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Harry likes VALKYRIE a lot!

Published at:  Dec 28, 2008 4:27:51 AM CST

When I scheduled this film at Butt-Numb-A-Thon 10, I paired it with the Bogart classic WWII film SAHARA, a thrilling adventure in the desert during the heat of Panzer attacks and tank warfare. Well, VALKYRIE kinda picks up right at the end of SAHARA. Going from classic Black & White to digitally projected eye-popping color... well, the MGM logo had never seemed so crisp or so colorful... ever. The Nazi red leapt out of the screen. And the sound - well, that opening attack in the desert was just brutal.

VALKYRIE is one of those stories where you know that this plot didn't work out. We know that Bryan Singer and crew went through pain-staking efforts to stitch every detail to the history of this event. But ultimately what is AMAZING about the film is just how successful this attempted coup was. I mean. Damn. They not only got close, but... well, you'll see.

This film isn't about happy endings, ultimately we know Hitler killed himself, the Nazis lost and Hitler's regime is pretty much shit in every history book written. So the bad guys got theirs. What isn't so well known to the world outside of Germany is the story of the German underground. We know all about the various Underground movements in the various conquered countries, but what about the Germans that refused to be the Good Germans? That story, I'm not familiar with.

The cast of this film is very strong, almost too strong. There's a part of me that wishes that McQuarrie's screenplay had been translated into German and been shot ala THE DOWNFALL with Bruno Ganz reprising his role as Hitler, but that wasn't the fate of this film. Singer's involvement attracted Cruise - and at that point, the cast became sterling.

The result became something that I haven't seen in a while. A World War II movie that kinda felt like those late 60s WWII movies. You know the ones with cast lists of the best and brightest. The films never felt 100% authentic, but they sure were great yarns about WWII and frankly, I grew up loving them.

This film isn't necessarily a WAR film - other than the opening Allied ambush attack, there isn't really another 'battle'. This is more of a CAPER film. This is like THE STING or GAMBIT or a MISSION IMPOSSIBLE movie.

You know the set-up. Michael Crichton did it best with THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY. You have the set-up where you have the problem that needs to be solved. In this case, KILL HITLER. However, it is always more complicated than that. You need to not only Kill Hitler, but disable the zealots that surround him and take over Nazi Germany.

Ok - for those in the cheap seats - that's a HOLY FUCK, HOW DO WE DO THAT?

Bring in... THE PLAN, the plan is surprisingly simple though. You see, the Nazis were so diligent in setting up their power structure that they had automatic plans for what to do if Hitler got killed. So all they had to do was modify those plans, get Hitler to approve them, then Kill Hitler and Take over Nazi Germany and surrender to the Allies.

Well gosh, that was simple.

Problem is... as we fans of this genre know... nothing ever goes as scheduled and it is never as simple as 1.2.3.

What we do see is how close they came to ending World War 2, even though they DIDN'T kill Hitler. The story is fascinating.

So how's the film?

I found it riveting. Singer does a great job of just shooting a solid movie. No fancy smancy Michael Bay follow the explosion shots. No, Wachowski - freeze the action and show where every bit of the explosion went and who did die. No - he shot the film very straight forward - and John Ottman's editing and score drive the film home.

All that said, right now I'm so excited to see INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS because it isn't based in history and isn't beholden to the way things went. It is more akin to fictional WWII films than the historical ones, and I feel it'll be a nice relief to let go of the historical accuracy in lieu of fun story telling and a good romp beside the point.

VALKYRIE is an exceptional film with an even better story to tell.



