At long last, Tom Cruise reprises his role as “Maverick” in Valkyrie (two hours, PG-13), the long-awaited sequel to Top Gun.

But seriously folks, Valkyrie is a brisk, two-hour study in tension, tautly directed by Bryan Singer of The Usual Suspects and X-Men fame with an inexorable sense of impending doom.

The movie, filmed on location throughout Germany, tells the story of a group of Nazis dedicated to the destruction of Hitler and his regime so they can bring about a return to representative government in Germany.

They are sick of the hate. They are sick of the killing of civilians and the horrors of the concentration camps. I’m not spoiling anything to say they hatch an ambitious plan that almost works, but not quite.

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Yes Man (1 hour, 44 minutes, PG-13): You make enough movies and you're bound to repeat yourself.

In Yes Man, Jim Carrey plays a guy who, because of a self-help seminar, must uncharacteristically say yes to every situation he now encounters. In 1997's Liar Liar, he plays a guy who, because of a metaphysical event, must tell the truth in every situation he encounters.

Same premise. Same chaos. Same Jim Carrey hambone comedy.

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Marley & Me (2 hours; rated PG)

Is anyone really surprised that Marley & Me broke the box-office record for a Christmas Day premiere over the weekend? Pairing likeable stars with a lovable dog is putting money in the bank - in this case, approximately $51.7 million.

What is surprising about this feel-good hit based on newspaper columnist John Grogan's memoir of life with "the world's worst dog" are the several feel-bad moments it contains. They're filtered through a Hollywood lens, but big-studio attempts at delivering life lessons in old-fashioned tearjerker style without a hint of post-modern irony are rare these days and should be acknowledged.

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The Tale of Despereaux (1 hour, 27 minutes; rated G): I feel like I’m hitting the replay button at the movies.

Yesterday, I saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which was strikingly familiar to Forrest Gump. Today, it was The Tale of Despereaux, which seemed like a Ratatouille rip-off – err – spin-off.

I was expecting more from ol’ Despereaux and his cute big ears. But my thoughts wandered, and I found myself distracted by the similarities to Ratatouille -- the chef, the rats, the pot of soup, the French accents.

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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2 hours, 48 minutes, PG-13): Walking out of the theater after having seen Brad Pitt age 80 years in less than three hours, my wife had one question:

"Geez, when are they gonna make a movie like that about a woman's life?"

She's right. Benjamin Button is a knockoff of Forrest Gump, from its quirky Deep South roots to the deliberate Southern drawl.

Per usual, I had no answer to my wife's question. But I posed to her a question of my own: "Did you save some popcorn?"

Even at nearly three hours, Benjamin Button will find you with extra popcorn without the 50-cent refill. In narrative form, the movie meanders, but the details will keep you from chewing too loud.

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The Day the Earth Stood Still (1 hour, 50 minutes, rated PG-13): About 20 minutes into this ... thing, as I'm watching Keanu Reeves emerge from the big orb that's landed in Central Park, I'm wondering, "Hey, there's Ted, where the heck is Bill S. Preston, Esquire?"

As in Bill in Bill & Ted, the adventuresome slackers from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey.

Ted without Bill is bogus and not excellent.

And this remake of a 1951 classic sci-fi thriller was bogus.

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A dull patina emanates fromClint Eastwood in his role as Walt Kowalski in the opening scene of his latestfilm, Gran Torino.Worn out and weary, his face suggeststotal dissatisfaction with the funeral mass for his wife and the ensuingtraditional luncheon at his house.He views the entire event as a farce and dislikes everything andeveryone associated with his loss, especially the priest. Father Janovich,(Christopher Carley)

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Milk is a film that tracks the life of Harvey Milk, a gay civil right activist who died in San Francisco in 1978.It is not a family film, but an informative look at another battle for civil rights that occurred in our country in the last century.

Civil rights are by definition – “Rights that all citizens of a society are supposed to have, for example the right to vote or to receive fair treatment under the law.” The struggle of the African American community to receive their civil rights is well documented inlegislation and history books.

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