Valkyrie tells the true story of Nazi army Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) and the many men and women who formed an underground resistance movement against Hitler during World War II – from within the German armed forces. 
Von Stauffenberg was the key figure in what was one of several attempts to assassinate Hitler, this time by delivering a bomb into the “Wolf’s Lair” situation room during a meeting with Hitler and his highest ranking advisers. For a historical drama in which the ending is no surprise, I found the amount of suspense generated by Bryan Singer’s film to be rather remarkable.
In a handful of films over the years, Tom Cruise has proven himself to be a man not without actual acting talent. When that doesn’t show, it is often a case of Cruise not being able to get out of his own way, getting caught up in the grandiosity of his own legend. Here, perhaps because the eye patch and prosthetic eye reduce the opportunity for vanity, or perhaps merely because he’s matured, Cruise only slightly draws too much attention to himself. (Example: I question the veracity of his death scene.) The large ensemble of supporting players are uneven (both in the performances and in the screenwriter’s development of the characters), but the whole is greater than the sum of the lesser parts. This isn’t anyone’s best work, including Singer’s, but it is good work, a fitting and engaging tribute to a group of daring people who carrier out an extraordinary feat of bravery in the darkest moment of Germany’s history. [Ed. note: the still frame photo shown here is strangely reminiscent of a Gregory Crewdson photograph.]
Here are this morning’s Oscar-nominated films, alphabetically. The nominees for foreign language film and documentary feature are compiled at the end of the list. (Short format nominees are listed in a 
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