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    Readers Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 4:31:23 AM CST

    Tom Cruise is Creepy

    by dogsoup

    But I'll give it a go.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 4:31:53 AM CST

    I Like Cruise

    by crow3711

    I Don't Care Who Knows It. He maybe be a little bonkers, but his personal life isn't my business. His business is my business, and most of his movies are good enough to earn my 5 bucks. I'm going to see this soon.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 4:36:31 AM CST

    The thought the biggest problem with Valkyrie-

    by sonnyfern

    -was just the fact that it moved too damn fast. I would've liked for it to slow down a little and just kind of flesh out everything a little, give us more details about stuff. As it is it's a damn fine flick, but I thin if it would've slowed it's butt down just a little, it would've had an even bigger impact.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 4:41:20 AM CST

    Anything's better than Superman Returns

    by kwisatzhaderach

  • Dec 28, 2008 4:47:00 AM CST

    Damn You Michael Bay

    by mcmlxxvi

    Damn You Michael Bay

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 4:49:09 AM CST

    How are the performances?

    by lonegun

    I hear that the actors don't use German accents in this one. Though it's getting mixed word, I'd still like to see this film. Just love World War II stuff. Also love Carice van Houten, love her with all my heart.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 4:51:41 AM CST

    Worst film review ever for a GREAT film

    by kirbymanly

    Jesus, Harry. Either stay off the drink or do this at other than 5 in the morning. It's an AMAZING film, guys. Do yourselves a favor and see it. Leave your Cruise feelings at the door (as I did) and you'll find yourself wrapped in the best suspense movie since Hitch died. Seriously. It's by and by the most "yell at the screen" movie I've seen in a long time.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 5:00:27 AM CST

    What-ev...

    by lord john whorfin

    Tom Cruise ain't getting any of my money. This movie's just like Apollo 13: manufactured tension. Valkyrie should've ended how Inglorious Bastards is going to end. Now that would have been hilarious.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 5:07:33 AM CST

    Lonegun

    by sonnyfern

    The movie starts in German with subtitles, then fades away to English. I thought it was a great way to get passed the whole fake accent thing, which would've been distracting anyway...it didn't bother me one bit. The acting is pretty amazing all around.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 6:06:52 AM CST

    Accents have never been a problem for me

    by noodleshahn

    One of my favorite movies is Papillon which had only a handful of French accents and none in the lead roles.The fade to English bit at the start of Valkyrie is a great way to do it. It's a fantastic thriller and the cast is brilliant all around. Sometimes it's better to just find the best actors regardless of national origin and put them in positions to flourish and this cast (from Cruise to Izzard and everyone in between) does that. I think Valkyrie is a masterwork for Singer and McQuarrie.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 6:26:18 AM CST

    Alright I'll admit Superman Returns wasn't...

    by cameron1975willi

    ...everything we hoped for. I think that it needed to be more 'mirror to reality' like The Dark Knight, not dark, just more realistic and less 'fantastical alternate universe'. It's still very good considering how hard a film it was to make in this day and age. Singer is a talented director and I know I'm gonna get a quality product when I go to see Valkyrie. I urge you who know diddly-squat about WWII do the same.

    Reply to Talkback

  • INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS *meh* keep forgetting that pitt has been assigned.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 6:28:31 AM CST

    On accents...

    by cameron1975willi

    ...The switchover from Russian to English in The Hunt for Red October was very good idea, maybe Singer should've done something like that?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 6:52:26 AM CST

    WWII does not exist in this dojo

    by cobra--kai

    My biggest concern about this movie was that it was going to be too realistic, too depressing, too heavy. To have Harry call it as a 'caper' actually makes me a whole lot more interested. My fave war films are definitely the ones from that 'caper' era - GREAT ESCAPE, WHERE EAGLES DARE, VON RYANS EXPRESS, GUNS OF NAVARONE. World War 2 as more of a fictional setting for high adventure and derring do. If VALKYRIE fits in with those movies (rather than the more sombre recent WWII efforts) then i'll be a happy boy.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 6:55:32 AM CST

    From James Cameron, director of ALIENS and T2...

    by motoko kusanagi

    ...comes the next step in total fucking destruction:AVATAR - Fucking your eyeballs in 2009. Nothing else matters

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 7:16:26 AM CST

    Cobra--Kai

    by sonnyfern

    Then you'll love Valkyrie man, Harry nailed it in comparing it to a caper flick.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 7:24:29 AM CST

