Leonardo DiCaprio is coiled to spring as Danny Archer, a former mercenary from Zimbabwe, now in the business of smuggling conflict diamonds, so named because their sale is used to subsidize civil wars in Africa. Set in Sierra Leone in 1999, the film, crudely scripted by Charles Leavitt, links Danny with Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou), a fisherman trying to save his family. Danny will help if Solomon leads him to a huge pink diamond he's hidden and gets rid of nosy journalist Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly). Actually, getting rid of the annoying Maddy is my idea, not Danny's. It might have been a socko adventure if director Ed Zwick (The Last Samurai) didn't insist on turning it into a message movie. DiCaprio is terrific, but he can't save this lecture from the shame of using Africa as a vehicle for another white man's redemption.

“More Than a Feeling”

Boston mastermind Tom Scholz was as surprised by anyone when he sent his unsolicited demo to record labels and got back a positive response. Scholz said, “I couldn’t believe it. Nobody knew who we were, so I wouldn’t even say we were struggling. It was groveling.” Part of the credit for the interest must go to the anthemic rock number "More Than a Feeling." Inspired by the Left Banke's 1966 hit "Walk Away Renee," Scholz worked on the song for five years in his basement studio before it was released on this album.