Movie: Blood Diamond

So I saw the movie Blood Diamond on Friday night. Holy crap, was it intense. I was expecting something indie-esque and low budget, but it was a full-on hollywood blockbuster, with all the gun battles and explosions a red-blooded American could want. Except.... a lot of the gun battles were of civilians getting mowed down by psychopaths... and a lot of the explosions were of buses filled with journalists.

So yeah... it's not a happy movie. But the story it tells of Sierra Leone and the rebellion that was fueled by the irrational western lust for sparkley wedding rocks is incredibly powerful. The acting was solid, the staging and cinematography were fantastic... Amazingly, it wasn't filmed in Vancouver, but was actually filmed in Sierra Leone (and some South Africa and Mozambique). And it looks like a lot of African actors were used. Good job using local talent!

All in all it was a phenomenal movie well worth seeing. So do yourself a favor and rent it.