“Blood Diamond”
*** This movie about Africa’s illicit and brutal diamond trade is not a perfect gem, but it is an involving Hollywood treatment of a serious topic: the horrors of a civil war financed by “conflict diamonds.” It’s 1999, and Leonardo Di Caprio’s gem-smuggling, arms-dealing character tells Jennifer Connelly’s American journalist at a bar in Sierra Leone, “In America it’s bling-bling. Here it’s bling-bang.” Djimon Hounsou brings moral ballast as a father searching for his son, conscripted by rebel forces. The movie’s most haunting images are those of boys being turned into remorseless, rampaging soldiers. |R| 138 minutes|Released
today|Lisa Kennedy
“Eragon”
** A faithful adaptation of the book that few middle-school boys will find disappointing, this medieval fantasy fills in all the paint-by-numbers without adding a lot of spirit. Eragon (Ed Speleers) is an adolescent in a time when good villagers are tormented by the evil king’s soldiers; he stumbles across a dragon’s egg, only to discover he’s part of a prophesy where the famed and noble dragon riders will fly again to free the oppressed. Much sword-fighting, mentoring, deep-woods chasing and school-of-hard- knocks teaching ensues, under the auspices of Brom (Jeremy Irons). Fans of Christopher Paolini’s novel should be satisfied.|PG| 102 minutes|Released today
|Michael Booth
“The Nativity Story”
*** Hard to believe the story of Jesus and the manger hasn’t been told dozens of times, but Hollywood finally gives the biblical centerpiece a respectful rendering. Keisha Castle-Hughes is perfect as Mary, a young innocent bewildered by the demands of the annunciation. Director Catherine Hardwicke adds human touches as Mary and Joseph (Oscar Isaac) get to know each other on the long journey toward Bethlehem. The jokey handling of the three wise men is a bit much, but most families will find a moving and artfully handled presentation.|PG| 95 minutes|Released today
|Michael Booth
“Rocky Balboa”
** 1/2 Stallone steps in the ring for one last round, this time trying to admit he’s aged a little. Rocky is restless in retirement, running his fancy restaurant and spending a lot of time at Adrian’s grave (died young, yo). ESPN pits the younger Rocky against current champion Mason “The Line” Dixon in a computer game, and the match piques the interest of promoters. Rocky has to fight again, to exorcise his demons and exercise his stiff knees. While the movie is slow and a long walk down memory lane, there’s no denying Rocky is one of the great American characters on film, and Stallone plays him well.|PG| 96 minutes|Released today
|Michael Booth
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TV ON DVD|“Hard Times,” Charles Dickens’ classic of 19th-century pragmatism and industrialization at the expense of humanity, is adapted in this classy British production from the 1970s, starring Patrick Allen, Timothy West and Edward Fox. The four-part miniseries comes in a two-disc set. $39.99|Released March 13|David Germain, The Associated Press
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