LAS VEGAS SEASON 3 DVD TALK REVIEW

The Third Season

Las Vegas is a television series about the daily lives of the people behind the operations of the Montecito Hotel and Casino. The elite group manages daily casino operations to special events to hotel management. The series gives a sexy spin to the Las Vegas life and shows what it is like for the guys and girls who work behind the scenes to make sure your stay at the fictional Montecito Hotel and Casino is as pleasant as possible, and that means stopping criminals, would-be scam artists, and fowl customers. The storylines deal with identifying card-counting cheaters, stopping armed robberies, foiling diabolical plans to steal money from the casino, dealing with the casino's competition, and so on. For the most part, the stories are episodic, where the plotlines are contained within a single episode. You can watch an episode here or there and not miss much in the big picture. Overall, Las Vegas makes for a flashy fun drama that sometimes is a little cheesy and fake, but the characters are likeable and the stories are engaging. For more details about Las Vegas, refer to DVD Talk's reviews of season one and season two.

The season three characters consist of Ed Deline (James Caan), a former CIA operative and president of operations, Danny McCoy (Josh Duhamel), a former military man and Deline's number two, Mike Cannon (James Lesure), a former valet with a degree in engineering from M.I.T. and a vital asset to the Montecito's security and surveillance operations, Mary Connell (Nikki Cox), the manager of the Montecito Hotel and longtime friend and former lover of Danny, Sam Marquez (Vanessa Marcil), the hottest Las Vegas host in town, and Delinda Deline (Molly Sims), Ed's daughter and the manager of Mystique, the hotel's club and restaurant.

Season three opens with the Montecito Hotel and Casino under new management. Lara Flynn Boyle joins the cast as Monica Mancuso, a young power-hungry woman who at the age of 25 married an 83 year old billionaire. She's rich and looking to prove herself. She believes opening a successful casino is the only way to prove to the world she is more than a young girl who married a rich old man. I found her to be an annoying character whose personality was unlikable and naive and I'm pretty sure the writers intended her to be like that. She does not remain on the cast for the entire season. In the beginning of the season, the cast getting re-accustomed with each other and back into their positions (and a couple promotions) is a storyline at the fore. Monica's push to be the best also plays a pertinent role in the storylines, which ends with her untimely death. Dean Cain joins as Casey Manning to take over for her.

With the new ownership and management of the Montecito, Monica put the cast into disordered at the end of season two. The Montecito was shut down and underwent major remodeling, as well Ed's staff took a beating and he lost most of them. For reasons briefly explained, Nessa Holt (Marsha Thomason) is no longer around. Her father's connections to Ed's past in the CIA led to her to life in a witness protection program. Everyone else also left the Montecito and Ed is eager to get them back. Danny is running his father's construction company, Mike is a valet again, Sam has set up shop in another hotel/casino, and Delinda is running the club Pure at the Caesar. In the season premiere "Viva Las Vegas", Ed works diligently to get everyone back at the Montecito, except for his daughter, who takes charge of Mystique in episode "Whatever Happened to Seymour Magoon?", and Mary who becomes the hotel manager in "The Real McCoy". Once (most of) Ed's team is back together, it is business as usual for this elite crew.

The season begins with the episode "Viva Las Vegas", and besides the storyline of getting the crew back together and Ed trying to get accustomed to Monica's overly abrasive personality, he fears when the Montecito is going to be robbed. When the hotel opens its doors for the first time since the remodel, the casino is going to be victim of a smash and grab. Two other casinos, the Indian and the Riverboat casinos were both recent victims of an armed robbery. Ed's gut tells him they are next and he wants to delay the grand re-opening to work out a few additional details. Despite his reservations, Monica wants to proceed as planned. Her entire reputation is on the line. In the next episode "Fake the Money and Run", Ed and Mike have their hands full when Mike finds a counterfeit chip during a random inspection. It leads to an unbelievable story that is still fun to watch. Meanwhile, Danny deals with two problems. He is still dealing with the loss of his father and he is not quite sure what to do with the house he inherited. His accountant suggested he sell the property, as the taxes are going to bleed him dry. At this point, Rachel Leigh Cook joins the cast as a reoccurring character named Penny Posin. Penny is a sexy, young real estate agent and she becomes Danny's new love interest.

