Rating: 
Summary: Mindblowing journey into life's realities
Review: Much has already be said about the movie storyline, so I won't go into those details. This is a very moving reality-bites kind of movie that will live in you long after you've watched it. Breaking out of the traditional climatic-end continuous storyline moviemaking trend, this one takes the viewer into a journey of the mind -- you'll force yourself to predict what will happen next, or what the characters should do but never reach a foolproof 'conclusion'. The story borders on the dilemma of Leticia, a single mother whose husband has been electrocuted by the Corrections Department. The story turns and twists and Halle Berry (Leticia) ends up getting into an affair with the same corrections officer who oversaw her husband's execution. There are plentiful twists in the tale to summarise here, but as a viewer of many foriegn films and offbeat movies, this one is definitely a welcoming relief from the normal-everyday Hollywood movies. And, btw, those who kept focussing on Halle Berry being 'naked' in the film,... yes, those scenes are quite graphic by everyday standards, but there is way more to the film than just those parts. They simply complement the main theme, and makes it more poignant. As I watched the movie, I tried making decisions for the charcaters -- like the scence where Hank (Thronton -- the corrections officer) drives past Halle Berry and her son, lying on the side of the road on a stormy night ... . He can hear Leticia screaming out for help, but his mind is split into dilemmas that he himself cannot overcome -- on one hand his father had told him, ..."stay away from niggers", and yes, he didn't like blacks himself, but then again, with the recent loss of his son who killed himself unable to bear his father (Hank's) insensitive nature, makes him ponder. He stops the car, and backs up,... for some reason he feels he should help this black lady and her child,... . The rain pouring outside, Hank in the car - stuck in this psychotic debate , Leticia outside crying for help. Definitely worth the watch, go for it, and if you are a serious movie critic, you'll want to see it over again -- after a long time, I finally got to see a Hollywood production of the Leaving Las vegas/Seven/... kind of unusual yet mindblowing proportions. Go for it !!!
Rating:
Summary: Did she deserve the Oscar? You Betcha!...
Review: Hail Halle! Not only does she continue to redefine beauty, she redefines acting in her portrayal of a woman at a crossroads. While the film focuses mostly on one man's struggle with the life assigned him and his relationship with his father and son, Halle's character, Leticia, must deal with her own heartache. She finds herself redefining who she after a two significant losses in her life. When life deals her a very heavy blow she turns to a man who was kind to her and an intense relationship begins. While the editorial review speaks of the loss of children - it is how those deaths happen that bring about the bond. It's an exquisitely written film, expertly directed, and beautifully acted by all! Heath Ledger (one of my favorites) turns in a great performance (while I loved him in A Knights Tale, I didn't think he had it in him and now I am hooked!...) as Hank's son and the dynamic intensity between them leaves you bewildered and angry too. This is a movie well worth watching. If you are Billy Bob Thorton fan - you will not be disappointed. If you are a Halle Berry fan - you will be stunned to see the depth with which she potray's such loss and pain. I knew she had it in her! She is destined for great and wonderful things and I look forward to her winning her next Oscar!
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated
Review: An interesting story, and decently acted but it doesn't quite deliver. Hallie Berry goes semi-nude in her big love scene, but did little else that might justify her academy award for best actress; unless it was pretending love for Billy Bob Thornton.
Of far more interest than this movie is the sycophancy that inevitably attends "provocative, interracial themes". The media's obsession with forcing this issue borders on the pathological. I was duped into thinking this movie might be something different, but it's not. It's OK, just don't believe all the hype.
Rating:
Summary: Song Of The South?
