Written and directed by Raquel Cepeda, Bling: A Planet Rock is the perfect example of a movie that’s
pulled along by the weight and importance of its subject matter, versus its
subjects. A documentary examination of the high cost of the conflict diamond
industry on war-torn Sierra Leone, the movie is essentially a travelogue in
which a few hip-hop heavy hitters (including Paul Wall, Raekwon and Tego
Calderón) travel to the West African country, in July of 2006, to come face to
face with the true cost of their “bling.”

A brief prologue uses interview snippets with other rap
superstars to set the scene. Says Kanye West: “It’s in us to want to shine,
from the time of kings and queens to show off our jewelry and gold. We’ve had,
for years, chains around our necks, but this time we’ve got diamonds in them.”
From there, it’s off to Sierra Leone,
where the group meets victims of the “blood diamond” industry, including
miners, amputees and former child soldiers. They’re accompanied by Ishmael
Beah, a former child soldier himself turned best-selling author (A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier),
and it’s his eloquence that stands in stark contrast to the inarticulateness of
Wall and the other subjects here. His tale of miming Naughty By Nature’s “OPP”
and LL Cool J’s “I Need Love,” in an effort to convince an armed militia of the
improbable truth — that as kids he and his friends were merely hip-hop fans
traveling from one village to another, performing, rather than rebel spies — is
both riveting and sad.

Cepeda’s film does a pretty decent job of illustrating how “bling”
is so deeply entwined with urban culture, and the roster of interviews — which
includes chats with the aforementioned West, Big Daddy Kane, Jadakiss and Juelz
Santana — is impressive. The bulk of the movie, however, unfolds in situ against a backdrop of some
graphically intercut footage of Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war (including
a head on a spike and a young boy getting his legs ripped apart and broken), a
battle that saw more than one million people killed, displaced, raped and
maimed. The gravity of this terrible human toll is undeniable, and several
native African rappers make a compelling case for how their aping of Western
culture has had a negative effect on their country. These segments — at Koidu
Holdings, for instance, the country’s only industrial diamond mine — are
fascinating.

Still, Bling
suffers from something largely beyond its control — namely, the fact that its
subjects, even when confronted with this harsh peek behind the diamond trade’s
curtain, don’t necessarily have insightful qualities of immediate self-reflection and
verbalization about how this information impacts their worldview. There are a lot of repetitive mutterings and “ya knows?” (And don’t get me
started on Texas-bred Paul Wall, whose steady stream of hickish inanities
boggles the mind.) Big points are doled out for intention and effort, and Bling highlights an important issue. A
bit more academic dissection and less celebrity wheel-spinning would have made
this title even better, however.

Housed in a regular Amray case in turn stored in a sleek,
attractive, black slipcase, Bling is
presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, with solid Dolby digital 2.0 stereo and
Dolby digital 5.0 surround sound audio tracks. To purchase the title via Amazon, click here.
C+ (Movie) B- (Disc)

Small screen family dramas are usually programs of smaller
margins and return, pitched toward captive, boomer-plus audiences who don’t
much escape the confines of their couches for entertainment options. As such,
they can be (and typically are) constructed around one or two marginal stars or
recycled veterans; it’s a game of just a little ventured, something gained. Brothers & Sisters, however, has a
cast that makes you sit up and take notice, something confirmed by the recent Emmy victory
of two-time Oscar winner Sally Field (Best Actress for 1979’s Norman Rae and 1984’s Places in the Heart), something
obviously surprising and warmly received, no matter how censored her acceptance
speech was.

Alias’ Rifkin does a turn as Nora’s
brother Saul, second in command of the Walker
family business, while erstwhile West
Winger and Democratic National Convention enthusiast Lowe plays Kitty’s
boyfriend, Senator Robert McAllister.

Produced by Ken Olin (the thirtysomething actor turned TV multi-hyphenate), Greg Berlanti (Everwood, Dawson’s Creek) and Jon Robin Baitz (a writer on The West Wing and Alias), the show’s strength lies in its blend of business, personal
and political intrigue, and well-crafted interplay. While the characters
themselves are not necessarily strikingly original, all of the members of the
stellar cast breathe fresh life into their subjects, and Brothers & Sisters’ mealtime scenes are a delight — albeit
sometimes a wince-inducing one, full as they are of shrewd detail. There’s also
a lot of room for both growth and conflict, as evidenced by shifting alliances
and leaked secrets, big and small. The show’s smart direction, meanwhile, is
evident in the manner in which previous crutches of some of the featured actors
— Getty’s squinty posing, say, or Flockhart’s wide-eyed, parakeet mania — are
either tamped down or used for effect, commented upon by their screen siblings.

Spread out over six discs and housed in a sturdy cardboard
slipcase, Brothers & Sisters is
presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, with a Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound audio
track. Alongside all the outstanding episodes from the show’s first season is a
special, bonus un-aired episode, intended to be the first full-fledged episode
after the pilot. Other revealing supplemental features include a half-hour, general
making-of featurette which leaves no Walker
family stone unturned and a special, six-minute behind-the-scenes segment on
the cast members comprising first half of the series’ title, tagging along with
Getty, Annable and Rhys. A brief segment entitled “Family Business,” meanwhile,
introduces fans to Olin’s family, the real family story behind the show’s
success. Rounding things out are two-and-a-half-minute blooper reel, a small
clutch of deleted scenes and audio commentaries on four episodes from the
aforementioned producers and other behind-the-scenes creative folks, making for
a superlative package. B+ (Series) A- (Disc)