Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) is a fisherman in a South African village whose life is thrown in to turmoil when a group of rebels drive into his village and break up his family. His family gets away, but he is captured and forced to work for them by mining for diamonds. One day he finds a rare pink diamond, but when a government raids the site, he is forced to hide it and is soon imprisoned. Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), a diamond smuggler learns that Solomon knows where to find a very valuable diamond. He arranges to get him out of prison and tries to get him to take him to the diamond in exchange for helping Solomon find his family. 
This past year has almost made me forget that I once had an unfounded hatred of DiCaprio. He has proved that just because I feel that “Titanic” is one of the most overrated movies ever made, that I should not fault him for it. He was great in “The Departed” and again, he does a good job in “Blood Diamond.” I was not bothered by the South African accent as some were. I liked how he portrayed a horrible character who uses Solomon to get what he wants, but you still cannot hate him as much as you should. There is a good person beneath the bad guy exterior. There are moments where he does things not because he has to, but because it is the right thing to do. It is in these moments where Archer redeems himself in the eyes of the audience. DiCaprio gives a strong performance, one of the best of the movie. Though I do think that the entire Oscar/ Golden Globe buzz is a little much. His performance is good, but not as good as many are claiming it is.
Djimon Hounsou has been perfecting this character for years; he always seems to play the suffering African villager. This is not necessarily a bad thing, though it is bad for his career because he has been typecast into theses roles. The good thing is that he is good at it. As Solomon he is a character who will fight and die to find his family. He is even willing to give up a very valuable diamond, the thing that can get his family a better life, just to get them back. For all his strength and willingness to sacrifice for his family, he is ignorant. He does not see that Archer is using him to get to the diamond. He is too trusting of Archer and believes that he has good intentions.
The conscious of this movie is Maddy Bowen, played by Jennifer Connelly. She is an American journalist in South Africa covering the diamond smuggling. She meets Archer in a bar and they talk about the moral of the movie. Blood diamonds are being smuggled out of the country to one with no known diamonds. Those are then bought cheap by the diamond suppliers and hidden away so that they can control the price of diamonds. Connelly is there to make us all feel bad for buying diamonds and not making sure that that are not conflict diamonds. In the 1990’s in Sierra Leone, where and when the movie takes place there was a bloody civil war and at the heart of all this was the diamond trade, the rebels used their captives to mine for nothing then turn a profit when they sold them to smugglers to get out of the country. I was hit over the head with these facts over and over again and it got to the point where it was way too much. It was good for exposition, to give the story a powerful backdrop, but was it necessary to tell the audience over and over how bad this was? The images of the brutality were more then enough to get that point across.
If it helps any, for the most part, there are fewer conflict diamonds on the market now then there were in the 90’s If one should feel like being preached at, go see “Blood Diamond” If not you can still go see it, but I recommend that whenever Jennifer Connelly is on screen put your fingers in you ears and say “la la la” really loud until she is gone.
7 out of 10
Rated R for strong violence and language.
Runtime: 138 min
How exactly did James Bond become 007? That is exactly how the new Bond film, “Casino Royale” opens. Bond has already made his first kill and on his way to number two and the famed “double 0” status. After getting to the prestigious position of “007” Bond (Daniel Craig) then proceeds to, while giving chase to a bomb maker, shoot up an embassy. This doesn’t make “M” (Dame Judi Dench) too happy. He begins a rogue investigation and finds his way to the Bahamas to follow up on a lead. While there he learns of Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelson) He has just lost a lot one of his client’s money and now must get it back. He takes part in a poker game at Casino Royale. Bond, being the best player in the service, is chosen to play and keep Le Chiffre from winning. He his being bankrolled by the treasury, who have Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) watching over Bond and the money that have invested in this poker game. If Bond loses, they will have directly financed terrorism. Talk about high stakes.
I’m going to be honest here, I did not think Daniel Craig was going to be able to pull of Bond. I was not in the group that was angry about the choice because he has blond hair and cannot drive stick (apparently a Bond must). He just never struck me as the type of actor who could give Bond what was needed; a suave coolness, unflappable dedication and an overall fearlessness. Well, I was wrong. Craig may be the best Bond since, dare I say it, Sean Connery. I’m not going to say better then Connery, because that would be blasphemy. He gives us a more sensitive Bond, one who is willing to give up his job and “00” status to be happy. This Bond is not a womanizer. He is not sleeping with every woman who crosses his path, like other Bonds. Craig gives us a Bond that is as cool as any who came before, except for one thing. It is a subdued cool. He never over plays it and keeps it low key. Craig is able to give us a darker Bond, one who struggles with deeper issues that he lets on, but still keeps the wit and humor we have come to know and love.
Another great performance is Eva Green. She plays a Bond girl like no one before her could. She is not instantly won over by Bond. She resists the Bond charm and is not as weak as previous Bond girls. She is strong-willed and capable. She is not one to fall to pieces when things get dangerous. I loved this new take on the Bond girl. She was smart enough to match wits with Bond, but still relies on him to get the job done. Where other recent Bond girls were picked less for their acting ability, Eva Green can act and has the looks to pull of a Bond girl.
One thing that separates this movie from the Bond movies of the past few years is the story. Namely, there is one. This is based on the very first book that Ian Fleming wrote featuring everyone’s favorite member of her majesty’s secret service.
The past few Bond movies have strayed from what Ian Fleming had originally indented. The Bond franchise had become almost as cheesy as the Batman franchise. The stories had become too farfetched and the character of Bond became almost a parody of his former self. This movie brings Bond back to reality. No fancy gadgets, invisible cars, a la Die Another Day, cars with unnecessary features that just happen to save his life in a tight situation. This Bond is grounded in reality and leaves out the laser satellites. 
If I have one problem with the movie it is this. It is supposed to be a prequel, but it takes place in modern day. They use cell phones, laptop computers and even make references to 9/11. The first Bond, “Dr. No” was made in 1962, so if you are trying to make this a prequel, then plan the plot accordingly. Other then that minor, and nitpicky issue, this movie is great.
“Casino Royale” redeems the Bond franchise. Sure he is blond and can’t drive a stick shift, but honestly, who the hell cares? This is a good story and Craig plays a damn good Bond. Rarely do I go into a movie thinking one thing and come out thinking another. The choice may have been a risky one, but it paid off in the end. Martini anyone?
9 out of 10
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action, a scene of torture, sexual content and nudity.
Runtime: 144 min