    Sonnyfern does not exist in this dojo

    by cobra--kai

    Ok Sonnyfern - sold. I'm going to the flicks...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 7:46:01 AM CST

    Sorry

    by nudeandaroused

    I have all kinds of problems with this story. These guys are not heroes. They had no problem with Hitler from 1933-1942. It was only when he declared war on the US and got bogged down in the USSR that Stauffenberg and other Nazi aristocrats suddenly became so nationalistic. Mind you, they had no problem whatsoever with Hitler's despicable final solution. It was only when Stauffenberg is shot up in North Africa that suddenly he becomes aware. That being said, I will see the movie sometime. I like most of the cast, except for Cruise. I hope they portray these people for what they were, cowards.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 7:56:37 AM CST

    Extremely Suspenseful...

    by mindraven

    I saw this yesterday and really enjoyed it. Within minutes I had forgotten all about Tom Cruise's offscreen antics, and the accents never bugged me.

    It's like a Greek tragedy - Everyone knows the characters and the general story, but what counts is how the playwright puts the story together and this one was put together well.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 8:03:13 AM CST

    Shout out to MOTOKO!!!!!

    by standundermyumbrella

  • Dec 28, 2008 8:03:14 AM CST

    Shout out to MOTOKO!!!!!

    by standundermyumbrella

  • Dec 28, 2008 8:03:45 AM CST

    Shout out to MOTOKO!!!!!

    by standundermyumbrella

    Keep spreading the WORD!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 9:23:47 AM CST

    sonnyfern, I'm sold, too.

    by lonegun

    This will be my next movie.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 9:30:04 AM CST

    no subject

    by mikethespike

    I wanted to like that Rome show, but why the fuck didn't everyone talk in Latin? Really ruined the whole thing for me.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 9:35:52 AM CST

    Nude-

    by mikethespike

    Good point. The movie didn't really play up the point that these guys were all pretty self-interested German nationalists who were only acting at the last possible moment to save their country from obliteration by, I presume, the Russians. They're not quite the heroes people might automatically assume just because they want to kill Hitler (and I'm not saying Singer goes out of his way to make them seem overly heroic). I'd be curious to know if any of these conspirators truly had a problem with the final solution, say, as the film implies.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 9:43:14 AM CST

    OMG

    by rogueleader66

    Enough with the fucking Avatar shit already it's making me sick. "Fucking your eyeballs blah blah blah blah" get a fucking life already, stop sucking JC's dick.

    Reply to Talkback

  • The box-office numbers of this Tom Cruise NAZI hero flick is doing pretty good. Could this help greenlight WITH WINGS AS EAGLES with a new star in the OSTERMAN role. Say a Russell Crowe or Christian Bale! Arnie never had the balls to do this in 1997 and I can't see him doing it now...he needs to comeback to what will automatically sell...TERMINATOR 5, PREDATOR 3, FORBIDDEN PLANET etc...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 10:48:12 AM CST

    you know...

    by codymr

    I liked this movie a lot:

    Cruise & cast were surprisingly good.

    Singer's direction was solid.

    It is an interesting story.

    But for some reason I left a little disappointing and I am not sure why. I think it may be because it unfolded by the numbers with few surprises or twists. I realize that it's a true story and there is not a lot of room for "interpretation". But I think the script could have been structured in such a way that things could have been revealed to the viewer - like layers of an onion - rather than just being explained through expositional talk by the characters. I know... I'm a picky bitch.

