While there are a zillion World War II movies out there already, I kept an open mind going into the Tom Cruise star vehicle
Valkyrie. Sure, this is a movie that has been dogged by bad press from start to finish (even due, in part, to the fact that Cruise is a Scientologist) but I can see that there is a fascinating movie to be made out of a German resistance movement involving Nazi officers in Adolf Hitler's inner circle.
High-ranking, aristocratic officers attempting to assassinate Hitler?
Oh, Bryan Singer's beleaguered
Valkyrie. From
multiple release date changes, to
trouble with Germany, to rumors of
doctoring historical photos, this movie has been plagued with setbacks and bad press for a long time. With equal parts curiosity and trepidation, I awaited a real trailer for the film, which is now opening Dec.
Well, that's timing. Just as I was saying the full trailer for
The full-length trailer for
Valkyrie can't be very far off, since it was shown before my screening of
Lions for Lambs this week, but for now we can get a glimpse at the making of the movie, complete with commentary by Kenneth Branagh (who has a role in the film) and writer/producer Christopher McQuarrie. While it seems a little cart-before-the-horse to me, the featurette is actually pretty interesting and successfully piques my interest in this film. So, mission accomplished, featurette.
Ever since I watched the mesmerizing and heartbreaking documentary
The Mayor of Castro Street — which won the Best Documentary Oscar in 1985 — I've kept an eye out for news about the film version of this story. Today, Hollywood Reporter announced that
Matt Damon and Sean Penn are attached to star in the biopic about Harvey Milk, the first gay councilman in the U.S. who was viciously killed by his fellow councilman Dan White in 1978.
Well,
Tom Cruise is asking us to take him seriously again, by agreeing to star in a World War II thriller that he is also producing. It's going to be tough, especially with the grave subject matter, to watch this crazy egomaniac without rolling my eyes. But I have faith in director Bryan Singer, responsible for the excellent film
The Usual Suspects and executive producer of Fox's
"House." According to Variety:
The thriller is based on actual events, as German generals hatch a scheme to assassinate Adolph Hitler at the height of WWII.