"Double Down, Triple Threat" is a somewhat fun episode. It is a cross-over episode with television series Crossing Jordan. Jill Hennessy and Jerry O'Connell guest star as Jordan Cavanaugh and Woody Hoyt. I was never a huge fan of Hennessy in Law & Order, but I love her in Crossing Jordan. On the flipside, O'Connell annoys the hell out of me. Regardless, the story is enjoyable with Hennessy teaming up with Ed's crew to solve a case of kidnapping and extortion, while Woody recounts the previous evening to Sam and explains why they woke up in bed together. "The Real McCoy" continues a storyline about Danny's father. In his dad's bedroom, he found pictures of dad with a woman he had never met before. He continues to investigate the matter to find out who she is and what her relationship with his father entailed. The story itself is not too interesting, but when Penny gets involved the drama spices up a notch and it becomes much more appealing. This is the last episode Cook appears in. The episode's other major storyline has Sam dealing with her brother and hotel owner Monica and their love affair. Sarah Clarke also guest stars as Olivia Duchey the new hotel manager who steps on too many toes. Ed fires her and Mary takes her place. It is eerie to see Clarke in this role, I am too used to her Nina Meyers role from 24.

In the episode "Everything Old Is You Again", Las Vegas gets a face lift. Danny attends a collectable show being hosted at the hotel and purchases sign for the Jubilee Hotel and Casino, which existed in the 60s. The Montecito was built on the same spot as the Jubilee. In this episode, Danny and Mike ponder how running the operations of a casino and hotel in that era would have been. Everybody's roles are different and how they deal with "problems" is rougher and dirtier. It is a somewhat fun episode and change of pace for the show. "For Sail By Owner" is Monica's last as a living, breathing person. Monica has been basically running the Montecito into the ground with one bad decision after another. Ed quit because of her and Danny is concerned. Danny phones Casey that the hotel and casino is in trouble and probably ripe for purchase. Monica finds out about the phone call and confronts him about the matter on the hotel's rooftop. Unfortunately, a gust of wind blew her over the side and ended her life. Danny is the prime suspect in Monica's death, which is investigated by a green detective. Casey comes to Las Vegas and buys the Montecito. Mike is also found in the stairwell beaten and unconscious.

In "Urban Legends", the Montecito is hosting a car show and they want NASCAR celebrity Jimmie Johnson to be a judge. Mary goes to Jimmie to talk him into doing the show, which he agrees to. Mary is all kinds of sexy and what guy could say no to her? Jimmie surely couldn't. The day's events are complicated when Danny and Mike enter a patron's room to find him in a bathtub covered with ice. His kidney was removed. Ed also deals with Sam, who now owns half of the Montecito (her ex-husband is Casey), and she does not know exactly what she is doing. "Lyle & Substance" presents the cast with a big explosive problem. While monitoring the camera feeds, Danny notices a guy swipe a chip from someone else's stash. When he and Mike apprehend him, the thief offers a tip in exchange for immunity. He claims he knows about a plot to blow up the hotel. The investigation leads Mike undercover working at Bronco Burger. Mike's interview for the job is a tad on the silly side.

"All Quite on the Montecito Front" revisits the almost-taboo relationship between Danny and Delinda. In the past the two have seen some heat, most notably in the series' pilot when Ed caught them in bed together. In this episode, romance brews again and they are definitely headed places together. But as their relationship is on the taboo side, they keep it hush-hush. Unfortunately, Jillian (Cheryl Ladd), Delinda's mother, unknowingly complicates matters when she invites Delinda's old boyfriend Derek Stephenson (Shawn Christian) to visit. Delinda and Derek hit it off and it leaves Danny out in the cold. Casey also sends the cast on a team building exercise, paint balling. In the final two episodes of the season, the biggest story is about Delinda, Derek, and wedding vows. In "Fidelity, Security, Delivery", she agrees to marry him. Sam and Woody also go away for a romantic weekend while Danny and Mike spy on some guests' wives. In the season finale, "Father of the Bride" there is a lot going on. First off, Delinda's wedding is in the works with the wedding planning, a wild bachelorette party and twelve male strippers, a dull bachelor party and no strippers, choosing the maid of honor and best man, and dealing with past romances, e.g. Danny and Delinda. The fun part about the wedding is Danny and Sam's competition to be the firsts to get a date. However, the real meat of the episode is about Ed and his CIA past. Two spooks come to Vegas to try to get Ed to work on an operation that he thought was over twenty years ago.

Overall, the season three episodes of Las Vegas are both entertaining and engaging. The characters are all animated and lively, which is partly what makes this show so enjoyable. In addition to the main cast, there are lots fun guest stars and supporting roles (some celebrities and some not), and their antics give the show a comical edge in addition to the show's racy, sexy appeal. The stories are the weak link in the show. The stories tend to be somewhat narrow, as a lot of material is fit into a single episode and it is repetitive in nature. Regardless, the season three episodes are entertaining and should keep you coming back for more.

