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Once democratic, Darfur, Sudan, has long been a military dictatorship overrun by violence and poverty, with hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced. "Darfur Now" explores how the situation has affected a variety of people: the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court; the leader of a refugee camp; an activist/UCLA student; an Ecuadorian who tries to bring food to the people in Darfur; a rebel whose son was killed by the government; and actor/activist Don Cheadle.

Big question: Can this documentary reveal enough about this crisis to get more people involved?

Catch it: First-person testimony from those directly impacted by the volatile environment helps "Darfur Now" tell it like it is without manipulating the audience's sympathies. Actual footage of the region's worst events, rather than just anecdotes, would drive things home even more—and we don't need to hear so many reflections about what things were like before the violence—but there's more than enough real-life heartache to bring a faraway issue close to home as a deeply human problem.

Skip it: If you don't want to hear a rebel's sadness—she knows guns won't solve anything but also can't get rid of them—because you prefer to see movies where the misery ends when the film does. In that case, "Saw IV" is still playing ... though it's actually so horrible we're still upset about it!

Bottom line: The Darfur conflict is an awfully big issue to tackle completely, and "Darfur Now" misfires by paying too much attention to goings-on in the U.S. instead of the Sudan. Still, it shows that change is possible through action. Even if the movie doesn't draw huge numbers to the theater or to join the fight, it will more than support the feelings of those already involved and make others think twice before walking past volunteers asking for a minute of their time.

Bonus: Cheadle says he had to dress up for a meeting because he knew Arnold Schwarzenegger would be there looking good. Has everyone given up hope that he will ever arrive in a "Terminator" outfit?

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