    On the other hand I LOVED Fincher's Benjamin Button - great film.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 11:17:57 AM CST

    ABking

    by excommunicated

    Predator 3 would be fantastic, as long as McTiernan came back.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 11:26:16 AM CST

    Best film of 08

    by technotranceporter

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWBeNUei0SI

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 11:28:08 AM CST

    It wasn't bad at all.

    by quake ii

    Not a classic, but a cool thrill while it lasted. I wouldn't see it in the theater again, but I wasn't pissed off when I walked out (like I was with Wanted this summer). Anyone who says Cruise was laughable has a personal agenda. I think Cruise is a raving nutball in his personal life, but he was fine in Valkyrie. Actually pretty likeable. I wished they could have pulled it off. It was so fucking close it's frustrating!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 11:39:18 AM CST

    NudeandAroused...Stauffenberg

    by quake ii

    The film implies that Stauffenberg was never really that keen on the Nazi party his whole career. He was a German soldier, but didn't consider himself a Nazi at all. The movie touches on that. Valkyrie also shows that some of these same high ranking officers involved in the Wolf's Lair plot had tried to kill Hitler years before with a bottle of Absynth containing explosives. Basically it was HARD to take Hitler out because of the fanatical loyalty surrounding him at all times, and the movie shows this. Stauffenberg's distaste fo the Nazis was well known and that's why he was eventually approached by the resistance. These guys just got a little bolder as the war progressed.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 11:55:29 AM CST

    when harry was a boy he was accused of killing hitler

    by ironic_name

    eva had him beaten. then hitler showed up and was all "?".. he was vindicated.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 12:12:02 PM CST

    BRYAN SINGER STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM SUPERMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    by illuminate

    I like Bryan Singer because he is a serious Director and Tom Cruise is a great actor who is NOT just another pretty boy.

    But, I am still pissed off that Bryan Singer turned Superman into a Fagget. Superman was not pissed off that Lois kept his son a secret and only thought about her spoiled brat self and at the end of the movie he let the bitch keep his son. For those who don't know, Bryan Singer is gay. There is nothing wrong with that. But, at the same time just because you like to suck Dick does not mean that you should make Superman a cock sucker. Also, X-2 sucked asshole. I have thousands of comics and I am a real comic book fan. X-2 had great drama but, I went to go see Superheros fight Super-villains like in the comics and there was barely any of that. It was mostly Superheroes fighting regular humans just like that shit fest called Superman Returns. Go fuck yourself Bryan Singer. Oh, but, at least The Usual Suspects was a good movie and his last good one. I am glad they are not giving this dipshit the sequel because if they did Superman would lift two huge rocks instead of one. Richard Donner is a GREAT Director and he was right about sticking to his mythology since, you cannot reboot Superman. THERE IS NOTHING MORE HIGH TECH THAN A SHIP MADE OUT OF CRYSTAL. So, anything anyone would come up with would be a step back in technology. At the same time Bryan Singer should stop being such a pussy and made Superman Returns more action packed and made Lois Lane sexy like that chick on Smallville. Instead he made Lois Lane into a selfish little bitch. They need a curvy and sexy real actress who has a really really nice personality to play the part. Anybody else will just come off like another bitchy chick.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 12:12:05 PM CST

    Looks ok but you know what

    by spike fan

    I wish they would concentrate on the Pacific theatre the Memoirs of George Mcdonald Fraser Quartered Safe Out Here of his time under Slim in Burma would make a great film

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 1:54:13 PM CST

    Tom Cruise's Personal Life

    by etrigan_

    For those who don't care about Tom Cruise's personal life just remember, he thinks you are an inferior species of human. Scientologists believe they are Homo Novus and the only salvation for the Earth is for everyone to become a Scientologist. Those who don't are to be "disposed of quietly and without sorrow" to quote L Ron Hubbard.