Episode Guide
1. Viva Las Vegas
2. Fake the Money and Run
3. Double Down, Triple Threat
4. Whatever Happened to Seymour Magoon?
5. Big Ed De-Cline
6. The Real McCoy
7. Everything Old Is You Again
8. Bold, Beautiful and Blue
9. Mothwoman
10. For Sail by Owner
11. Down and Dirty
12. Bait and Switch
13. The Bitch Is Back
14. And Here's Mike with the Weather
15. Urban Legends
16. Coyote Ugly
17. Lyle & Substance
18. Like a Virgin
19. Cash Springs Eternal
20. All Quit on the Montecito Front
21. Chaos Theory
22. Fidelity, Security, Delivery
23. Father of the Bride

The DVD

Video:
The video in this release is given in an anamorphic 1.78:1 ratio widescreen color format. The picture quality is quite good. It suffers from a slight grain, but detail remains to be sharp and clear. However, there are moments when the picture suffers noticeable compression artifacts. Overall, the picture is relatively clean and should look good on big screen televisions.

Audio:
The audio track in this release is in English 5.1 Dolby digital surround. In general, the sound quality is very good and it provides an audible and clean track. The dialogue is usually a little flat while music and sound effects come off rich and vibrant. Additionally the 5.1 track is dynamic and makes good use of the surround sound capability.

There are subtitles included in English and Spanish, as well as support for closed captioning.

Extras:
For extras, there is not much. There is a gag reel, a featurette, and some trailers. The "Gag Reel" is approximately seven minutes of filming goofs, some shots of bare female chests, and the cast acting all-around silly. It is a pretty fun clip to watch. "In With the New" is a pretty worthless extra. It is two and a half minutes of footage of the new hotel set being built (not in real-time). It is uneventful and I am shocked I watched the entire thing. The trailers include Amazing Stories, The Incredible Hulk, Fear Factor, Saturday Night Live, Magnum P.I./The A-Team/Knight Rider, Battlestar Galatica, and Coach. The trailers can be watched individually or all at once via the play all option.

Final Thoughts:
Las Vegas is a fun and engaging television series about the sexy, racy Vegas lifestyle, or at least the lifestyle from the perspective of the people who operate behind the scenes at hotels and casinos. The stories typically have a dramatic tone with a dash of action and several comical moments to keep you laughing. The material is written in a way to be engaging and leave you wanting more. And while some of the stories (and characters) are fluffy and unrealistic, it is done is a way you can enjoy. However while I praise the show, I was disappointed to not see more complex story arcs. There were story arcs, but they tended not to be very big. In the end, Las Vegas: Season Three - Uncut & Uncensored is worth the money. You will like the characters, enjoy the storylines, and finish wanting more.

Note these DVDs are uncut and uncensored. While watching the season episodes, I did not notice any foul language you won't already find on network television, but there were a few of scenes with topless girls scattered throughout the episodes.

LAS VEGAS SEASON 2 DVD TALK REVIEW

Following up on what was one of the best debut seasons of 2003-2004 TV season would normally be a tricky endeavor, however for the back to basics Las Vegas, it was an easy task to avoid the sophomore slump. The reason it was so easy is that like TV shows of past, it followed a tried and true formula and essentially ended the same every week. Now sure it was a predicable show, with the good guys always coming out on top, but the way in which it's presented to the view is what makes Las Vegas a hit.

Returning to Sin City are Josh Duhamel as Danny McCoy, an ex-Marine who was called back into active duty in the finale of season one; James Caan in a great role as the boss, Ed Deline; Molly Sims as his ditsy with a genius IQ daughter, Delinda; the beautiful in her curly hair Marsha Thomason as pit boss Nessa; Nikki Cox as Mary, long time friend and love interest to Danny; Vanessa Marcil, the dream of all whales in Vegas as one of the top casino hosts in Vegas, Same Marquez; and rounding out the main cast of season two, James Lesure as the jack of all trades engineer who moonlights as a valet, Mike Cannon.

The story for each episode sets up the same, there's a problem of sorts be it card counters, security systems being breached or even money being laundered through the fictional Montecito Casino. Have no fear however, as the fearless group of co-workers and friends eventually band together to solve whatever mystery unfolds before the final commercial break, ending with the group all together having a last laugh at the events of the day, like a modern day Love Boat or Scooby Doo mystery.

