In spite of the fact that Tom Cruise’s credibility has suffered from some serious blows (yeah, who can forget his sofa-jumping episode at Oprah?), we cannot discount his talent as an actor. This is the man who brought Jerry Maguire – among many other movie characters – to life.

Come Christmas Day, I find myself looking forward to seeing Valkyrie, Tom Cruise’s newest movie. It is actually more than a good movie – as many critics are already saying – as this year marks his 25th year since Risky Business, the film that many say made Tom Cruise into what he is today.

In Valkyrie, Tom Cruise plays a real life character. The last time that he did this was in the movie Born on the Fourth of July, which was way back in 1989. Undoubtedly, that movie was a success. Would Valkyrie prove to be the same?

Tom Cruise, the director and star of the new movie, has done as much as he could to make that possible. He actually did research on his own – research on Germany, its history, the Third Reich, and even met some of von Stauffenberg’s descendants; von Stauffenberg being the main character of the film.

What does the star have to say about his latest film?

Because the picture is a suspense-centered film, to really understand von Stauffenberg was obviously very important. You try to comprehend the kind of pressure he was under. Things he couldn’t even discuss with his children. The odds that he was up against, and to make the choices that he made — I found it to be inspiring and very interesting.

I am hoping that my anticipation – and yours – will not be unfounded.