Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

GarnettTeenage The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

chas437 I finally got around to seeing this film, and what a disappointment. The love this film received from critics and the Academy is completely unwarranted, yet its understandable on some level.Seems like films that display any sort of racial progress and highlight actors of "color" get positive reviews regardless of they quality of filmmaking. There is no better example of this than "Monster's Ball".Halle Berry's performance was fine, but there are some issues with her being cast in a role like this. She's too thin and attractive, and frankly she looks too white to be believable in such a role. Are we really supposed to believe a woman that looks like her gave birth to an obese child? So, I was conflicted as to whether BBT's character finally saw the errors of his ways and now loves black folk, or whether Halle Berry was so hot, he couldn't resist her.These are just some of the many issues with this film. In short, its another example of political correctness trumping Art.

krocheav On the outset this appeared to have enough potential to be OK. By the mid-section however it becomes a little obvious the filmmakers were trying to turn it into the 2001 of racial hate movies. They start with a minimalist plot then stretch out every scene till the threadbare writing begins to show. This writer/co-producer duo (Milo Addica & William Rokos) along with German director Marc Forster come across as perhaps having been victims of child abuse or worse. Ugliness seeps from the majority of scenes like puss from a festering sore. About every Character is totally unlikable (except maybe Heath Ledger playing Thornton's son with only a brief part).If anyone hasn't seen this by now, from here there could be a few plot spoilers: Billy thingy-ma-Bob Thornton is a bigoted, violent father who HATES his own son like no other before him. Thornton's father (Boyle) hates everyone except those who hate as equally as he does! A local young black woman (Hallie Berry) whose husband is on death row shows little more than contempt towards both her husband and their sad young son (her son compulsively eats chocolate bars to sooth his unhappiness with his home situation). At no time are we told why her seemingly intelligent, artistically talented negro husband has to be executed - did he murder somebody or simply upset some red-neck townsfolk?. Character establishment is treated as unimportant because the thin plot simply works towards stringing together a series of gratuitous sex scenes - and they don't get much sleazier. Lust simply replaces shared love for sake of sensationalism and this seems to have been the main selling point. Some say it's a tale of redemption but the redemption is treated as being simply 'tacked on' - occurring almost overnight and stemming from a shocking event the supposedly 'redeemed' bigot (Thornton) even more shockingly said he was pleased about!. None of this is very convincing. It would appear the average viewer of movies today may have been reduced to mulch - otherwise how could below par product like this receive more than a passing glance?. As for Berry, she 's reduced to a mere sex object - which seems to be enough for obsessed audiences to rave about. This brings us then to the also tacked on ending - looking like it was lifted strait out of "The Misfits"...the two 'redeemed' characters sit eating chocolate ice cream from a 'specifically' requested plastic spoon (plastic seems symbolic of this movie) and gaze up at the stars looking into their assured future. Disappointing and somewhat shameful. Seems also like it may have been a rather lean year - as predictably, the academy thought it just fine. For a good overview, read beyond the promo type reviews and into the general viewer analysis.

Dalbert Pringle I loathe these "change-of-heart" movies. I really do. And Monster's Ball has got to be one of the most loathsome "change-of-heart" flicks that I've seen in a mighty long time.Take, for instance, the despicable main character in Monster's Ball - Georgia prison guard, Hank Grotowski. At present Hank is working execution detail on Death Row. What Hank is, is a really, really nasty, bitter, crybaby of an ex-cop. And if that side of Hank isn't detestable enough, then Hank's also one hell of a lousy drunk, and a mean, cussing, foul-mouthed, hateful racist, to boot. (These, of course, are all of Hank's good points.) With that firmly in mind - What bothers me here is that suddenly, like, overnight ("Presto! Change-O!") Hank does this complete about-face thing. Not only does Hank immediately stop hating Blacks, and begin treating them respectfully, but he also starts fornicating with a black woman named Leticia.And I don't care what anyone says - Nobody - I repeat - Nobody with such a deep-rooted hatred and animosity, as Hank had towards blacks, could ever possibly change so bloody fast as he did. It was a goddamn miracle. There would always be some remaining residue of hate and racism left smouldering under that cool, mild-mannered facade. It's impossible to be otherwise - We humans don't work in any other way. We don't.Now, please, don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't believe that people can change - People can and do - But this is something that takes a lot of time, many years, in fact. And, I'm sorry, but considering Hank's background; this change in him was too unrealistically abrupt for me to accept. It seemed so phony and pretentious. Since the overall essence of this flick's story was directed at "realism" Hank's instant "conversion" to black-lover ruined that effect completely.

rps-2 This is a very dark but powerful film. It is superbly acted and creatively filmed with some very effective focus shifting and other camera techniques that work extremely well without getting in the way. The one negative --- the reason I gave it only a 7 instead of a 9 --- is the excessively graphic, lengthy and frequent sex. It's overdone and unnecessary to the story line. Fine. People get into bed to-gether.That's life. But we do not need every last intimate detail and each protracted orgasmic moan. What otherwise is a fine and powerful film is reduced to the level of a skin flick. Usually death row films end with the execution. This one begins with it. I'd watch it again for the splendid performances by all and the excellent manner in which it has captured the feel of the US south. But if I do, I'll fast forward through all the heavy breathing