Season Two consists of twenty four episodes spread across three double sided DVDs, with obviously no artwork on the DVD itself. Each side contains four episodes, each with their own little sub menu that has a brief summary of the episode you're about to watch, which is a nice feature to help you remember if you've seen an episode previously. One thing that this series does not have a shortage of, well aside from gratuitous cleavage, is guest stars whose appearance sometimes takes on more than a short cameo. The list of guest stars this season is: Michael Buble, George Hamilton, The Black Eyed Peas, Jill Hennessy and Jerry O'Connell in their crossover episode with Crossing Jordan, Alec Baldwin, The Polyphonic Spree, Michael Lowry, Duran Duran, Jay Mohr, Dean Cain, The Pussycat Dolls, Dale Foley, Jon Lovitz, Snoop Dogg, even Gladys Knight and Jon Bon Jovi make appearances.

I've only got two nitpicks with this DVD season set the first being the Universal Logo that is played before every single episode you watch. Is it not enough that we see the logo during the initial boot up of the DVD? The second nitpick which really would have been nice was the first half of the crossover episode that Crossing Jordan and Las Vegas did one third of the way through the season, instead we only get the episode we have here, and lose out on half the story like why the characters are in Vegas. Seems minor, but would have really helped out with continuity.

The DVD:
1. Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
2. The Count of Montecito
3. Blood Is Thicker
4. Catch of the Day
5. Good Run of Bad Luck
6. Games People Play
7. Montecito Lancers
8. Two of a Kind (Crossing Jordan crossover)
9. Degas Away with It
10. Silver Star
11. My Beautiful Launderette
12. When You Gotta Go...
13. Sperm Whales and Spearmint Rhinos
14. The Lie Is Cast
15. Whale of a Time
16. Can You See What I See?
17. Tainted Love
18. To Protect and Serve Manicotti
19. One Nation, Under Surveillance
20. Hit Me!
21. Hide And Sneak
22. Letters, Lawyers and Loose Women
23. Magic Carpet Fred
24. Centennial


How's it look:

The transfer and print on Las Vegas: Season Two is a pristine anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1) presentation that didn't fail to impress me throughout the season. But this should be expected being only months since the finale to the season was mere months ago. Colors were as sharp as they were in the initial broadcast, and I did not notice any type of pixelation or edge enhancement.

How's the Sound:

The episodes themselves sound great in the 5.1 Dolby Digital option offered, with the surrounds used quite well especially in the casino, with ambient noise coming from them helping to immerse the viewer into the casino.

One huge disappointment on this release which was carried over from the first DVD set is the opening song that plays during the credits was altered. The new song just doesn't have the same punch and beat that the broadcast opening had, so that removes some of the enjoyment from viewing.

Extras:

A fairly weak package of extras on this release with only two features to watch. First up is a nearly fifteen blooper and gag reel that encompasses both season one and two. I'm assuming that this is where NBC decided that they could add the Uncut & Uncensored, because all the flubs that involve colorful language are in here, uncensored. Sure some other in episode footage might linger on cleavage a little longer, but after watching most episodes in their original run and then again here, I was hard pressed to see any major differences.

The other feature is a guided walk through of the Palms casino, which is featured quite prominently throughout the show. The interesting part about this is the ability to see into some of the high roller suites that the likes of us normal people would never get to see into.

Closing Thoughts:

For fans of the series, this is a good collection, but not exactly a great one, thanks to the exclusion of the originally aired title music. That coupled with the fact that it's quite light in the extras department detract from the DVD, but not enough to take away an excellent second season of a very fun, entertaining and mindless TV series that still has me tuning in every Monday night. Recommended.

LAS VEGAS SEASON 1 UNCUT AND UNCENSORED DVD TALK REVIEW

The Movie:

One of the better recent new television shows, "Las Vegas" is a much-needed boost for NBC - a quality show that seamlessly slips between comedy and drama, while managing to bounce between several subplots in every episode. It's a fun series that looks slick and sleek, yet all its whip pans and zooms and creative editing choices don't overwhelm well-constructed stories and compelling characters.

The show takes place at the Montecito casino and hotel in Las Vegas. Ruled over with an iron fist by former CIA operative Ed Deline (James Caan), the place runs smoothly, despite a series of con artists, criminals and other riff-raff that find their way through the doors. Danny McCoy (Josh Duhamel) is in charge of security and is Ed's extra pair of eyes and ears on the floor of the casino. As the series opens, Danny has just screwed up big time, getting caught sleeping with Delinda (Molly Sims), who Danny finds out is Ed's daughter. Although Danny eventually gets back into Ed's good side, he gets tested in "Semper Spy", where Ed's "vacation" turns out to be an excuse to watch Danny try to solve a series of rather major issues, including having hundreds of guests locked out of their room.

