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Valkyrie, a review by dfmorgan

Valkyrie

Year: 2008
Director: Bryan Singer
Cast: Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson
Overview: "Tom Cruise gives one of the best performances of his career" (Jeffrey Lyons, NBC/Reel Talk) in this action-packed film from the director of The Usual Suspects and X-Men. Based on the incredible true story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise) and his ingenious assassination plot targeting Adolf HItler, this thrilling adventure re-enacts the daring operation to eliminate one of the most evil tyrants the world has ever seen. Co-starring Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Terence Stamp and Eddie Izzard, Valkyrie delivers gripping suspense and pulse-pounding excitement from start to finish!

Watched: 21st Mar 2010
My Thoughts: A very good film. I was aware of the events that this film covered with the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler towards the end of WWII, not fully conversant though just aware. I thought that in general the cast played their roles well and didn't really have any problems with them except for Bill Nighy, whenever I see him all I can see is Billy Mack and the song "Christmas Is All Around" from Love Actually even though I have many other films featuring Bill Nighy. I did wonder how close to the events that this film would go but I see from other reviews and features that they generally stayed close to what actually happened.

My Rating: A 4 from me here

Dave

(From Dave's DVD/Blu-ray Reviews on March 21st, 2010)

Saving Mr. Banks, a review by GSyren

Title	Saving Mr. Banks (8-717418-419080)
Director	John Lee Hancock
Actors	Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Annie Rose Buckley, Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson
Produced	2013 in United States
Runtime	125 minutes
Audio	English
Subtitles	Danish, English, Norwegian, Swedish
Overview	Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson bring to life the untold true story about the origins of one of the most treasured Disney classics of all time. John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) directs this acclaimed film, which reveals the surprising backstory behind the making of Mary Poppins. Determined to fulfill a promise to his daughters, Walt Disney (Hanks) tries for twenty years to obtain the rights to author P.L. Travers' (Thompson) beloved book. Armed with his iconic creative vision, Walt pulls out all the stops, but the incompromising Travers won't budge. Only when he reaches into his own complicated childhood does Walt discover the truth about the ghosts that haunt Travers, and together, they set Mary Poppins free!
My thoughts	When I first heard of Saving Mr. Banks I thought it sounded mildly interesting. And since I loved Mary Poppins (the movie, that is) I felt I should see Saving Mr. Banks. Well, I have to admit that it turned out to be a lot better than I expected. From what I have heard, it seems that the filmmakers have used artistic license quite a lot. So maybe Walt Disney wasn't  quite as lovable as this film makes him out to be. And perhaps Mrs. Travers wasn't as pleased with the finished product as is implied here. But the fact that the film is fictional to some degree doesn't make it any less enjoyable. The film is full of great performances. Emma Thompson is great in what must have been a very difficult role. Tom Hanks is good as usual. Annie Rose Buckley is wonderful as young Helen Goff (P. L. Travers' real name), nicknamed Ginty, and Colin Farrell is a truly positive surprise as her father. In order to hold my attention for over two hours, a film has to be really good. This one clocks in at 2:05, and it never felt long at all for me. Very highly recommended!
My rating

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on April 14th, 2014)

NCIS Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

13. DOG TAGS
After a dog is accused of mauling its owner to death, Abby risks her career in order to prove the dog's innocence. Meanwhile, Jenny's secret captures Gibbs' attention.

My Thoughts:
This is a good episode. Abby really got attached to that dog! But hey... when she sets her mind to something she gets it done.

My Rating:

14. INTERNAL AFFAIRS
La Grenouille, a notorious arms dealer, is killed and the FBI puts the NCIS team under investigation for murder with Jenny Shepard as the prime suspect.

My Thoughts:
This is the best kind of clips episode. One that don't feel like a clips episode. The tie up story of the clips is so good you don't even think about the fact that you are seeing clips from previous episodes through out.

My Rating:

15. IN THE ZONE
A mortar attack in Baghdad becomes a murder crime scene when two members of the NCIS team are sent to investigate.

My Thoughts:
A decent... but no more then standard filler episode. Nothing here to get excited about.

My Rating:

16. RECOIL
Ziva's undercover assignment trailing a serial killer turns deadly when the man she's tracking becomes suspicious of her.

My Thoughts:
This is a good episode. I enjoyed it quite a bit. In this one you do get to see how deep inside Ziva is just like everyone else. Dispite her training as an assassin.

My Rating:

(From NCIS Marathon on December 29th, 2009)