Movie: Blood Diamonds...

Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of civil war and chaos in 1990's Sierra Leone, Blood Diamond is the story of Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) - a South African mercenary - and Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) - a Mende fisherman. Both men are African, but their histories as different as any can be, until their fates become joined in a common quest to recover a rare pink diamond that can transform their lives. While in prison for smuggling, Archer learns that Solomon - who was taken from his family and forced to work in the diamond fields - has found and hidden the extraordinary rough stone. With the help of Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), an American journalist whose idealism is tempered by a deepening connection with Archer, the two men embark on a trek through rebel territory, a journey that could save Solomon's family and give Archer the second chance he thought he would never have.

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I don't know about you, but I'm not a huge fan of Leo... The last movie that I watched and enjoyed him in was Basketball Diaries, tho I've heard that he puts on a pretty good performance in Departed. That being said I wasn't expecting too much... mind you, I never really go into anything expecting too much... especially movies that are hyped up or billed a certain way. Leonardo DiCaprio puts on a stellar performance in this movie... He's got that wierd Afrikaner look to him, and he managed to pull of a pretty mean Afrikaner accent too. Very impressive.

The main character, played by Djimon Hounsou, does a very convincing job of portraying the fisherman who has just had his village pillaged, burned to the ground, and family ripped from his grasp... his relationship with [DiCaprio] takes many twists and turns, you could never tell where it was going to lead next... sorry.. this isn't a very good description :p but, meh...

Weighing in at 143 minutes in duration I have to say that it still didn't feel like it dragged-on. There was a nice balance of dialog and action/suspense... one of the best parts for me is that they kept the drama/love scenes to a minimum :) good stuff.