The film’s downfall, however, is its murky and muddled message. There’s certainly something being said about the end of civilization (I’m convinced Gibson thinks the world will end soon). Plenty of parallels are drawn in a horrifying Mayan, human sacrifice sequence to governments manipulating their people, or even religions manipulating their followers. Additionally, there’s an interesting pro-nature, pro-simplicity thing floating around that goes a little further than you’d expect it to, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. None of these ideas seem to be up front and center, however, making for a peculiar viewing experience for any who would look for something deeper than the surface-level excitement.

Ultimately, “Apocalypto” is a very valuable film. Threading the end of one civilization into the end of another in the manner Gibson achieves in the film’s denouement has a touch of fatalism that is almost beautiful. His view of these themes and historical events is both unique and welcome, and regardless of his personal downfalls, he remains something of a visionary in the filmmaking community.

“Blood Diamond” (**)

Edward Zwick is not a good director. He can put scenes together in a coherent exercise that reveals a film with a beginning, middle and end, but more often than not, his efforts seem to fall apart solely because there are Edward Zwick films. “Blood Diamond” is certainly no exception.

At two and a half hours, “Blood Diamond” can easily be considered too long. But while most films that are considered to boast inflated running times can bring meandering and aimless third acts up to blame, “Blood Diamond” is too long in every waking moment of the piece. At least five minutes needed to be trimmed from just about every scene. When you find yourself rolling your eyes this often in a film, it’s time to rein it in a bit. Zwick seems to have either too much patience for his characters, or expect too much patience out of his audience, because the effect seems almost willful.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance is a saving grace of sorts. Hitting a hell of a stride in his career right now, the star pulls double duty this year in “The Departed,” where he gives his career best portrayal. In “Blood Diamond,” he reveals the embers of a deep-burning fire in the character of diamond smuggler Danny Archer. He also seems to know what’s up, as his performance never seems to be stretch too thin due to Zwick’s snoozing on the job. Djimon Hounsou, on the other hand, plays every breath for much more than its worth. A lot of his scenes either needed more takes or maybe they needed more coverage to cut around or…SOMETHING…because it’s a trying portrayal indeed.

The sad thing about “Blood Diamond” is that it could have been something truly brilliant. It could have been this generation’s “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” or better, because there is a real discussion happening here. And the story is a very good one, if the script is ultimately an overloaded thing resembling a first draft.

“The Good German” (**)

Sigh…I think I’ve had my fill with director Steven Soderbergh. His mandate of experimentation has reached an audacious level, and he’s now losing studio dollars and respect by offering up clunkers like “The Good German.”

I don’t worship at the altar of Soderbergh like much of the film going and filmmaking communities. I think he’s had some interesting ideas in his career, but never has he fired on all cylinders with any consistency. 1998’s “Out of Sight” is his single greatest effort to date, and I’m slowly discovering it will never be topped. In “The Good German,” the director set about making a film according to the strictures apparent in the 1940s. Fixed lenses, single boom mics and specific blocking were the order of the day. While it seems like a neat idea on one hand, seeing stars like George Clooney and Cate Blanchett in this environment, an environment generally reserved for Humphrey Bogart, reeks of spoof far and above homage.

The script comes from one of the greats, Paul Attanasio. It is an appropriately murky affair, certainly piquing interest as it drags the viewer from one cliché to the next, but it climaxes at a point that makes for an incredible “so what” exhalation. There are plenty of opportunities to spout off one-liners, but really, the whole thing just feels like a piece of elastic.

The single worst aspect of “The Good German”: Tobey Maguire’s “look at me” performance that is so difficult to buy it seemed like the Maguire of “Pleasantville” rather than “Seabiscuit” talking dirty and giving it to Blanchett from behind. There’s not much to be said of any performance, really, as even Blanchett’s very poised portrayal gets drowned out by the surrounding horror.