New on DVD: Blood Diamond

Blood Diamond (R)

In "Blood Diamond," director Edward Zwick adeptly sews together the stories of former mercenary Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou), an American journalist (Jennifer Connelly), and Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), who meet amid the squalor and violence of Sierra Leone's civil war. CliffsNotes: Vandy has a very valuable diamond, and Archer doesn't. Archer would like to change that. First, though, he'll have to dramatically reassess his own murky morals – cue the swelling strings and the fiery Hollywood explosions meant to viscerally evoke, for the audience, Archer's progression back to humanity. On the small screen, all of this looks striking enough, although the extras – a silly clip called "Becoming Archer" is the centerpiece – leave something to be desired. Grade: B