Skip the airport, save up for a Diamond

Unaccompanied Minors

'Tis the season for a lot of things: the biting New England cold, people fritzing out over finals, and awful holiday movies. Two of the best holiday movies ever made were about families and Christmas. These are, undoubtedly, Die Hard 1 and 2, and this film sadly promises to be nothing like them.

There's nothing that embodies the season's spirit like bad parenting. Where were Charlie Brown's parents when he had to scrape together his pitiable tree? How could all of the Whos let a smelly Grinch sneak into their houses unnoticed? And why is it that just like in Home Alone, the theme of abandonment abounds at an airport?

Five kids, one house, and a million dollar prize. Actually, that's a reality show plot, but if you just change the house into an empty airport and the million dollar prize into "the gift of love and friendship," it's the same thing. Lewis Black, our modern-day Laurence Olivier, is a disgruntled airline official who has to deal with said kids. And you'd be a fool not to remember Wilmer Valderrama contributing as the goofy, adult sidekick.

Home Alone in an airport, great, none of us should care. All of the stereotyped kids will learn an invaluable lesson at the airport, elevating their Christmas experiences to a whole new level of mirth and happiness. That's just precious. Maybe they should have hired a responsible adult to make Unaccompanied Minors.

Blood Diamond

It was not so long ago when Leonardo DiCaprio was regarded as a wormy loser. Or maybe I just thought of him as such, but who cares. He's now one of Hollywood's biggest stars, and almost all of his recent films have turned to platinum. Blood Diamond may not knock your socks off, but it still may be worth a look-see.

The film takes place in Sierra Leone amid the incessant, ruthless trade of the diamond industry. DiCaprio plays a South African mercenary who will stop at nothing to get the best diamonds he can find. Djimon Hounsou, best known for his roles in Gladiator and Amistad, portrays a humble fisherman who, of course, is merely minding his own business.

When it comes out that there is an extremely valuable pink diamond, the turbulent Sierra Leone goes wild. This pink diamond has been found and hidden by Hounsou so the two men's lives become unalterably intertwined. The talented Jennifer Connelly, an inexperienced American journalist, is all kinds of na've.

If you've got the money to spend and some free time as well, I would check out Blood Diamond if I were you. It won't get any Oscar nods, but it very well might be the exam-time escape you'll need.