Rating: 
Summary: I want my time back!!
Review: I would like my two hours back.... But I guess I have got the same chances of that happening as Hollywood making a non-politically correct movie. This movie was so PC and so boring that it made me ill. To start, they tried to make us feel sorry for P. Diddy's character but failed to tell us why he was executed so that we may instead feel sorry for the victims of his crime. I went into the movie thinking Halle Barry's was a great actress, I was wrong! Her acting was perhaps the worst I have ever seen from her. I guess having committed a hit-and-run herself she couldn't know how it would feel to be on the other side of the wheel. If one good thing came from this movie it was the relief that I rented rather than buying this horrible movie. Save your money, you work hard for it unlike most of the people involved in this film.
Rating:
Summary: A terrible movie with great actors
Review: This move ranks up there with "The Sum of All Fears" and "Pearl Harbor" as a disappointing film. I can't believe Halle Berry got Best Actress for her role in this film, "Best Body" definately but not Best Actress. The movie was a total downer depressing from the beginning to end. I thought it was put together poorly while the acting was no better. If you have to see it, rent it, then you'll only be out 4 bucks. I think in the right hands this movie could have been great, but it hit the skids. I hate to write such a bad review because I have the utmost respect for the cast but how the story came together stunk.
Rating: 
Summary: not believable
Review: how could a poor black woman (halle berry) fall in love with a racist corrections officer (billy bob thornton) who took part in the execution of her husband (p. diddy)? it is hard to believe hollywood would present this ...as a sentimental romance. just think, halle berry won an oscar for this.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: A very interesting movie. This drama centers around a prison guard who has an affair with the wife of the man he executed in the electric chair, which he tries to keep a secret from her, even as they both find themselves falling in love. As usual Billy Bob Thornton is damned good, as is Heath Ledger as his fellow guard (he also has one of the shortest sex scenes in screen history when he visits a hooker. Ol' Billy Bob lasts a bit longer); but Halle Berry gives her best performance to date (she truly deserved her Oscar), as does rapper Sean "P. Diddy" Combs as her condemned husband (why wasn't he nominated for an Oscar?). Not one, but four great performances add to this movie's depth and humanity as well as its scenes of conflict and immorality. Well worth checking out.
Rating:
Summary: Terrible
Review: This has to be one of the worst movies I have ever had the displeasure of watching. I thought that the dialog was terrible. They mumbled through most of the movie. Giving this movie one star is about 2 star's too many. I have had root canals that were less painful. I was embarrassed for Halle when she begged Billy Bob to "make her feel good" and for Billy Bob when he threw his father out of the house to make room for his new girlfriend. And do you ever see the chemistry between the two of them? One has to wonder if he really had feelings for her if he felt guilty for all the racism that ran in his family. One also has to wonder about his son and the prostitute that they both used. What was the point? Skip this movie. Shrek was WAY better. Moulin Rouge was better. Monsters, Inc was better. Even Dude Where's my Car? was better.
Rating:
Summary: Could have been great...
Review: This film could have been great. The acting is flawless and
the story itself quite remarkable. The sex scenes are so
intensely graphic that the pleasure of watching the film is
lost; in short watching such scenes makes one feel like a
Peeping Tom!
Rating: 
Summary: Not all that
Review: A nice little film (terrific cinematography) but not of the heavyweight character many have ascribed to it. While I think she's improving as an actress and is singularly beautiful, Halle Berry did not deserve an Oscar for this performance. I thought she was overshadowed by Thornton, who can play this type of character in his sleep (and better watch out lest he start doing so . . .)
Rating: 
Summary: Just 1 Oscar.....?
Review: Having seen both this film (on DVD) and "A Beautiful Mind" (in the theatre), I'm perplexed at the disparity of honors that were given out on Oscar night. Halle Berry absolutely deserved her Oscar for her portrayal of Leticia Musgrove, the Death Row widow who enters into an unlikely relationship with Hank Grotowski, played by Billy Bob Thornton. This was not a "political" choice, i.e. because she happens to be black. Her character was a black woman, okay? I can't even remember the other actresses who were up for the Best Actress Award. Anyway, the Academy got that one right. But in truth, this film should have won Best Picture, Best Director (for Mark Forster) and probably best supporting actor, for Heath Ledger, even though his character dies early on in the film. But the subject matter of this film (black man is executed, widow falls in love with a white man) just wasn't "appropriate" enough to give it the high visibility of those other awards. Better give them to a superficial, "unreal" concoction that is "A Beautiful Mind", a feel-good movie if there ever was one. Don't get me wrong, I though Russell Crowe did an outstanding job in that film; but, "Monster's Ball" is about the hard truthes of life, death and love in an unequal society, told with unflinching realism. Sean Combs did an outstanding job (for a non-actor) as the condemned man, Leticia's husband, and his scenes leading up to the execution are some of the most powerful ones in the film. As a native southerner, I actually thought that the racism was toned way down, and that is my only real criticism of the movie. Oh yes, and the commentary by the director and the principal actors on the DVD was a nice touch. Believe me folks, they wuz robbed.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling...
Review: I first saw this film when it was in limited release theatrically. It was much more powerful watching on the big screen versus the DVD. I was a little suprised that the DVD was not supplemented with more extras considering that it received a noteworthy Academy Award (no bios, special commentaries, widescreen format, etc). I was riveted by the story and most of the casts performances. No one can dispute the fact that Halle Berry' s performance was exceptional, but she had a strong supporting cast to help her. Billy Bob, Heath, and Peter Boyle were thoroughly convincing in their respective roles. My only criticism of the film was that Halle's complexion always seemed to look fresh and dewy despite the fact that she was destitute, alcoholic, smoker. Still when she had to perform, anyone watching could feel the emotion she was conveying. I would highly recommend viewing this work if nothing else but to see what was required for an African American actress to finally break the color lines. She had to be willing to show herself in the most unflattering way and let it be known that she knew her place for the Academy to feel that she was worthy of the highest distinction.
Rating:
Summary: Great Drama, with lots to think of!!
Review: OK, the movie is great! I am writing this only to argue against the reviews some customers have had the gut to post. The movie is listed under 'Drama' and if you don't like drama, don't watch it! If you are the typical American that watches movies only to sit down on the couch and relax while eating pop-corn, rent something else. 'Monster's Ball' is intense and well directed. The cinematography heightens its intensity and suspense. The actors are great in their role, and there is a lot of symbolism that is thrown out there for you to catch . . . if you want. Even the sex scene is much deeper than the average audience may think . . . Has anybody noticed the bird cage? The violence they showed towards their kids is only a reaction of their oppression/depression . . . hence the bird in the cage. During the 'shocking' sex scene the director flashed images of her hands freeing the bird from the cage. If your ears were open, you heard at the end of the same scene the characters tell each other how much they needed one another. That moment is the beginning of their 'freedom' and rest of their life together. The two characters come from completely different backgrounds and yet have many commonalities. They are meant to be and she realizes it before him. If you put the pop-corn down you can also notice how the director portrays the drama that surrounds both characters, with the color red (symbol of passion, but also of blood and pain). You can see random red objects in both lives/houses (i.e. a red lamp, red couch, red curtains, red gumball, red handkerchief, red blood stains on her white shirt and on his white hat). As per the racist theme in the movie, it is a very current problem in this country and if you don't like it, open your eyes and take a trip down South . . . I am from Europe and my first trip to the US started in Tennessee where 'whites' don't go to 'black' public pools and vice versa. To recap, the movie is very dramatic and well done. It sends out more than one message and leaves you thinking . . .which is always good! ;)
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