    But, if that doesn't bother you then OK.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 2:37:04 PM CST

    Claus was a hero

    by whatevillurks

    Disagree aroused...its easy to look back and say people should have done something immediatly. But it was an unstopable machine....this country was humiliated after WWI...why not go along with the new era? Just be glad these guys did SOMETHING. Stauffenburg is a hero. He did not like the atrocities he saw commited on the Russian front by German soldiers.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 3:21:07 PM CST

    This movie

    by melvin_pelvis

    has been panned just about everywhere
    But here it's a unanimous 8 thumbs up
    Payola

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 3:40:28 PM CST

    To those who've seen it:

    by fathermcgruderkicksassforthelord

    I intend to see Valkyrie myself soon, but could you answer a question I've had about it (assuming, of course, that the answer wouldn't spoil anything)? Does the screenplay mention anything about a guy named Erwin Rommel?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 6:24:40 PM CST

    FatherMcGruderKicksAssForTheLord...

    by quake ii

    Rommel is not brought up in the film. I was looking for that as well. He was eventually linked to the plot and forced to commit suicide to avoid a trial and inevitable execution. Many say Rommel's name was brought up during an interrogation and that's how he was linked. From what I've read, Rommel did know of the plot but was not directly involved.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 7:31:58 PM CST

    the movie...

    by maxwell's hammer

    ...is good. There is a workman-like precision to seeing how the plot plays out, and all the big stars are very subdued in their roles, including Tom Cruise who plays Stauffenberg as a frustrated man who seems to know this is all destined to fail, but he'll be damned if its going to because of him. Izzard is very good in his few brief scenes, and Bill Nighy is downright awesome. Fuck the critics. I think any negative reviews this film is getting (and there aren't as many as some would have you believe) are just jumping on the pre-release bandwagon of getting down on Tom Cruise. Its not the best of the year, and I don't think it should pick up any big Oscar noms, but it is a very good movie that effectively tells an interesting story.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 8:08:02 PM CST

    Great film that suffers due to Cruise's baggage

    by polyh3dron

    This is the film that will seal Tom Cruise's fate and certify his status as box office poison. Everyone I know who doesn't want to see it or doesn't like it just hates it because of him.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 8:13:27 PM CST

    it was good and the negative reviews showed

    by the_frog

    an obvious anti-cruise bias. Much better than some idiotic movie about a stupid dog.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 8:14:06 PM CST

    also, the dude who played

    by the_frog

    Fromme was great.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 8:14:36 PM CST

    Thanks, Quake II

    by fathermcgruderkicksassforthelord

    I figured as much, as I didn't see anyone cast in the role via IMDB credits. Seems like a glaring omission, but I'll wait and see the film before I proclaim that to the hills.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 8:38:41 PM CST

    What bugs me...

    by hollywoodbob

    ...is that von Stauffenberg would have succeeded had he not been out to save his own ass. That's why I have little interest in seeing this. It's a mildly interesting story, that's ruined because the main character in it wasn't willing to sacrifice himself to ensure success, knowing that if they failed he and his co-conspirators would be hunted down and executed.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 8:45:59 PM CST

    Box office poison?

    by noodleshahn

    $30 million over the long weekend is pretty good, isn't it? What was it expected to do?At the very least Cruise's holiday downer will do better than Will Smith's holiday downer and that has to be a moral victory. Valkyrie deserves its success, it's a very easy movie to get into and I think it'll survive a long time.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 8:51:01 PM CST

    Not Going On This Cruise

    by maxwell bishop

    I don't like Tom Cruise enough to see this. Can't really stand the guy. I have the same issues with Alec Baldwin and Tim Robbins. They all act like complete jackasses in their real lives it is hard to take that out of my thought process when watching their films. Advice to any actor no matter how famous you are. Keep your homelife and your politics to yourself. You're an actor. That's all you are. Do your job and go home. No one cares what you think about how the "little guy" should live or what you think what should be done in the political arena of ideas.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 9:06:50 PM CST

    Except people do care about

    by noodleshahn

    what famous actors think about politics. That's why people keep asking them. If you want celebrities to act like normal people then we should treat them like normal people but we don't do that. Maxwell Bishop, you say no one cares but if that were true, their political opinions would have no effect on you at all. But it does. It's entire reason you posted. This tells them that their voice means something and they're going to keep talking. When an actor makes their politcs public and nobody reacts positively or negatively in the slightest then it will stop. As long as people react, it won't.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 9:35:55 PM CST

    suicide attempt

    by whatevillurks

    One officer tried a suicide attack....it didnt work.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 10:08:30 PM CST

    I really wish...

    by rassmguy

    ...that AICN would hire a proofreader. This review, like most articles posted on this site, is rife with typos. It's very distracting.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 10:18:17 PM CST

    Worse bit is, Red Dwarf spoiled this for me in 1993...

    by james_o'nasty

    Lister finds THE briefcase and Rimmer says, "Ah, yes, Von Stauffenberg, he tried to kill Hitler with a bomb in a briefcase!!!!"