Review: I felt more like a voyeur than a viewer as I watched this film pry open the closed doors of its characters' lives and expose to the light of day each of their uniquely disturbing dysfunctionalities. One of the things that made much of this film so compelling to me personally was that, having grown up in a small southern town, I felt as though, like them or not, I knew a lot of these people. I think Monster's Ball hits the target with its portrayal of its southern, white, working-class male characters. For starters, the interior of Hank's home, with the deer antlers, gun cabinet, faux-leather recliners, dark walls and medical oxygen tanks, is not a sterotype, folks, it's the real thing. But the descending degrees of racism displayed by each generation of Hank's family are even more photographic. Buck is an unreconstructed bigot of the old school - his encounter with Leticia is one of the film's most powerful moments. Sonny, on the other hand, has moved beyond all that and mixes freely with blacks, which contributes much to his "weakness". It is Hank's racism that is complex, for he is clearly caught in the middle between the attitudes of his father's generation and his son's. Hank is a racist because he thinks he is supposed to be, yet it his very lack of racist conviction that allows his heart to unharden, thus making the rest of the story altogether possible. Yet another ugly (but all too frequently realistic) aspect to the character of these men is their undiguised contempt for women. Consider the terms in how both Hank and Buck describe their former wives, the mothers of their children. Even more revealing is the manner in which both Hank and Sonny have sex with Vera, the prostitute. Like father, like son; this was one attitude Sonny was not able to transcend. An unfortunate contrast to the strength of the film's study of its white characters is the weakness in its development of black characters. For one thing, there are simply not enough black characters in this story to balance the plot the way it probably should have been. Similarly, the undercurrents of apathy and despair that govern the lives of the impovershed, and the anger and mistrust these people would feel towards white males (particularly those employed by the local criminal justice system) are hardly addressed at all. Is Monster's Ball how the small-town south really looks and feels? Not quite, but it comes painfully close at times. Is it, in the end, a "feel-good" love story? Hardly, as the ending leaves Hank and Leticia together, but with much more pain ahead of them to work out if their relationship is to last. Monster's Ball is, however, one of the best-acted films made in recent years. Thornton should also have received an Oscar for his work here. His performance was, at the least, as good as Berry's. If your idea of a good movie is one packed with fast-paced action and special effects, then pass on Monster's Ball - you'll hate it, as a lot of reviewers here apparently do. But if you tend to go for taut, gritty human drama brought to life by a deep script and incredibly powerful acting, then you won't want to miss this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Pure raunch - not worth a single star
Review: Halle Berry has mortgaged her dignity and probably her career in this should be X-rated loser-fest. Billy Bob Thornton also continues to spiral downhill with his poor choice of starring roles. If your want to see Halle Berry, ... then check it out. Otherwise dump it.
Rating:
Summary: never seen it
Review: Wow the last reviewer was Asian! Now he has credibility on this movie, I have yet to see it but thats because I hear Halle is in it minus her clothing Yee Haw.
Rating: 
Summary: a let down
Review: I got this movie because of the award nominations and was disappointed. Halle Berry gets naked and lowers her acting standards, Billy Bob acts as himself, and Sean Puffy Combs actually does a better job than both of them. It could have been an interesting story, but too raunchy. Also, am I the only one who thought Leticia killed her fat son by throwing him in front of the car?? Just a thought.
Rating:
Summary: This is Billy Bob Thonton's movie, not Hallie Berry's.
Review: I love Hallie Berry and have been waiting for someone to give her the sort of film that would put her in the realm of the Goddesses, but "Monster's Ball" doesn't do it for me. I didn't care about any of these character's nor did I feel any sympathy or empathy or joy or much of anything for any of them. Though Hallie Berry does shine in some scenes, the story itself is a bore, the acting seems almost mechanical on the whole, and the film overall is childishly predictable from the outset. Indeed, it insults the intelligence of movie going audiences. It is also a film (like many today) that runs out of steam at the end - talk about anti-climactic! Too bad really, because "Monster's Ball" could have been a really good film. Editorially "Monster's Ball" is a mess and there seems to be too many cut scenes that could have rounded out this picture and made it better. In fact, it seems or feels as if much of Hallie Berry's scenes were cut. So much so that when the movie is over, all you have in mind is Billy Bob Thornton and his Gary Cooper style of under-acting. Chopping films to bits seems to be the rage in Hollywood at the moment - sadly the days of David Lean are long gone. One such chopped film that comes to mind is "The House of Mirth". The opening of "The House of Mirth", was tragically cut to bits just to suit the short attention span of today's audiences and I find that appalling, especially given that Gillian Anderson gives such a magnificent performance in the "The House of Mirth." But back to "Monster's Ball", this is probably one of the worst films ever made. On the other hand, it is worth watching if you are a true Hallie Berry fan, which is the only reason I decided to watch it. Oddly, I found as the film progressed that I really wanted Hallie Berry to shine like never before and as I said in some areas of the film she really does, but sadly it seems as if someone told her to hold back and not to take the character she portrays to the edge, or she did and those scenes were cut. I don't know, but something is just not right with the movie and I just can't quite figure out what it is. Don't go into this film thinking it is a Hallie Berry film, it's not - it is a Billy Bob Thornton film. Billy Bob Thornton is a fine actor but for this viewer there's just too much of him in the film. As dumb as that may sound, I was really P.O'd that Hallie Berry wasn't in enough of the film. The fact that Hallie Berry isn't in the film enough, is (I think) the problem with the film along with it's abrupt ending that leaves you stupefied and wondering what the heck all the hype was about. Sorry folks, for me this film just doesn't deliver and I find that somehow sad given Hallie Berry's incredible talent. If you want to see Hallie Berry at her best, watch "The Dorathy Dandridge Story".
Rating:
Summary: TERRIBLE
Review: I should have known that this was a bad movie as soon as I saw who Halle's husband was portrayed by. I can only imagine that she won the award for the lovemaking scene. I thought that she portrayed Dorothy Dandridge much better and alos was better in "Why do fools fall in love."
Rating:
Summary: nothing special
Review: this movie is alright but once again nothing really great.
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