The series doesn't start off on the right foot with the pilot episode, which has some fun with Danny getting caught, then becomes a bit sluggish as it focuses on Danny going into a basic sleuth mission looking for a missing high roller. As the first season goes on, however, the show finds more for supporting players Nikki Cox (as an event planner), James Leisure (as a head valet and security worker that knows everything and everyone) and Marsha Thomason (as a sharp-tongued pit boss). There's also some fantastic guest star appearances, as well. Alec Baldwin (as a former CIA friend of Ed's that's now working in security) is absolutely phenomenal up against Caan. Baldwin's guest ep - "Hellraisers and Heartbreakers" - is one of the show's best in its run so far. Jean-Claude Van Damme also turns up as himself, filming a movie at the casino when an accident occurs during a stunt. Musical guests include Brooks and Dunn, who are actually pretty amusing in their non-singing scenes. Even the bit part casting is excellent, as many of the more unknown actors who come up for bit parts, such as people looking for romance or trying to restart their lives at the tables, are quite good.

Overall, "Las Vegas" is a fun series that offers a balance between the visual flash and flair of "Vegas" and good, fun and often compelling stories. The performances from the cast are great and the whole ensemble has good chemistry. Hopefully, the creators can keep coming up with great stories for these characters because, more often than not, the first season is a jackpot.

The DVD release of the series promotes itself as being "uncut and uncensored", but there really doesn't seem to be too much "wild" footage, which isn't surprising, given that well, this is a TV show. However, there is another issue - the opening credits have been changed: now there is a different tune instead of the remix of the Elvis track "A Little Less Conversation", which worked so well to open the show. Bit of a bummer.

2. Pilot
3. What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas
4. Donny, We Hardly Knew Ye
5. Jokers and Fools
6. Groundhog Summer
7. Semper Spy
8. Pros and Cons
9. Luck Be a Lady
10. Year of the Tiger
11. Decks and Violence
12. Blood and Sand
13. Hellraisers and Heartbreakers
14. The Night the Lights Went Out in Vegas
15. Things That Go Jump in the Night
16. Die Fast, Die Furious
17. New Orleans
18. You Can't Take It with You
19. Nevada State
20. Sons and Lovers
21. The Strange Life of Bob
22. Family Jewels
23. The Big Bang
24. Always Faithful


The DVD

VIDEO: "Las Vegas" is presented by Universal in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen for this DVD release. All 23 episodes are presented across three dual-sided/single-layer DVDs. The video quality is merely good, which is a little bit of a disappointment. Sharpness and detail are generally satisfying, although small object detail is a bit lacking at times. Definition is a little inconsistent though, with some scenes looking better than others. The picture seems just a touch on the dark side, as well, which takes away from the sparkle of Vegas a bit.

Some other concerns present themselves, as well. Some mild edge enhancement is visible fairly often, as are some minor traces of pixelation. The elements are in fine condition though, with no wear or damage. Colors look fine enough (as with the detail, sometimes better than others), but sometimes came up just under expectations. Flesh tones looked accurate and natural.

SOUND: "Las Vegas" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. It's nice to have the series in 5.1, but the sound design isn't anything too extraordinary. There's some light ambience and occasional sound effects heard in the rear speakers, but the surrounds are mostly silent. Audio quality is fine, with well-recorded dialogue and effects and rich, dynamic-sounding music.

EXTRAS: There is a commentary on the pilot by creator Gary Scott Thompson and Actors James Lesure, Molly Sims, Nikki Cox and Marsha Thomason, one on "Hellraisers and Heartbreakers" by creator Gary Scott Thompson and actor James Caan, one on "The Night the Lights Went Out in Vegas" by creator Gary Scott Thompson and actor Vanessa Marcil and finally, one on "Always Faithful" by creator Gary Scott Thompson and actor Josh Duhamel. The pilot commentary is a little crowded, but the other tracks are usually fun and insightful, as the cast members and Thomson offer an informative discussion regarding sets, casting, the tight production schedule and other elements.

The second side of the third disc offers the majority of the featurettes. The first piece is the nearly 9-minute "Inside the Montecito", which takes a look at the sets of the series, with different actors and crew members showing the viewer around the different areas of the production. "Las Vegas: The Big Gamble" is a 20-minute look at the city itself, offering some of the history behind the neon.

Rounding out the supplements are some promos for the AFL (Arena Football League) (kind of a weird cross-promotion, I think) and Las Vegas (both the city and the show). On the first disc is "Rumble in the Montecito", which is a short film that promotes the AFL, as well.

