Blood Diamond (2006)
I can’t quite put my finger on it, but Leonardo DiCaprio is just one of those actors that I don’t like for some inexplicable reason. He falls into the same category in my mind as someone like Johnny Depp. I don’t like them, but I find myself enjoying their movies. Go figure.
And that’s largely how I feel about Blood Diamond. It follows the ongoing saga of conflict diamonds in Africa (Sierra Leone, specifically) and how there is so much blood lost over the bling that our society seems to demand. Leo’s depiction of a diamond smuggler and gunrunner is conflicted and flat, at best, but I was drawn to the incredibly human and “real” performance of Djimon Hounsou, who plays a simple fisherman caught up in one giant mess.
The scene were he is (temporarily) reunited with his wife and daughter, for instance, is particularly powerful, giving some almost real faces to an increasingly troubling region and conflict. For my part, I actually gained more from the documentary-style special features than the movie itself. And yes, the ring I gave to my fiance contains a conflict-free diamond.
Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008)
Unlike the other Resident Evil movies that have come out in recent years, this is not a live action movie and it does not star Milla Jovovich as Alice.
Instead, it’s an animated film with a similar kind of CG as that used in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Degeneration does share many elements with its other Resident Evil movies, though. The story isn’t particularly deep and the characters aren’t all that captivating, but you get some half decent zombie-blasting action. And that’s about it.
The film is ultimately forgettable, but it’s not a terrible way to waste an hour and a half.
I enjoyed Blood Diamond when I first saw it. I have seen it twice now. I do plan to see it again someday. I agree that Djimon’s character is the most interesting and really made me get into the movie. As for the Resident Evil CGI movie, I have not yet heard of it. I saw the newest Resident Rvil and was wondering if it was a joke as I was watching it. Although this last Resident Evil movie with Milla Jovovich was entertaining at least. Anyhow thanks for the reviews.
– Robert
Interesting to see they’re going with CGI for Resident Evil. Perhaps a return to the video game roots in some ways. The last few Resident Evils have been progressively worse so this is a welcome change and hope it brings back fresh life to the series. No pun intended there!
I actually really liked RE, if you used to play the games when yu were a kid (original playstation versions) then it’s a great throwback, you could directly relate some of the scenes to the things you used to do in the games, in the films the translation didn’t really come across for me, although I enjoyed the movies I don’t feel like they were “resident evil”.