Valkyrie - It was a good, not great movie. While Cruise is decent, I agree with a review I read that there are other actors in this movie who likely would have been more compelling in the lead role. Kenneth Brannagh for one. Cruise just didn't convince me that his character was the natural leader.
On the other hand, I didn't really know that this attempt, the last, was only one of 15 known attempts by Germans to assassinate Hitler. (So much for German efficiency.
)
And it reminds you that there are people willing to risk not just their own lives, but the lives of their entire families for what they believe is right.
Edit to add:
I watched "Crónicas" on Comcast On Demand over the weekend. A 2004 film starring John Leguizamo in his first Spanish language film (subtitled). He's a reporter covering a violent mob incident in Ecuador. He uncovers a possible lead to the identity of a pedophile serial killer. This is one creepy killer, partly because he's quite beloved by friends, family and neighbors.
Anyway, reporters after sensationalism get hit hard in this story. The tension is over whether someone makes things right, makes the correct moral choice. It's a hard movie to watch.
The surroundings and people seem quite realistic, but there are some stereotypes here and some extraneous scenes/stories that don't add much. I wouldn't call it a great movie, but I did find it quite interesting.
