John Allman

If you’ve ever wandered the aisles at the video store or surfed the DVR pay-per-view options and seen a bunch of movies that you’ve never heard of, chances are John has watched them. Why? He loves movies. All kinds of movies. Good, bad, so-bad-they’re good, even the truly unwatchable ones. He mostly loves horror and science-fiction and drive-in exploitation movies that most upstanding model citizens wouldn’t dare watch. Then he writes up his thoughts so you can decide - watch, don’t watch or avoid at all costs. Sometimes he even gets to talk to the cool folks who make some of your favorite films.

 Blood, Violence and Babes
 John Allman

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Valkyrie

Posted Jul 2, 2009 by John Allman

Updated Jul 2, 2009 at 05:12 AM

Valkyrie
Genre: Military/Action
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Run time: 121 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Format: Blu-Ray

The Lowdown: The customary World War II has you rooting for American GI’s to overtake those dreaded, heartless Nazis.

How refreshing then it is to find yourself rooting for a disparate band of German soldiers trying to undermine their own leader to kill Hitler and end the war.

The strong and entertaining “Valkyrie” is not the misguided Tom Cruise vanity project that you may have heard about.

It’s not the offensive English-speaking German war movie that trailers made it appear (Much like “The Hunt for Red October,” the German language is present until it shifts, mid-sentence, into English, explaining why all these Nazis are speaking without subtitles).

It’s a solid pot-boiler of a war movie that, despite having an ending that you already know, still provides enough suspense and bravado to thoroughly entertain. And Cruise is really good here, surrounded by an excellent ensemble of veteran A-list actors like Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson, Terrence Stamp and Bill Nighy.

The action scenes early on crackle, and the ensuing set-up to the failed bomb assassination of Hitler snaps along with enough twists to keep you guessing when the rebels will be caught.

The script by Christopher McQuarrie is also good, if lacking that OMG spark that punched up “The Usual Suspects” and “The Way of the Gun.” And Singer, likely still smarting from the pummeling he took on “Superman Returns” shows the steady hand and capable eye that made him a director to watch years ago.

The Stuff You Care About:
Hot chicks – No.
Nudity – No.
Gore – War violence.
Drug use – No.
Bad Guys/Killers – Hitler. ‘Nuff said.
Buy/Rent – Rent it.
Blu-Ray Bonus Features – A bunker full of bonus goodies, including audio commentary with Tom Cruise, Bryan Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; a live movie chat recorded in New York City with Cruise and Singer; the documentary, “The Valkyrie Legacy”; five featurettes focusing on behind-the-scenes preparation for key scenes and set design.
On the Web – http://valkyrie.unitedartists.com/
Release Date – May 19, 2009