Valkyrie

Claus Philipp Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) plotted to kill Hitler in 1944 in order to seize control of Germany and broker a truce with the Allies. But Valkyrie has no interest in memorializing this forgotten soldier, and the film isn't really Oscar fare, despite the based-on-a-true-story baggage, period clothing, setting and reputable cast (Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Eddie Izzard, Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp). The supporting performances are top-notch, but this is about Cruise on another impossible mission — he's Ethan Hunt with an eye patch. Even when saying goodbye to his wife and kids for the final time, his Stauffenberg never seems like a man for whom there's anything more at stake than dinner reservations. Valkyrie feels like another installment in the never-ending Tom Cruise franchise.