Daniel Craig, the best James Bond since Sean Connery, no matter how much Quantum of Solace sucked his spirit, gets a true story to dig into this time. And it's a doozy. In Defiance, Craig brings grit and gravity to the role of Tuvia Bielski, the eldest of three Jewish brothers who led the resistance against the Nazis from their base in the Nalibocka Forest in Belorussia during World War II. Joseph Stalin, who famously opined that "Jews make poor warriors," never met the Bielskis. Brother Zus (an outstanding Liev Schreiber) is a hothead who thinks Tuvia is too conciliatory. Younger brother Asael (Jamie Bell) labors to find a balance between Zus, who wants revenge by gun, grenade and whatever's handy, and Tuvia, who believes that "our revenge is to live."

Just as he did with the black soldiers in the Civil War-themed Glory, director Edward Zwick has seized on a strong, underserved subject. The excellent source material is Defiance: The Bielski Partisans, by historian Nechama Tec. Sadly, the script by Zwick and Clayton Frohman veers off into action clichés, clunky dialogue and Hollywood hoo-ha (a bare-chested sex scene for Craig — please!) when the facts reveal a richer tale. For all the film's flaws, this is a war story told with passion about a band of brothers that still has the power to inspire.

“Satisfied”

Only the genius of Tom Waits could combine the subject of mortality, a reoccurring theme in his work, with wordplay that name checks both Mick and Keith, whom he calls "Mr. Jagger" and "Mr. Richards," and the title of their magnum opus, "Satisfaction." And to show just how cool Waits really is, he even got Mr. Richards to play along, one of nine guest appearances the guitarist has made on three Waits albums. "This growling roadhouse stomp is a late-breaking response to the Stones' greatest hit," Rolling Stone said of the track.