Defiance – December 2008

OK.
About Valkyrie?
I was wrong.
Mark it down in your calendar. It may be the only time I’ll admit it 😉
But in my defense it’s only because I didn’t see the trailer to Defiance before I saw the trailer for Valkyrie.
Compared to Defiance, Valkyrie is going to suck. . .hard.

Daniel Craig about to act the shit out of Tom Cruise.

Like Valkyrie, Defiance is also based on a true story:
(From IMDB:) Three Jewish brothers escape from Nazi-occupied Poland into the Belarussian forest, where they join Russian resistance fighters and endeavor to build a village in order to protect themselves and others in danger.
Once again, like Valkyrie it takes place during WWII and features some great names both behind and in front of the camera: (along with movies I’ve personally seen with them)
Edward Zwick – Director (Glory, Legends of the Fall, Courage Under Fire, The Last Samurai)
Actors:
Daniel Craig – Tuvia Bielski (Tomb Raider, Casino Royale, The Invasion)
Liev Schreiber – Zus Bielski (Kate & Leopold, Hamlet(Ethan Hawke), Sphere, Scream1, 2, 3, Ransom) NOTE: he’s also going to play “Sabertooth” in the Wolverine movie. . .I shit you not!
Mark Margolis – The Ghetto Elder (The Fountain, Umney’s Last Case, The Tailor of Panama, End of Days, The Thomas Crown Affair, Pi, Glory)

I realize they’re two very different movies; Valkyrie being a conspiracy/paranoia film and Defiance being a drama/hero film. And that may work in both their favors when it comes down to it.  It may happen anyway that everyone will compare the movies together (like what happened between “The illusionist,” and “The Prestige” even though “The Illusionist” has more of a political plot and features very little “magic” compared to the vendetta-filled “The Prestige”)

Valkyrie comes out in October 2008
Defiance comes out in late December 2008
So far the reviews for Defiance are positive, unlike Valkyrie, but as I say in my previous post, this could be because of the Tom Cruise effect. (ie: people are tired of hearing about him, his scientology hijinks are overshadowing his actual work, The first film to come out of his ressurected United Artists company, “Lions for Lambs” flopped big time.)

Defiance doesn’t seem to have an official site yet, but the trailer is everywhere.