Rating: 
Summary: great actors,in an unbeleivable situation..................
Review: suspend your beleif,there no way in hell these two characters would cross paths romantically.not only that,but i despise the main characters,there has to be at least someone you like in a movie?!?!!?but in this there's none,halle berry an annoying selfish person,billy bob's a racial redneck jerk,an peter boyle wow what a lunkheaded character he is.i hated this movie,thumbs way from me
Rating: 
Summary: A powerful story about HUMAN BEINGS
Review: I have held my tongue (keyboard?) for a long time, but this is a comment for all of you who seem to think that all the movies with actual human characters rather than cardboard cutouts are "sooo slooow" and "sooo looong" and boring. GET an ATTENTION SPAN! I can't imagine anyone could find this film dull or slow. Yes, it is "deliberately" paced, for it is a story about change, and change does not happen quickly. Perhaps those who found it boring are so jaded by action movies and alienated from any real human feeling that they can't relate to the material. If any of you must give a film a negative review, please try to point out what was wrong with the theme, concept or execution (no pun intended). Otherwise just watch a couple hours of rock videos and spare the rest of us who like to see films with scenes longer than five or six frames each.
I find this to be an excellent film, very powerful. I have a high tollerance of powerful material (The Wild Bunch is my favorite film), but it was tough for me to get through the first 3/4 hour. In the end it all resolves (or doesn't) in a grace note so simple and beautiful that I was stunned.
lastly, I stated earlier that this was a film about change, but the change in the film is a small adjustment, not fundamental. Hank is not a racist character who falls in love with a Black Woman. It is clear from the first frame that he is not really a racist, or if he is, a halfhearted one. He has a stubborn streak of human decency that is there all along. He turns to Berry's character because he has a need for human contact that is as raw as hers, and she is there in front of him. What begins as animal sexual release becomes something else. Note his frightened, frenzied desparation when she peels out and drives away, it is only after he has come to care for her that he realises how dead he was inside. Hank doesn't really change. He merely begins to shed the uglier aspects of himself, because they pale in comparison to his need. Thornton is great as usual, and though I wish Naomi Watts had at least been nominated, Berry richly deserved her award.
Rating: 
Summary: Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thorton drew me in.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Initially, I found many of the flaws in the characters left me indifferent, but unable to turn away. I began to care about their lives and what would happen to them. The reformation of both Hank and Latecia could not have been accomplished in my opinion without them establishing an emotional bond. Their physical encounter restored their humanity and in the process their intimacy made them tender. I could not believe the two people I saw at the end of the film were the same ones introduced to us at the beginning. Kudos to Halle Berry for a brilliant performance, and to Billy Bob Thorton for making me a fan of his quiet intensity.
Rating:
Summary: A stark gem
Review: The performances are the showcase of director Marc Forster's acclaimed "Monster's Ball". Billy Bob Thorton contributes a quiet, near-perfect performance as Hank, a grieving angry police officer living with his racist father (a fine Peter Boyle) and troubled son (Heath Ledger in an electrifying turn). Halle Berry won an Oscar for her role as Leticia, the widow of a man (Sean Combs) executed on death row by Hank. Through a series of tragic circumstances, the two come together and find they need each other. "Monster's Ball" is stark, grim, and never very pleasant, but the beautiful acting and competent direction make for a worthwhile viewing.
Rating:
Summary: I loved this movie
Review: WOW!
I am surprised at everyone's review on this movie! One person saying- "I want my two hrs back!"
Did we watch the same movie? The one with Billy Bob and Halle Barry? My God, this movie moved me off the couch and touched me with so many emotions, I am still talking about it to my friends.Billy Bob is a corrections officer (mean, racist, relentless, did I say mean?) Halle is the widow of (Puff Daddy) whom Billy Bob and others put in the electric chair. She is without makeup (still stunningly gorgeous, a victim of the choices she has made, a welfare mom, a sort of loser you could say. They somehow meet (Destiny) The big, bad Billy and welfare mom, Halle.
And it is
ELECTRIC... I can still feel the shock waves running through my veins, still feel my body and mind covered with goose bumps. Halle did not win the academy award because she is black, she won it because she is damn, damn good. One scene which moved me completely is... when Billy Bob asks her "What can I do? Tell me what to do." after her son dies. She says..."Just make me feel good. Make me feeeel goood." she wanted to feel anything other than what she was feeling. Anything. Sex. Something. Raw, yes. But the tenderness overpowers the sex... This is why the scene works. The connection between the two is amazing. Black and white becoming one. And in the end REDEMDTION. Forgiveness...Hope...and a Light glimmering through the darkness.
Rating: 
Summary: Monster's Indeed!
Review: Monster's Ball is an outstanding movie. It does have it's problems with hole's in the story such as why Sean Comb's character is on death row and the relationship of Hank and Sonny.
All in all it is a very disturbing story. The ambiguous moral fiber of the main characters played by Thornton and Berre leave you wanting to know more. The movie sticks in your mind and makes you think. That is rare in films today. Once again, Billy Bob Thornton shows his acting skills with one stunning performance after another.
