crafted historical thriller boasts fine performances but fails to probe the motives behind the plot to kill Hitler.

After keeping “Valkyrie” under wraps for months and moving its release date four times, MGM has finally pulled back the curtains on its Tom Cruise historical thriller to reveal a coolly efficient, entertaining and straightforward tale about the last of 15 known assassination attempts against Adolf Hitler.

Working against the known outcome of this plot, director Bryan Singer — reunited with his “The Usual Suspects” screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie and his writing partner Nathan Alexander — manages to maintain suspense and involvement in the unfolding conspiracy. With such World War II movies as “Defiance” and “Good” also on tap this month, there is no doubt the Nazis continue to provide fodder for movie producers.

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Access Hollywood summarized for us which movies we should see or skip this week at the Box Office. They list the movies and the verdicts by what they call the top reviewers, and show that 6 out of 8 on their list recommend us to go and SEE ‘Valkyrie’.

‘VALKYRIE’
Variety – Skip
The Hollywood Reporter – SEE
Los Angeles Times – SEE
USA Today – Skip
The Philadelphia Inquirer – SEE
Roger Ebert – SEE
Rolling Stone – SEE
MovieMantz – SEE

Of course we’ve searched for these reviews and you can find them here at the one and only #1 Tom Cruise Fansite!

Roger Ebert says of Tom’s performance: “Tom Cruise is perfectly satisfactory, if not electrifying, in the leading role.” Read his article here:

“Valkyrie” is a meticulous thriller based on a large- scale conspiracy within the German army to assassinate Hitler, leading to a failed bombing attempt on July 20, 1944. At the center of the plot was Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, played here by Tom Cruise as the moving force behind the attempted coup, which led to 700 arrests and 200 executions, including von Stauffenberg’s. Because we know Hitler survived, the suspense is centered in the minds of the participants, who call up the Reserve Army and actually arrest SS officials before discovering that their bomb did not kill its target.

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Here’s a nice story on why casting Tom as Von Stauffenberg was a good choice. “In the context of an assassination thriller … Tom Cruise was a natural for this character,” Bryan Singer said. Audiences apparently agree. With mixed reviews and against stiff competition that included family films “Marley & Me” and “Bedtime Stories,” as well as Oscar hopeful “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Valkyrie” held its own at box offices.

The complete story:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – It was an improbable plot hatched during World War Two and to match it on movie screens, Hollywood offered perhaps the most unlikely casting of a hero at the holidays — Tom Cruise playing a German army officer.

Cruise, of course, enjoys All-American looks that helped send him to movie stardom playing heroic young men such as Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in 1986 movie, “Top Gun.” As of late, he’s been on a mea culpa tour to explain his odd behavior in recent years and to regain his good-guy image with fans.

The improbable plot was a plan by German officers to kill Adolf Hitler by placing a bomb near him at a top secret meeting, and the resulting movie about that attempt is “Valkyrie,” starring Cruise as Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg who was at the center of the assassination attempt.

“Stauffenberg was unique, handsome, and Tom had a lot of the same attributes, besides the physical looks of the character,” “Valkyrie” director Bryan Singer told Reuters.

“I look for similarities in the actor and the person and in that world — you take all (Tom’s) baggage away — and you’ve got a good casting choice,” he said.

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The Washington Post says that “Against all expectations — and much to the relief of MGM, where Cruise is now a boss of United Artists — he has fashioned a successful if not exceptional film. Directed by Bryan Singer, “Valkyrie” is a brutally efficient bit of storytelling, and it makes no unforced errors.” and talks about “fine performances”, “a well-cast ensemble piece” and Tom who “rises to the top once again”:

Expectations for “Valkyrie,” Tom Cruise’s history-based thriller about the July 20, 1944, attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, were low. The subject matter couldn’t be more serious, and Cruise’s career hasn’t exactly been a steadily accumulation of gravitas. Gone but not forgotten are the days of Oprah couch-jumping and Matt Lauer tongue-lashing. And his professed faith in Scientology makes him a lightning rod, especially in Germany, where “Valkyrie” was filmed and is the subject of considerable controversy. Worst of all, though, was damning criticism from Berthold Schenk von Stauffenberg, son of the film’s hero, Claus von Stauffenberg, who told Cruise to keep his grubby Hollywood mitts off dear old dad — and go home.

Cruise did neither. Against all expectations — and much to the relief of MGM, where Cruise is now a boss of United Artists — he has fashioned a successful if not exceptional film. Directed by Bryan Singer, “Valkyrie” is a brutally efficient bit of storytelling, and it makes no unforced errors. Visually, it is tightly controlled to the point of claustrophobia, a grim study in battleship gray and the dreary palette of fascism. It is admirably free of any Spielbergian effort to squeeze sentimentality or inspirational lessons out of what is a complicated and morally complex story.

With fine performances from Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy and Terrence Stamp, it is a well-cast ensemble piece. And even Cruise, whom many doubted could carry off the aristocratic elan of the blue-blooded von Stauffenberg, manages his part respectably, with a combination of ramrod posture, starched costumes and minimalist acting.

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Entertainment Weekly says ” “Valkyrie” succeeds on its own terms as a handsome hybrid of conspiracy thriller and history lesson” and calls the mechanics of the actual plot “pretty amazing”:

Valkyrie (2008)

Once the fodder for gossip as brassy as a Wagner horn solo, the behind-the-scenes operatics that delayed the release of Valkyrie are quickly forgotten the minute Tom Cruise gets down to the business of plotting to kill Adolf Hitler. Cruise plays Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, a Good German famous to his countrymen for his resistance to the Nazi mandate but less known among Americans. Trained as a loyal soldier, the well-bred officer’s disgust at his Führer’s leadership deepened following severe wounds suffered during battle in Tunisia, where he lost a hand and an eye. And the assassination plan and subsequent government transition that Stauffenberg devised, with help from a network of dissident army officers and political leaders, was an audacious blend of suspenseful daring and wonkish political strategy.

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Forget the Internet hysteria. This Tom Cruise vehicle is a perfectly acceptable motion picture.

Hollywood and the people who brought you World War II have been making beautiful music together for decades, and “Valkyrie,” the new Tom Cruise vehicle, doesn’t disturb that melody.

The story of a real-life bomb plot against German leader Adolf Hitler’s life — spearheaded by the patriotic aristocrat Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, played by Cruise — “Valkyrie” is made with impeccable professionalism and, flying in the face of years of Internet hysteria, is a perfectly acceptable motion picture. The only thing that keeps it from even greater accomplishments may be inherent in the story itself.

Certainly the July 20, 1944, conspiracy against the Führer is one of the more compelling narratives to come out of World War II, and, frankly, the less you know about it, the more likely you are to appreciate the film that screenwriters Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander and director Bryan Singer have constructed around it.

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