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 11:16:50 PM CST

    Hey, Etrigan re: Tom Cruise's person life.

    by randysavage

    "Scientologists believe they the only salvation for the Earth is for everyone to become a Scientologist."

    All 3 Abrahamic religions (Christianity,Judaism,Islam) have almost identical pillars to the above statement. I wouldn't let an actor's spiritual beliefs affect your enjoyment of a film.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 11:43:57 PM CST

    I'd love Singer to do a espionage thriller

    by charlie_allnut

    ala the Odessa File etc. Plus LOVE Sahara. Little seen Bogie classic.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 28, 2008 11:57:46 PM CST

    Great Movie

    by antonphd

    Harry pretty much nails it in the review. I will say that even if there is a Tom Cruise backlash that is preventing people from seeing this movie... Tom Cruise is the ONLY reason this movie made 30 million that last few days. It's a movie about nazis releasing on Christmas. Tom Cruise is driving the box office on this one. There may be some kids who don't give a fuck about Tom Cruise and some women who are still pissed that he talked trash about cars sales commercials girl... but guys just want to watch a good movie and they know that Tom Cruise delivers a good movie. Anyone trashing this movie DOES have a Tom Cruise problem. But if you care that he has a crazy religion and you just celebrated the birth of super baby a few days ago... then you have some serious religious bigotry going on. And that is too bad for you. Cause all super people beliefs are crazy.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 29, 2008 12:38:54 AM CST

    Fuck those scientologists...

    by maxwell's hammer

    Give me a religion where your God sends his son to Earth for the sole purpose of being murdered; females were created from the rib of man, who spent his formative years in a garden naming every animal on Earth; a magical bush catches on fire and then talks to you; and sinners get swallowed by giant fish and regurgitated when they become repentant. Long live super-baby!!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 29, 2008 2:21:12 AM CST

    OK, but will this be the last movie about this topic?

    by tombseye

    I mean come on. This story has been retold numerous times. Maybe this is the best version, but can we give the assassination of Hitler a rest after this? Pretty please? World War 1, it's just sitting there waiting for some Hollywood interpretation that will no doubt make the Germans (even though all the players were imperialists fighting over colonies and such) look like the bad guys yet again, but at least it will be something different.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 29, 2008 4:54:04 AM CST

    maxwell's hammer is gon' get buttfucked by the jewish justice le

    by ironic_name

  • Dec 29, 2008 4:55:25 AM CST

    league

    by ironic_name

  • Dec 29, 2008 8:07:06 AM CST

    The more I think about this one, the mosr I kinda like it, BUT..

    by kentucky colonel

    I saw this one many weeks ago thanks to an AFI screening up in Silver Springs, MD. Thanks, AFI, for throwing us Easties a bone every once and awhile. At the time I though it to be nothing but Nazi Porn (the Costumes, the Swasticas, the REAL LOCATIONS! yadda yadda). I knew the story. Hell, I'm one of those freaks who will watch the Nazis get their asses kicked on whatever Edutainmnet channel has them on (as an aside, I loved it when Homer Simpson was watching one of the aforementioned shows and called the Luftwaffe the "Washington Generals" of History. Zing!). And then there was the two hour infomercial "specil" on the History channel last night. A pretty damned good one, too. I've gotten over the whole accent (or lack of) issue with the film. And I've always stated that the movie looks damn fine. I even can get over the Tom Cruise/Xenu creepiness. Tom may be o bit whacky, but who in their right mind isn't a little wacky?

