Of all the recent movie trends, World War II seems to be the least likely to surface and pick up steam. Consider a pair of 2008 films: Edward Zwick's Defiance, which featured Daniel Craig playing a Jewish resistance fighter; and director Spike Lee's Miracle at St. Anna, which told of the all-black 92nd Infantry Division in Italy. Then came Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, which hit multiplexes this past year. Two recent films on DVD complete the picture.

Gay filmmaker Bryan Singer's Valkyrie (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment/MGM/UA) is based on the true story of a German military plot to kill Adolph Hitler. In spite of taking a sacred oath to Hitler, Col. Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) writes in his diary about the stain on the German army that is the SS. Viewing Hitler as the archenemy of not only the world, but also Germany, Stauffenberg vows to make a change. After surviving an air attack in which he loses limbs and an eye, Stauffenberg is recruited by a political organization within the resistance. Sacrificing his own safety and that of his wife and children, Stauffenberg accepts his

high-treason mission. Using Hitler's own "Operation Valkyrie" plan against him, the military operation is set in motion in July 1944.

For a film by Singer, who has helmed edge-of-the-seat thrillers such as The Usual Suspects and the first two X-Men movies, Valkyrie is remarkably restrained when it comes to its suspense. Singer relies on the real-life drama of the story to keep us interested, especially since the assassination plot was a failure and there were consequences for betraying Hitler. Cruise does a fine job and is bolstered by a supporting cast that includes Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp and Eddie Izzard. DVD special features include commentary and a pair of featurettes.

The polar opposite of Valkyrie, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (Miramax) is one of the darkest and ugliest tales of Nazi Germany on film. Bruno (Asa Butterfield) is the bored young son of a Nazi officer (David Thewlis) who moves his wife (Vera Farmiga) and children from the city to be near his post at a "farm." The "farm" is a concentration camp whose chimneys spew the ashes of the prisoners at all hours. Against his parents' wishes, the curious Bruno goes exploring and gets close to the camp, where he sees a kid about his own age. Separated by a barbed wire fence, Bruno befriends Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), the titular "boy," and they get to know each other. At one point, Bruno even sneaks the starving Shmuel some food from his house.

The relatively innocent Bruno forms such a bond with his new friend that he eventually tunnels into the camp to be closer to him. It is then that the film reaches its horrifying and chilling conclusion, which left me (and other viewers, no doubt) in a state of utter disbelief. Directed and adapted for the screen by Mark Herman (Little Voice and Brassed Off), the film is based on a young adult novel of the same name by John Boyne. Subjecting school-age readers to this story seems unusually cruel and unnecessary, and the same goes for anyone of any age who chooses to sit through the movie version. DVD bonus features include commentary, deleted scenes and a featurette.