The perfect movie to watch with your wife right before her birthday or your anniversary: "Blood Diamond"

"Because really, honey, you don't want any new diamond jewelry to come at the expense of so many African lives. That's why I got you this Outback Steakhouse gift card instead. Bloomin' onion, anyone?"

Sorry for the lag in posts. Been watching a little more TV and a little less film these days. Then there was the unfortunate double-dip of having "Blood Diamond" from Netflix right as it also came on HBO. Oooh, I hate it when that happens. Just on principle I finally wrapped up the movie on DVD tonight before it was scheduled to next be on HBO on Tuesday. That'll show 'em.

Our story has everyone's favorite noble African actor, Djimon "Don't call me Duh-jy-mon" Hounsou, as, well, a noble African -- specifically a fisherman in Sierra Leone circa 1999. The year is important because that's when rebels are making a mess of things, as they often do in Africa, it seems. Hounsou gets captured and forced to work in the mines, where he finds a big honkin' diamond that he manages to hide before the rebel camp gets invaded.

In jail, he comes across the King of the World, Leonardo DiCaprio, who happens to be a diamond smuggler. We know this because he gets caught smuggling diamonds into Liberia. Leo wants Djimon to get the diamond, and says he can help find Big D's family in return. Enlisted in this effort is an American journalist, played by Jennifer Connelly and looking a hell of a lot better than any other American journalist I've ever seen.

(Seriously, she looks really good here -- much better than when she's prettied up in other movies. I like the natural look, even if she kept her shirt on here. Have you seen "Mulholland Falls" or, better yet, "The Hot Spot?" Woof.)

Handling the proceedings is Edward Zwick, who generally seems to deliver the goods, mixing drama, action and politics in such movies as "Glory," Courage Under Fire" and "The Siege." (He also handled Jim Belushi in "About Last Night," but better to not mention that.) He does another solid job here, juxtaposing good dialogue and poignant scenes with gunfire and explosions. The first several minutes are actually pretty hard to get through between the family being ripped apart and the punishment -- physical and psychological -- meted out by rebels. But hey, it's a movie about illegal diamonds and genocide. You expected lots of laughs?

All three big names give top-notch performances. Hounsou has just the right combo of confusion, woe and distrust. Connelly overcomes her hotness to make a somewhat convincing journalist, especially when it comes to comprehending the hopelessness of it all. And Leo -- like Hounsou, nominated for an Oscar -- is the perfect antihero. He's really not a nice fella, and you constantly wonder if he'll cut his pal loose as soon as the diamond is in his hands. Nice accent, too.

Yeah, all in all this was well-done film that may not have been easy to sit through but definitely was worth watching. But I have to say, coming not so long after "The Last King of Scotland," I'm starting to think I need to find a movie set in Africa that's a little more uplifting. Maybe I'll try "The Ghost and the Darkness" again. Hey, the lions seemed to be having a good time for most of that movie.