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Movies / On DVD / Monster's Ball
Monster's Ball

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Monster's Ball (2001)

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Reviews Counted:141

Fresh:120

Rotten:21

Average Rating:7.4/10

Consensus: Somber and thought provoking, Monster's Ball has great performances all around.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong sexual content, language and violence

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Dec 26, 2001 Limited

Box Office: $31,252,964

Synopsis: MONSTER'S BALL is a hard hitting Southern drama tempered by a story of powerful, life-changing love. It is the story of Hank (Billy Bob Thornton), an embittered prison guard working on Death Row... MONSTER'S BALL is a hard hitting Southern drama tempered by a story of powerful, life-changing love. It is the story of Hank (Billy Bob Thornton), an embittered prison guard working on Death Row who begins an unlikely, but emotionally charged affair with Leticia (Halle Berry), the wife of a man he has just executed. MONSTER'S BALL also features Heath Ledger and Peter Boyle. Boyle plays Hank’s bigoted, aging father, whose hatred seems to have poisoned his entire family as much as the family business, which is working on the prison Death Squad. Ledger plays Hank’s son, who is hell-bent on getting out of the family business. The film is directed by award-winning filmmaker Marc Forster. He was nominated for an IFP/West Spirit Award as Best Low Budget Feature and won the Movado "Someone to Watch" Prize at the 2001 Spirit Awards for his film, "Everything Put Together."

Set in Georgia, MONSTER'S BALL was filmed entirely on location in and around New Orleans, Louisiana and at the notorious Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola (also known as "The Farm").

MONSTER'S BALL is from an original screenplay by Milo Addica and Will Rokos, is produced by Lee Daniels, executive produced by Mark Urman, Mike Paseornek, and co-produced by Milo Addica and Will Rokos. Lions Gate Films will release the film in December, 2001. -- © 2001 Lions Gate Films [More]

Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, Heath Ledger, Peter Boyle

Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, Heath Ledger, Peter Boyle, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Mos Def

Director: Marc Forster

Director: Marc Forster
Screenwriter: Milo Addica, Will Rokos
Studio: Lions Gate Films

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Release:

Jun 11, 2002

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Reviews for Monster's Ball

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61 - 80 (sorted by date)
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Halle Berry’s performance makes “Monster’s Ball” well worth the effort...

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
02/11/02
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
02/10/02
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

A powerful and poignant motion picture not about racism and redemption, as one might initially suppose, but about one of the most urgent and universal of human needs -- that of finding solace for pain and loneliness.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
02/10/02
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The kind of quiet, effective film that burrows under the viewer's skin and takes root before you've had a chance to realize that it's permeated your constitutional makeup.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
02/10/02
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

Director Marc Forster shapes his love story like a master potter, forming a story of pure love, untainted by cliché.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
02/10/02
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

This complex, rich film dwells in the shades of grey, never offering an easy answer and always leaving us with questions.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
02/09/02
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

A film in which the smallest of details ... sets a vivid scene.

Full Review Source: Fresno Bee | comment Comment
02/08/02
Donald Munro
Donald Munro
Fresno Bee

A subtle, restrained film.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
02/08/02
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Though the film can initially seem off-putting, Monster's Ball slowly and quietly gets under your skin.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
02/08/02
Moira MacDonald
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times

The film's tale is told so well and the performances are so on key that everything feels fresh.

Full Review Source: Screen It! | comment Comment
02/08/02
Jim Judy
Jim Judy
Screen It!

Filmed with a lovely flow of dark shadows and warm light splashes by Roberto Schaefer, the movie is at times a little mood-mooing and too sedately restrained for its own good. And yet these people, so deep in the Deep South, are unquestionably alive.

Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
02/08/02
David Elliott
David Elliott
San Diego Union-Tribune

Monster's Ball drills at us the same way a dentist goes at your teeth, creating pain but for a greater good.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
02/08/02
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

Under Forster's taut, intelligent direction, the cast delivers subtle, complex and realistic performances.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
02/08/02
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

A film in which complex issues are boiled down to human essences, not so much simplified as dramatized in the very best way.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
02/08/02
Shawn Levy
Shawn Levy
Oregonian

A profoundly hopeful and optimistic film about people's ability to bounce back from just about anything.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
02/08/02
Rene Rodriguez
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald

A damn fine film.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
02/08/02
Bruce Kirkland
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies

The script has a schematic feel and the emblematic character types typical of the work of young writers, particularly those who have something to say and aren't just trying to make a buck.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
02/08/02
Eric Harrison
Eric Harrison
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Disturbing, provocative and, finally, tentatively encouraging, Monster's Ball brings subtlety and quiet conviction to the kind of story routinely exploited on the big screen.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
02/08/02
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The acting is so good in Monster's Ball, and the understated but intense mood so skillfully maintained, that we tend to overlook the story's contrivances.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
02/08/02
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Monster's Ball shows that convincing acting and a detailed, developed sense of place can make a story not only believable but moving.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
02/08/02
Steven Rosen
Steven Rosen
Denver Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
61 - 80 (sorted by date)
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