Nuremberg

Today we're looking at:

Nuremberg (2025).

This movie about the first Nuremberg trial is based on the 2013 book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai. The script is written by the director James Vanderbilt who also directed the rather good Suspiria remake in 2018.

We open the movie with Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe) surrendering to American soldiers. Next we meet US Army major and psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek) who has been tasked with assessing the mental health and competency of the surviving top Nazis, particularly whether they are a suicide risk. Dr. Kelley is assisted by Sergeant Howie Triest (Leo Woodall) who speaks fluent german. Kelley is immediately fascinated by Göring who is highly intelligent and completely charming, and starts planning a future book.

At the same time, US Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert Jackson (Michael Shannon) is pushing to set up the Nuremberg trials, arguing that they can't just kill the top Nazis without a trial. He encounters severe opposition from several directions, as there is not only no legal framework for prosecuting foreign nationals but a real fear of losing such a trial and thereby legitimizing the Nazis. It is no spoiler to state the trials do go ahead, and Jackson is aided by the British barrister Sir David Maxwell Fyfe (Richard E. Grant).

The real focus of this movie are the actors. They are all amazing. Malek is good, but it is Crowe and Woodall that really shine for me. Russell Crowe especially does a great job going from affable and charming to monstrous and cold in a heartbeat. He goes from pleasant old Hermann to Reichsmarshall Göring in a blink and it is quite spooky.

Production wise, the movie is also really good. Nothing feels fake or out of place. Uniforms, sets, hairstyles and everything else all look and feel fine.

However Nuremberg has a big balance problem. Clocking in at a massive 148 minutes it still manages to rush through important parts while focusing on other less relevant bits. The big gotcha moment in court falls completely flat, I think it needed a lot more build up. At the same time we are treated to Kelley's arguments with fellow psychiatrist Dr. Gilbert (Colin Hanks) along with other scenes we don't need at all. Scenes of Kelley drinking in a bar do nothing except show he has a drinking problem, which isn't relevant either and leads to one of the biggest events that didn't happen in real life. (No spoilers).

The whole “can we even have a trial” part is really interesting and deserves further exploration in my opinion. Likewise, the discussions between Göring and Kelley are fascinating and we deserve more. We get practically nothing from the other Nazis which could have been used for Kelley's investigation into whether the Nazis were different somehow. It is all somehow rushed through with other bits crammed in that don't add anything worthwhile to the movie.

So, do I recommend this movie? Yes, ultimately I do think Nuremberg is worth watching at least once. As I said, it is very well made and the actors are wonderful but be aware of its flaws. Oh, and a warning: during the trial scene, they show real footage from the extermination camps, and while this is important in order to hammer home the full horror of the Holocaust, some viewers might not be able to handle it.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!

 

It is a mystery.

Hello and welcome to more Eccentric Spheres!

Today I want to share a documentary about historical mysteries. Every now and then I like to watch stuff like this as it tickles the imagination. Whether these are actual mysteries or creative fiction, I leave up to you. I'm keeping it short as my brain is still at leaking out of my nose. Stupid winter flu....

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week! 

Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0aK1P-MpWM 

Sniper Elite Resistance

This week I want to continue the tradition and talk about:

Sniper Elite Resistance.

This game is the latest in the Sniper Elite franchise, and was released in January 2025.

Mechanically it is almost identical to Sniper Elite 5, which isn't strange since it is the same engine, meaning that it is a gorgeous game. The game-play is very similar from the players perspective, but there are some differences.

First off, we have a new protagonist. In Resistance we play as British SOE agent Harry Hawker, but if this feels wrong, there are two free DLC's that add our classic main hero Karl Fairburne as well as Marie Chevalier. These DLC's also add a couple of weapons so grab them even if you want to play as Hawker.

The weapon list is different as well, with some guns returning from SE5 and some being new. There are a few new weapons strewn about the maps that we haven't seen before that can be picked up and used temporarily. There is also a new type of ammo, explosive bullets, that are fun but not terribly useful, at least in my experience.

The perhaps biggest change is with the enemy soldiers, who have much sharper senses than before. Both their eyesight and hearing is considerably better than in SE5, and you will find yourself being spotted much easier. Another change is with enemy helmets that can now tank damage a bit better. Occasionally they will even deflect rifle bullets not to mention pistol ammo, unless you use armor piercing rounds. That said, I find that enemies go down easier than in SE5 so it is a pretty good trade-off.

The maps are perhaps a bit smaller than in SE5, but are by no means small and definitely as devious as before. Dense, detailed and brimming with things to be discovered and collected. There are rooftops, hidden passages, tunnels and small hideouts to help you get through the game. Some players have criticized SE:Resistance for having “empty maps” and I can see where they are coming from even though I don't really agree. In SE5 the maps have an equal distribution of enemies all around, but in Resistance they are more clumped up and often in places you can't see at a distance. There were many times where I shot what I thought was a lone enemy only to have his death alert six or seven enemies at once. Tricky but fun. The flip side is that there are some pretty empty parts of the map as well, which feels odd, mostly because I'm used to the more even spread of foes.

I have as of writing played the main game all the way through once, with my current run being my own invented No Hit Challenge where I have to restart the map if I take any damage from any source. When I wrote about this challenge I intended to restart the whole game, but that is too boring and frustrating in the long run, so I modified the rule set to only restart the map. I know nothing about the mission DLC's but once I get them I will probably drop a line here.

To summarize, if you like Sniper Elite 5, there is no reason to not play Resistance, they are pretty much cousins. Some small differences but nothing too alien. I would say SE5 is the better game but there is a lot to like in Resistance.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!