Final Thoughts: "Las Vegas" is an entertaining series that often skips between genres and tones quite well - it's funny, thrilling, maybe even a little dramatic and emotional at times. The cast is outstanding and the show clicks far more often than not. Universal's DVD comes up a bit short in terms of video quality, but the audio is fine and the supplements are worthwhile. Recommended.

BLOOD DIAMOND DVD TALK REVIEW

This week's lesson in good citizenship comes from "Blood Diamond," the unsubtle film (with the unsubtle title) that is meant to make us think twice about buying diamonds. As one of the characters puts it, "People back home wouldn't buy a ring if they knew it cost someone a hand." But come on, what if the ring is really pretty and costs the requisite three months' salary? What's a girl to do?!

"An Inconvenient Truth" told us not to use so much gasoline, "Fast Food Nation" tried to guilt us into banishing hamburgers, and now diamonds are off the table, too. 2006 has indeed been a banner year for killjoy movies.

There is artistic merit in "Blood Diamond," though, at least to some extent. Directed by Important Issues filmmaker Edward Zwick ("Glory," "Courage Under Fire," "The Last Samurai"), it spotlights the brutality of the "conflict diamond" trade without seeming gratuitous or exploitative, and provides some fairly compelling personal stories to give it dramatic weight (something "Fast Food Nation," a similar agenda-oriented film, lacked).

It's set in 1999, with the African nation of Sierra Leone in a state of civil war over its vastly lucrative diamond mines. A radical anti-government group called the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) routinely invades villages to acquire new laborers for its diamond mining operations, an invaluable financial resource for its war efforts. They'll force able-bodied men to work for them, brainwash children into becoming gun-toting terrorists, and kill or maim everybody else.

Since legitimate diamond companies won't trade in gems with such a blood-soaked history, the RUF illegally transports them across the border into Liberia. (I won't tell you how they're smuggled, but the first thing you'll need is a goat.) That way, the multi-billion-dollar corporations that sell diamonds to the public can do so with a clean conscience: "These diamonds didn't come from Sierra Leone. They came from Liberia!" Plausible deniability helps everyone sleep better at night.

(All of this is as of 1999, by the way. Some things have changed since then, though conflict diamonds still account for 1 or 2 percent of the worldwide diamond trade.)

That's the background, all of which is conveyed effectively in Charles Leavitt's concise screenplay. The story involves Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou), a Sierra Leone man who is forced into the mining camp by the RUF while his wife and daughters flee and his son, Dia (Kagiso Kuypers), is recruited for training. He escapes from the camp during a government attack, but not before hiding a massive diamond whose finding he neglected to report to his taskmasters.

He and his valuable hidden stone come to the attention of Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), a Rhodesia-born smuggler and mercenary who longs to get off this continent for good, and Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), a do-gooder American journalist who wants to open the world's eyes to the travesty of the blood diamonds. Solomon wants to find his family and retrieve the diamond to keep it out of evil hands; Danny wants to sell the diamond for serious cash; and Maddy wants to use it as bait to catch one of the hypocritical diamond companies in the act of buying a gem they know is tainted. One stone, three purposes.

The movie finds drama in the conflicting personalities of Solomon and Danny. Solomon is an honest, decent man who can barely find the wherewithal to lie even when his life depends on it, while Danny will say or do anything if it furthers his goals. There's a nice arc for Danny as he gains some measure of redemption over the course of the film, and DiCaprio acquits himself well enough, even handling the white-African accent better than the film's advertisements would lead you to believe.

Hounsou, best known for "Amistad" and "In America" (for which he was Oscar-nominated), brings his characteristic intensity to the role of Solomon. Hounsou tends to play men with dignity and gravitas, wounded by the stings of fate but stoic in the face of adversity. "Blood Diamond" has him cry out in anguish a few too many times, I think -- one such jarring outburst goes a long way -- but it's an earnest, solid performance.

The relationship between Danny and Maddy is underdeveloped and unnecessary, the fine acting of Jennifer Connelly notwithstanding. Her character plays a vital role in the film's story, though, highlighting the futility of media exposure when it comes to crises like these. You can wring your hands over the plight of these poor villagers, and maybe you'll even send a check to some humanitarian organization. But what good will it really do?

That bleak fact renders the film something of a wash. Our eyes are opened to the problem, but what are we supposed to do about it? The only way to be absolutely certain that your diamond didn't come at the cost of someone's life is to stop buying diamonds altogether -- yet that would have a catastrophic impact on a lot of legitimate (and fragile) world economies. Not all lessons in good citizenship are pleasant, I guess.