    My problem, an it's a small one to be sure, but you just don't ROOT for NAZIS. And I was rooting for them. Bad me. Bad, bad me. Rooting for Staffenberg's Nazis to win is like rooting for your Brain Cancer to kill you before your Pancreatic Cancer does. And Hitler is definately the Pancreatic cancer of History. Yea, cool, sure, there were some good folks who didn't like Hitler and what he was doing to their Deutchland, and they tried to kill him. Great. Couldn't you have done a little bit better of a job, guys? You make some fantastic cars and stereos, and you can kill millions like shooting fish in a barrel, but you can't kill one sociopath??

    Just once, can we get a little major historical revisionisim andsomebody kill the motherfucker!

    Lastly, the new Looney Tunes Golden Collection, v6, is awesome except for the third disc, which is full of Bosco shorts. Great for the Bosco lovers, sure, but couldn't we had had those on a seperate DVD, maybe, for the few Bosco lovers out there, and fill the third disc up with something better...like maybe the SNAFU cartoons? Disc 2 is full of WWII cartoons, sadly missing though is "Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips" (on YouTube, though). The Mel Blanc documentary will make you cry a little. Mel was THE MAN!

    Nazis Bad. Bosco Bad.

    Looney Tunes Good. Snafu Good.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 29, 2008 8:17:33 AM CST

    Best Nazi-Getting -Their-Asses-Handed-To-Them flick

    by kentucky colonel

    "Escape From Sobibor"

    With Rutger Hauer & others. Also based on the true story of the only successful mass escape from one of Hitler's Death Camps. apx. 600 prisoners tried a mass escape, killing as many Nazis as they could. 300 made it out alive. It's a great movie...and an even better story! It was made for TV, but it damn well dosen't look it.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 29, 2008 9:25:45 AM CST

    Hitler was Xenu.. Duh! Plus Tom Cruise is a Creepy Fucker

    by hatespeech

    nuff said.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Dec 29, 2008 12:27:03 PM CST

    historically accurate??

    by arcadiands

    Pretty much everything I've seen relating to that topic says that while true to the basic story (i.e. Hitler didn't die and wasn't from another planet), that the majority of the film is a work of total fiction.

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  • Dec 29, 2008 5:11:55 PM CST

    The TRUTH behind Cruises film character...

    by sackratte

    The grandfather of a friend knew a German priest from WW2. This priest has met Cruises character in real right after he has left Germany (and right after he put the bomb in place). The priest met him as he got out of his plane and the priest greet him with his rank... and he said something like: "From now on GENERAL!". So I believe the whole 'We kill Hitler' story is bullshit. They all wanted a huge piece of the cake and nothing else! True story!

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  • Dec 29, 2008 7:47:16 PM CST

    There were some good Germans...

    by dudeone

    I just saw a two-hour special on the whole Valkyrie situation last night on the History channel...there were several attempts to take out Hitler before Stauffenberg got involved. Hitler had the world's best luck - either he left too early in some of the cases or, in one case on a plane, the bombs that were put inside were too cold to go off. He seemed to always evade assassination attempts by a whisker. Also another problem was the older German soldiers, the generals, couldn't agree on an aggressive plan so the younger generation, the colonels, finally got together and that's how Stauffenberg got involved. This core group of German officials risked everything, they had big mansions and lots of money and they knew if their plan failed they would be executed (and probably tortured first). The plan to kill Hitler almost worked. When the chief guys were caught, along with Stauffenberg, their families were ostracized as traitors for years.

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  • Dec 30, 2008 8:01:30 AM CST

    Superman Returns

    by ivan_mtl

    The sooner we stop talking about it, the sooner we can pretend that it never happened. Of course, Bryan Singer should be kept as far away as possible from any future Superman film.

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  • Dec 30, 2008 10:03:39 AM CST

    RandySavage

    by geteveryone

    Judaism doesn't believe that at all. In fact, very much the opposite. Converting to Judaism is a nightmare and the religion itself isn't interested in converting believers of other faiths. On another note, Valkyrie looks pretty sweet. I mean, I looked over and Kurt Russell was laughing, so it must be ok...

