Rating: 
Summary: there are 2 reasons i liked this movie:
Review: 1. sean 'p diddy' combs was executed
2. halley barry naked.do you need any more reasons?
Rating: 
Summary: Monster Mess
Review: If a movie is to address the complex issues of interracial relationships and existential plight, it should at least do so effectively and, more importantly, competently. Instead, MONSTER'S BALL is a film plagued by inconsistency, bad writing, confusing plot development, and--in the case of Halle Berry--overacting that literally is embarrassing to watch. Hank Grotowski (Billy Bob Thornton) is a corrections officer with a penchant for ice cream (Why doesn't this guy weigh 400 pounds?) who hates his son (Heath Ledger). We really aren't given a reason why he hates his son, he just does. And of course, Hank's father (Peter Boyle) is a hardline Southern bigot who says hardline bigoted things, and the only thing this family has in common is a blonde prostitute who has a most intriguing way of initiating contact with her clients. When tragedy befalls the Grotowskis relatively early in the film, we aren't given enough information about these three characters to assess or understand what happened; we only see Hank react by quitting his job, then we see him slouch and mumble through the rest of the film. Leticia Musgrove (Halle Berry) is an irresponsible, really bad parent whose husband just happens to be on death row. Call it "random fate" if you will, but Hank appears in her life just as she is trying to cope with unspeakable tragedy of her own. Misery loves company, and apparently it also loves mumbling and
melodramatic acting on a couch (with frequent tumbles to the floor) while a mysterious hand bothers a fluttering bird inside its cage. An Andy Warhol moment. Having vigorously--athletically--consummated their relationship, MONSTER'S BALL explores the subsequent uneven actions of Hank and Leticia as their lives become more intertwined, as the script becomes goofier, as the ad libbed lines become almost laughable. And, as it should be, the film promtply dissolves into an anticlimactic non-ending. Pass the ice cream. My first reaction was to give this movie one star, but hey, it was so much of a mess I had to stop and think about it, then watch some of it over again (particulary the wrestling scene on the couch). At least the strength and conditioning coach for the actors should get some credit. Two stars.
--D. Mikels
Rating: 
Summary: Not an Amazing Film But Still A Very Good One
Review: After I purchased this movie to examine Halle Berry's performance, I was'nt as blown away as I expected to be. Even though I was'nt as moved as I expected her performance was still good and Oscar worthy. I still don't believe she compares to Kathrine Hepburn, who in my opinion is the best actress that ever lived. On the oscar issue, Nicole Kidman's performance wasnt that spectacualar either and I felt the field was very open that year. I doubt they gave the award just because she is biracial or they would of given many other black attresses the award a long ago(Angela Bassest, Whoopi Goldberg). This is one of Berry's best performances and in my opinion surpasses her amazing portryal of Dorthy Danridge for which she widely praised. I recommend people rent this film because they will not be dissapointed. It is a riviting film which poignantly dispalys many human dynamics. Don't be turned away by the bad reviews which are usually the biased opinions of Nicole Kidman entuasiasts that would deride Renne Zellweger had she had won for her performance in Bridget Jones' Diary which in my opinon is equal to the porformances of both Kidman and Berry. Rent this film and come up with your own opinion but you wont be extremely dissapointed.
Rating:
Summary: This is no sci-fi movie
Review: I first heard of this movie when I got the news that Halle won her Oscar for it. I initially thought it was some sci-fi movie with Halle playing an Elvira-type role. Wow, was I wrong! Instead, it's about a Southern white man named Hank (played by Billy Bob Thornton) who overcomes racism & falls in love with a black woman named Leticia (Halle's character). They each cope with the death of a son, on top of the fact that Hank, while a corrections officer, had conducted the execution of Leticia's husband. It's all so, so heartbreaking. On the downside, some scenes were quite graphic & disturbing. There's even more nudity here than in Swordfish (famous for a Halle topless scene), so this really pushes the envelope, even for an R movie. The sex scenes between Halle & Billy Bob looked so realistic that I hoped Billy Bob was wearing a condom! As for that blonde prostitute, I don't see why she needed to be in there at all. But on the upside, I loved the DVD commentary by Billy Bob, Halle & the director. Halle notes how Peter Boyle (Hank's father in the movie) is nice & hospitable in real life, yet he could play characters with totally opposite attitudes. It's sad that Billy Bob had to exit the commentary during the last 20 minutes or so, but I like Halle's comment that she wishes for a sequel, that Leticia could find herself pregnant or something. That led me to think, wouldn't it be nice indeed if those characters could not only start life anew, but start a family anew as well? Congrats to Halle on her Oscar, & remember--don't judge a movie by its title!
