Serious Movies

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Yeah - I've had another of those "let's watch some mainstream sensible movies" session. I watched a couple of films I can only describe as superb.

The first of the pair was Valkyrie - the Tom Cruise starring Nazi film focusing on the failed plot to kill Hitler and take over Germany led by Colonel von Stauffenberg. Now I'm not going to suggest for a moment that this film is 100% historically accurate. For one thing it's a movie for Heaven's sake - not a history text book. You have to make these things entertaining. But from the little reading I have done on von Stauffenberg there is something in it. And it actually is quite tense - even given the fact that you know how it's going to turn out in the end...

The second film was Mr. Brooks - a nicely chilling serial killer film starring Kevin Costner as the successful businessman, man-of-the-year type who has a second life at night as a serial killer and William Hurt as his inner voice, the one driving him to his deathfest.

Now Kevin Costner is an actor that constantly confuses me. He can be superb (as here). He can be in seriously good movies (as here and stuff like Dances with Wolves) but then I have to remember having to sit through Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves and his tendency for doing sports movies.  Here though he is great and I loved this film. You must watch it.

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