Valkyrie (2008)

Tom Cruise is back with another impossible mission in Valkyrie, a high-profile historical thriller about German officers who plotted to assassinate Adolph Hitler in the waning years of World War II. As aristocrat, Army officer, and secret conspirator Claus von Stauffenberg, Cruise dons an eye patch to lead the real-life 1944 effort to save Germany – and the world – from the clutches of Nazism. Director Bryan Singer (X-Men, Superman Returns) reunites with his Usual Suspects scribe Christopher McQuarrie (who co-wrote the screenplay with Nathan Alexander) and leads an impressive supporting cast that includes Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, and Kenneth Branagh. But Cruise has more than Oscar gold riding on this one; Valkryie could become a major coup – or a major setback – for distributor United Artists, of which Cruise is co-owner.