Rating: 
Summary: Sometimes you have to...
Review: respond. Halle Berry gave her best performance in this, but it was still nowhere near Oscar material. She's just an average actress. If the person who said she's a better actress than Katherine Hepburn was truly believes that, they really shouldn't watch any more films, because they have absolutely no idea what the word "acting" means. I guess Britney Spears is a better singer than Leontyne Price, too, huh? But then what can you expect from someone who called Justin Timberlake's CD a "classic"?
Rating:
Summary: Movie good, acting OK
Review: The plot, screenplay and directing of the flick were good. Billy Bob was acting nowhere near the top of his range; he was clearly in the middle. Did Halle deserve her Oscar? Only if you like to believe in things that aren't true. It was her best perfoirmance on film ever, I'll give her that. But being that she's a minimally talented actress to begin with (you know it's true; Angela Bassett, Lynn Whitfield or Alfre Woodard she ain't, and will NEVER be. Why didn't one of them win the Oscar???), her best performance is nowhere near oscar level. But, politics ae politics.... Still, the film is worth seeing. The love scenes weren't necessary; nothing erotic about them....
Rating:
Summary: Wow--what a tough movie.
Review: Any movie that opens with an anal sex scene between a man and a prostitute is bound to be tough, but this movie takes graphic sex and violence, racism and misogyny, life and death to whole new levels of gritty reality. The story was excellent. The acting was excellent. However, while the ending turns out to OK, this is certainly not the feel-good movie of the year. It is an excellent portrayal of one man trying to rise above the cess pool of his life. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: An inspiring tale of redemption for discriminating film fans
Review: In this age of empty flashy comic book movies it is refreshing to see an example of a film which deals with real people and takes the time to enter their world with sensitivity. Given that the director of the film is from Holland perhaps it is not surprising that the film has the slower, more sensitive, pacing of a European film. This is definitely not a film that will appeal to all viewers. Many of those who have reviewed it here seem to have been incapable of appreciating the subtlety of its characterisations. For instance, the character played by Billy Bob Thornton is not a bigot - he is rather a man living under the shadow of his bigotted father. The film portrays the way the "sins of the fathers" are visited upon the sons brilliantly. As for the explicit sex scene that so many reviewers can't seem to see past, it is one of the most touching depictions of human frailty to make it to the cinema screen in decades. Only a prude could fail to see that this scene has nothing in common with the dehumanising depictions of sex that are the norm in both mainstream Hollywood cinema and pornography.
Rating: 
Summary: I didn't like this film
Review: Producers in this film attempt to answer for western societies increasing growth of interacial marriages and dating. Airy music fits the seen for this movie well because the script is way out there. I had a really hard time understanding the plot. Most annoying was the music which played almost more then intellectual script. Sean Puffy Combs plays the black guy who is in jail for what ever reason I never caught. Billy Bob Thorton plays a racist who has taste for the wife of a guy he helped execute. Film shows a bird flying the coup when this interacial couple gets intimate. Producers were genius because they were able to give audience a bad taste in their mouths and an airy space in their heads after watching this film.
Rating:
Summary: Rebirth and awakenings
Review: "Monster's Ball" is a thoroughly engrossing film that is at times both intensely depressing and uplifting. The performances by Thornton and Berry are absolutely superb and are really at the heart of what makes this film work, and even Ledger and Combs do very good jobs with their supporting roles. At times the plot is a bit rushed and unrealistic, but these performances manage to keep the whole thing afloat during these few moments when the plot falters a bit.
The film itself deals with many serious issues including racism, capital punishment, interracial couples and death, and while there is certainly strong commentary presented on these topics, the film does a good job of not becoming preachy in its sentiments. Underlying all of these more obvious issues are the more personal and character driven issues dealt with by the main characters. Thornton is a man struggling to find himself and his true identity while attempting to finally escape the legacy of bigotry and ignorance handed down to him by his father. Meanwhile, Berry's character undergoes a transformation spurred on by pain and personal loss and the effort to cope with her position as a black woman in the south. Together, the two characters are able to scrape beneath the surface of who society percieves them to be by getting in touch with their own, and each other's, basic humanity. Through a combination of overwhelming pain and strength, loss and gain, they experience a rebirth into a new life. Like any good film though, "Monster's Ball leaves their fate together undecided, allowing the viewer to determine what will become of them.
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