UNACCOMPANIED MINORS DVD TALK REVIEW

Mix "The Breakfast Club" with "Home Alone" and you get "Unaccompanied Minors," an agreeable, not-too-dumb kids' comedy about a handful of 12-year-olds stranded by a blizzard at an airport on Christmas Eve. It's a genius move, really: The target audience is too young to remember "Home Alone," let alone "The Breakfast Club," so the material might as well be brand-new!

The airport is the fictional Hoover International, set in an unnamed Midwestern state. (The film was shot in Salt Lake City, making it fun for a former Salt Laker such as myself to identify the sites used -- the central library and the Salt Palace, mainly.) It's the layover spot for thousands of last-minute travelers, including quite a few unaccompanied minors -- kids flying without a parent or guardian, in layman's terms. When the weather grounds all the flights, it's up to the crusty airport manager, Oliver (Lewis Black, always a good choice for a character described as "crusty"), to keep the UMs safe and supervised.

Most of UMs are whisked away to a nearby hotel for the night, but several had escaped the confines of the UM room at the airport (which looks like a daycare center gone mad) when the transport was made. Those several are our heroes: normal kid Spencer (Dyllan Christopher), rich pretty girl Grace (Gina Mantegna), rebel girl Donna (Quinn Shephard), nervous nerd Charlie (Tyler James Williams, star of TV's "Everybody Hates Chris"), and silent weirdo Beef (Bret Kelly). Having missed the shuttle to the hotel, they're now forced to stay in the unaccompanied minors room all night, supervised by a young, hapless airport employee named Zach (Wilmer Valderrama).

But there's a problem: Spencer's bratty little sister DID go to the hotel, and he can't leave her alone! He promised their mom he'd take care of her! The hotel is apparently within easy walking distance of the airport, so Spencer and his new friends band together to escape from Zach and Oliver and make their way to it.

(You ask: If the hotel is so close, why can't someone just drive the kids over to it? Why do they have to stay at the airport? Is it punishment for missing the shuttle? Shh! You ask too many questions!)

The screenplay, by Jacob Meszaros and Mya Stark (the first feature credit for both of them), is nothing special. The kids perpetrate schemes that are increasingly slapsticky and increasingly less believable, and the Christmas schmaltz gets played up a lot near the end. But hey, 'tis the season, right? Besides, the director is Paul Feig, creator of TV's "Freaks & Geeks" and a regular director of "The Office" and "Arrested Development." That explains why cast members from those shows pop up all over the place, as do several performers from "Kids in the Hall" and "The Daily Show." That's a lot of cool street cred for a formulaic tween comedy, and if Feig is working below his usual cleverness level here (you gotta pay the bills, after all), at least he and the kids seem to be having fun doing it.

APOCALYPTO DVD TALK REVIEW

"Apocalypto" is a crazy film. It is the work of a crazy person, a raving lunatic whose name is Mel Gibson. Even without his Jew-bashing escapades earlier this year -- and honestly, is it possible to TOTALLY disregard that when viewing his work now? -- Gibson's latest would still seem bizarre, almost unique in its mixture of over-the-top bloodletting, ambitious storytelling, and lowbrow slapstick humor.

Slapstick humor? In an action-oriented tale of survival in 15th-century America? How does THAT fit? Well, it doesn't, really, but that's part of Gibson's fascinatingly insane mentality. Gibson likes Three Stooges buffoonery and bawdy sex jokes, and thus so do the Mayans in his movie.

Mel is fond of the violence, too, as his two most recent directorial works -- "Braveheart" and "The Passion of the Christ" -- have amply demonstrated. Not just violence, either, but torturous, graphic violence, performed by malicious villains who want to see their victims suffer. "Apocalypto" is chockablock with such mayhem, though Gibson is occasionally restrained in the way he shows it, often cutting away rather than depicting it unflinchingly. Still, though: plenty of violence. Make no mistake. In one laughably crude shot, we see things from the point of view of a head that has just been severed and is bouncing away.

Performed in the Mayan tongue (with English subtitles) by mostly non-professional actors, the story's hero is Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood), a young husband and hunter whose wife (Dalia Hernandez) is pregnant with their second child. When their village is ravaged by another tribe, Jaguar Paw hides the missus and their son in a pit and rejoins the fight, only to be captured with his fellow men and dragged back to the opposing tribe's compound of temples and pyramids, where ritual sacrifices are on the agenda.

The second half of the film has sparse dialogue and focuses on a "Most Dangerous Game"-style hunt through the forest, with Jaguar Paw attempting single-handedly to defeat his enemies and save his family like a pre-Columbian Rambo. These scenes are thrillingly shot, just as the temple sequence is nightmarish and gory, and the ravage of the village is intense and unsettling. No question, it's an entertaining motion picture, an expensive production with cheap sensibilities (more violence = more fun) that manages to be both artsy-fartsy and just fartsy.

