Fridae

The superb action sequences and terrific acting are two very good reasons to go watch Blood Diamond. For ardent fans of Leonardo DiCaprio, there's a very brief but sexy scene of him shirtless. For the girls, there's eye-candy extraordinaire Jennifer Connelly. There � four reasons to see it � what are you waiting for?

Blood Diamond is a thrilling action film that portrays the horrible ways in which valuable diamonds found in war-torn countries like Sierra Leone are used to finance rebel movements. In short, the diamonds sold to developed countries like UK, US and Singapore to satisfy the vanity of rich queers, among others, may actually be responsible for the murder and exploitation of ordinary people in poor countries. Makes you think twice before buying that Tiffany ring, doesn't it?

Leonardo DiCaprio plays a mercenary who smuggles gems from Sierra Leone to Liberia. Djimon Hounsou is an ordinary family man who's been taken from his family and forced to mine diamonds at a rebel stronghold. The two meet in prison, where Leo promises Djimon he would help him find his family if Djimon tells him how to locate a large pink diamond. Jennifer Connelly plays a journalist who becomes entangled with them.

Although Blood Diamond comes with a heavy socio-political message (that the diamond trade is a bloody one), the film never feels like a drag. The action moves so swiftly and smoothly that you find yourself hurtling from one scene to another � almost as if you were in a James Bond movie.

Yet the real surprise here is not how entertaining this movie is, but how good Leonardo's performance is. Playing his brutal mercenary character unflinchingly, it's no wonder our golden boy got two Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor � one for The Departed, one for Blood Diamond. He really is that good.

This is definitely worth catching.