Blood Diamond

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Blood Diamond ★★½ 2006 (R)

Flawed, well-intentioned adventure-drama takes place in 1999, during the horrors of civil war in Sierra Leone. Rebels raid a village, committing mass murder and forcing the boys to become child soldiers while the men are slave labor in the diamond mines. These so-called “conflict stones” are then used to buy more weapons. Solomon Vandy (Hounsou) unearths and hides a valuable pink diamond in order to ransom his family after he escapes. But Vandy's find comes to the attention of Afrikaner smuggler Danny Archer (DiCa-prio), who is looking to use the diamond to his own advantage. American journalist Maddy (Connelly) happens to be around to prick Danny's nearly non-existent conscience. The actors do well and the story is harrowing but director Zwick has a tendency to be a scold. 143m/C DVD, Blu-ray Disc, HD DVD . US Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly, Arnold Vosloo, Kagi-so Kuypers, Michael Sheen, Jimi Mistry, Stephen Collins, David Harewood, Anthony Coleman, Benu Mabhena, Basil Wallace; D: Edward Zwick; W: Charles Leavitt; C: Eduardo Serra; M: James Newton Howard.

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