Rating:
Summary: A Tight and Intelligent Script with Strong Performances
Review: When I first heard the basic plot of MONSTER'S BALL, I was very intrigued, but skeptical. Watching the movie, I dreaded throughout that the filmmaker's were going to play things out in an obvious and predictable way. How refreshing it was to discover that they didn't. Instead, I saw a tight, economical script with an amazing performance by Halle Berry. Undoubtedly, people will nit-pick about Berry's work in the film, but beat by beat, her Leticia was one of the most physically and emotionally challenging roles of the year. For the most part, she was up to the task and clearly demonstrated that she's a serious actress. One can debate whether or not she deserved an Oscar for her work, but she definitely gave an Oscar calibre performance. Billy Bob Thornton was also deserving of an Academy Award nomination (although he didn't receive one) for his complex role as Hank. He played it honestly and fearlessly. Also of note was Mos Def's performance in the film. It was finely shaded and understated. He's definitely an actor to watch. However, despite these and other fine performanes in the film (Peter Boyle is another example), what really impressed me about this film was its script. All too often, writers seem compelled to explain every detail about a character, so that the audience "gets it." Fortunately, with MONSTER'S BALL, the writers assume that the audience has some level of intelligence. In this film, one gets more with just a look on a character's face than would be accomplished in ten pages of expositional dialog. The screenplay deservedly was nominated for both an Oscar as well as an Independent Spirit Award. Another thing that was refreshing about this film was that it didn't shy away from its controversial subject matter. It deals with issues of class, race, sexuality and relationships with an honesty that most filmmakers shy away from today. This of course will not sit well with the easily offended or those that refuse to believe that racism still exists in America. Given the casting of Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton in the key roles, some may not accept that the characters they played could get together romantically. Like it or not, relationships like this can and do exist and will continue to do so. If you get anything out of the film, it should be that relationships in general are spontaneous, unpredictable and often defy logic. Overall, MONSTER'S BALL is a challenging film that is often difficult to watch (and not always for the obvious reasons). If you're looking for a film that forces one to confront what we fear in ourselves, this one is it.
Rating: 
Summary: monster's ball... who knew?
Review: This movie above all was really poorly made. It has real family issues and a heavy porno flick all rolled into one. If your up for a decent movie look somewhere else, looking for sex in movies, then this movie is for you.
The title almost had nothing to do with the movie. There was no monsters or a ball I could find throughout the entire time.
Rating:
Summary: Really 4 1/2 Stars, but that wasn't an option.
Review: I liked this. I'm buying it. I intend to use it for myself and for discussion with upperclassmen and grad students in lit courses. The film is very good work--one of very few films in a long, long time to achieve a measure of realism and drop the condescension towards racial tension in the south. While not completely free of stereotypes, the characters are much, much more believable. (How can you be more southern than Billy Bob Thornton? Apparently, you just point the camera at him and tell him what to talk about and it works smashingly.) The theme of the film, highlighted by its lack of revenge or heartbreak in the end, is redemption. Redeeming love, straight out of a baptist sunday school room. That's why Halle Berry suddenly realized everything but didn't go Fatal Attraction or Jackie Brown on him. That would have been cliche', and it damned sure wouldn't have been redemptive. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it. Two minor gripes: Billy Bob's transformation occurs a little too quickly and too easily. A realistic change would have shown him begrudgingly associating with Halle Berry's character for awhile longer, even after the first coupling. Extreem reticence in tough southern males is a must-have for realism. The other minor gripe is the featurette included on the home version of the film, the pseudo-genius trio of composers' explanation of how they were poetically inspired to respond to the story's arcs, etc. That's horse puckey. They were hired because they worked cheaply and could pull together a knock-off of what you were really hearing, the musical style of Daniel Lanois. Am I the only one who doesn't hear what amounts to virtually theft of a major producer/performer's repertoire? What the movie's haunted by on the first level is the history of the American South and the always unspoken truth behind racial violence, which was sexual tension. What it's haunted by in score and ambience is the spirit of Daniel Lanois, who should be looking in his mailbox for a paycheck for this stuff. Billy Bob: Don't stop making films about real Southerners. We love it when you do that.
Rating:
Summary: Cast/director overcome script deficiencies
Review: "Monster's Ball" is one of the most searing American melodramas of recent years and is highlighted by dynamite performances by Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry [Best Actress Oscar]. It is not so much a love story as it is the story of two emotionally overwhelmed people clinging to each other out of desperation. As such, it may hit a little too close to home for some people. It's improbable that a man and a woman in real life would experience the absurdly coincidental events these characters do, but the fact remains that many couples form a union from basic needs rather than from true love. Hank [Thornton] is a state prison guard like his father [Peter Boyle] before him. One night he helps prepare a young man convicted of murder for execution. He doesn't think all that much about this. It's an unpleasant part of his job. What he can not know is that he will later become involved with the man's widow, Lucille [Berry]. This occurs soon after Hank's own life is shattered by a devastating tragedy in his own family. Meanwhile, Lucille's problems are about to take another dreadful turn. When the two finally turn to each other, it is out of loss, desperation and the absence of hope. They seek solace in each other's bodies. All the while, Hank's secret about his sad connection to Lucille's husband lurks in the background. I don't play the game of who did or did not deserve an Oscar. [Many people felt that Sissy Spacek should have won for "In the Bedroom".] I will say that Ms. Berry's performance is remarkable and is a stunning revelation about her abilities as an actress. Despite some weakness in the script, she, along with director Marc Forster and the rest of a most gifted cast, give "Monster's Ball" a power and a tragic majesty that make it a must-see for lovers of great movie making.
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