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  • Dec 30, 2008 1:40:50 PM CST

    GetEveryone

    by randysavage

    My point was that all three religions have at their heart (and original form before multi-faith dialogue of the late 20th century) strict rules and beliefs about the superiority and singularity, like apparently scientologists do. So Judaism may preach the conversion of gentiles (keep the club exclusive) but the Talmud has pretty statements on the benefits and superiority that members of Chosen People can enjoy over the gentiles. Similarly, Christians believe only they will receive salvation after death.

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  • Dec 30, 2008 1:43:07 PM CST

    no subject

    by randysavage

    I mangled the above post while rushing, but you get my point.

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  • Dec 31, 2008 9:14:21 AM CST

    This on FORBIDDEN PLANET & THE EXPENDABLES...

    by abking

    http://www.thearnoldfans.com/news/1390.htm

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  • Jan 02, 2009 7:53:22 PM CST

    Great movie

    by gungan slayer

    I saw "Valkyrie" yesterday and greatly enjoyed it, as I suspected I would. I've been looking forward to this film for sometime now. I do have to agree with Harry, in that it does very much feel like those WW2 movies from the 60s...and that's a good thing in my book. I hope it sticks around and does well at the box office, because MGM really needs a hit.

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  • Jan 05, 2009 6:25:10 AM CST

    All this anti-Cruise stuff is laughable...

    by neilf

    Comes across as a bunch of nobodies whinging and whining away at a media led bunch of nonsense.

    His beliefs are different to yours? Get over it...

    Having had first hand accounts from people who worked with him (from Mission Impossible III), he came across as a very level headed and generous guy who went out of his way to help folks.

    By all means believe the stupid media hype, OR take it from people who who have actually been with the guy day after day that he's actually a decent fellow!

    I suspect many will of course just continue to ride your jealous little bandwagons though, than actually pay any attention to common sense...

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  • Jan 15, 2009 12:33:05 PM CST

    Hitler not only destroyed the german state..

    by emeraldboy

    but destroyed his family too.

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  • Jan 15, 2009 12:47:11 PM CST

    Last week on a very popular rte radio show..

    by emeraldboy

    called liveline I was reminded about why I loathe The tony quinn organisation. he is a proponent of the OPM get rich schemes. Other peoples money. I have an aunt who is involved with this charlatan's organisation. The secret to this guys wealth is that each seminar is limited to ten people per head. On his bahamas seminar he pays 15,000 euros. so that is 150,000. For Executive course its 50,000. so that is 500,000. I have a relative who is quite happy to pay that money get their head filled full of bs. One of his courses was entitled "do you want to live forever". A fool and his money is easily parted. The tony quinn organisation runs courses in London, the united states, Egypt the bahamas. One woman who got involved in TQO course had to pay 63,000. Again if you do the math, there was ten people on the course, so that was 630,000 into dr quinns pockets. He runs a number of health food stores in Ireland and is also braching into the gym business in Ireland. His gym company is called EDUCO. The man is a charlatan and a fruadster and must be avoided at all cost. and a parasite.

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  • Jan 24, 2009 5:05:48 PM CST

    Agree!!

    by writermom

    Not a huge Cruise fan, thought I wouln't like it, but loved it!! The cast was so amazing -- Cruise was surrounded by the best - he didn't have to be great.

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  • Feb 16, 2009 10:13:42 AM CST

    nice acting, great direction but...

    by mr gorilla

    ...somehow this didn't quite involve me as I think it should have done. the writers, stars, director etc are all top class, so I certainly wouldn't deign to suggest what they could have done to right this. But, amazing and heartbreaking as this story is, it wasn't as moving as one imagines the people behind it wanted to be. That said, I am so glad I saw it on the massive screen. And kudos to Cruiser for surrounding himself with great Brit and German thesps.

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