Blood Diamond/Body of Lies

Double bill of political thrillers starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

In 'Blood Diamond' (2006) Danny Archer (DiCaprio) is a former Zimbabwean mercenary now living in Sierra Leone during the '91-'00 civil war.

Archer hears that an imprisoned Mende fisherman, Solomon Vandy (Djimon Honsou), has found and hid a large, pink diamond whilst doing forced labour in the mines the guerrillas are using to fund their war.

Vandy has escaped the camp but his son is left behind.

Archer has the wherewithal to help him make the perilous return to the camp, though his motives are less honourable than those of the frantic father.

American journalist Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly) is sniffing for a story and forms an attachment to Archer, who looks like a story all of his own.

She's soon embarked upon the journey with them - her contacts as useful as Archer's in securing a path through the dangerous terrain of this lawless country. 'Body of Lies' (2008), based on the novel by David Ignatius, follows CIA agent Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) as he uncovers a lead on a Jordan-based terrorist leader, Al-Saleem (Alon Aboutboul), who has masterminded several bombings of civilian targets.

With the help of his boss, Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe), and a tentative alliance with the Chief of Jordanian Intelligence, Hani Salaam (Mark Strong), Ferris devises a plan to infiltrate the terrorists' network and track down those responsible for the bombings.