So what's the point? Who knows. There are hints of parallels to modern times, vague suggestions of things that might have caused the Mayan decline, and some strange sexual metaphors in the playful early scenes involving one of Jaguar Paw's hapless tribesmen. The violence is repellant, and it's hard not to become disgusted with Gibson's arrogance and megalomania: It's his money, and he'll by-gum make this historical epic as vulgar and whacked-out as he wants. I say let him. It's fascinating to see what a millionaire does with his money when he doesn't care what people think anymore.

THE HOLIDAY DVD TALK REVIEW

I respect that writer/director Nancy Meyers can churn out safe, cozy mass entertainment that racks up big box office, and seems to favor the female audience ("What Women Want," "Something's Gotta Give"). However, I'm still waiting for Meyers to make a picture that doesn't make my skin crawl and my brain turn to mush.

Englishwoman Iris (Kate Winslet) is frustrated in love, nurturing affection for an engaged man (Rufus Sewell) who loves to prey on her feelings. Searching for a getaway, she finds a website where she can exchange houses with another lost soul for a brief period of time. The ideal candidate is Amanda (Cameron Diaz), a high strung Los Angeles movie professional who is feeling the burn after a failed relationship. Flying to England, Amanda finds unexpected attraction in the arms of Iris's brother, Graham (Jude Law), while Iris soaks up the L.A. wonderland with help from a neighboring writer (Eli Wallach), and a film composer (Jack Black).

"Holiday" is relaxed, mid-tempo entertainment, and I don't fault it for aiming to please as many paying customers as it can. Where I think the picture, and the whole Meyers routine for that matter, goes wrong is in the execution. What the filmmaker has here is an extremely wordy screenplay, modeled after the more lightly screwball comedies of yesteryear, but no real plan of attack.

The story might seem a simple one of romance and personal inventory, but Meyers inflates it to unwieldy size, bloating out the film to 135 minutes. I enjoyed the character detail, but when the focus isn't on furthering the personalities and their dreams, Meyers fills the blank spots with scenes that can only be described as "dorky." The audience is subjected to not one, but two moments where our female leads have to "rock out" to a song they've selected; Winslet humiliated further by having to play air guitar with a pillow in bed. Meyers also instructs these women to squeal like schoolgirls when they find success, which, for the often bracing appeal of Cameron Diaz, is not a good idea. The less squealing she does, the better.

It takes quite a while for "Holiday" to settle down, but once it finds those calm grooves, the Christmasy, red-wine mood of the film assumes control. Meyers is blessed with the casting of Kate Winslet, who energizes the film with her spunk and inherent sweetness. Winslet works an almost Harry Potteresque feat by making her character feel real in a screenplay that gobbles artifice like M&Ms. She expresses Iris's heartbreak and romantic whiffing with authenticity and survives Meyers's bizarre attempts to make an ass out of her.

Diaz, by comparison, is a total spaz. Miscast as a Hollywood icon of power, Diaz never settles down in the role, mugging her way around the film in sharply irritating ways.

The boys do what they can with their bluntly drawn roles, but Meyers's has assigned these gentlemen halos right from the start, leaving any hope for character dimension thrown right out of the window. Law plays the ideal single man: wounded in love and successful, yet needy in domestic requirements. Combine that with Law's dazzling good looks, and the character might as well have "I cuddle after sex" tattooed on his forehead.

On the other hand, Black plays the likable, non-threatening tubby schmo with a "that's not a banana in my pocket" weirdness. Especially coming after the Tenacious D movie, it's bizarre to watch Black in soft-spoken, boyfriend mode. Mercifully Meyers's lets the old Black out to play for a handful of scenes; only then do you register the charms that appeal to Iris.

Eventually, "Holiday" reveals itself to be a valentine to older cinema values; to the purity of screen romance. This aesthetic is embodied by legendary actor Eli Wallach, who plays an old guard screenwriter, heartsick over the way the film business is conducted today. Actually, Wallach isn't so much a character, but a ridiculous mouthpiece for Meyers's ham-fisted frustrations with modern Hollywood business practices. Why this material is plopped in the middle of a romantic comedy, only Meyers knows.

"The Holiday" is a fairytale; a healthy portion of romantic idealism to nibble on during the holiday season. If you can mentally block out the more extreme ideas for entertainment that Meyers constantly trips herself on, there's a minute glimmer of joy to be had from this frosty piece of cake. But you have to work awfully hard to find it.