FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Monster's Ball [DVD] [2002]

Monster's Ball [DVD] [2002]
enlarge	Director: Marc Forster Actor: Halle Berry\|Billy Bob Thornton\|Heath Ledger\|Sean Combs Studio: Entertainment in Video Category: DVD List Price: ~~£19.99~~ Buy New: £1.04 as of 21/11/2009 11:06 GMT details You Save: £18.95 (95%) New (22) Used (31) from £1.03 Seller: fastdvd2006 Rating: 20 reviews Sales Rank: 6419 Format: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen Language: English (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 2 Discs: 1 Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 108 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5017239191756 ASIN: B00006681H Theatrical Release Date: February 8, 2002 Release Date: February 24, 2003 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review A harrowing portrayal of Deep South life in the 21st century, IMonster's Ball/I hits you where it hurts most, in the complex realm of extreme human emotions. This is not a movie to pass the time on a Sunday afternoon. With intriguing juxtapositions and some of the best editing of recent times it has all the makings of a modern Ifilm noir/I, yet it's not only the men that end up on the wrong side of the track: pride and ill-fortune are the real Ifemme fatales/I here. pBilly Bob Thornton is a death row officer whose redneck father has taught him that emotions make you weak, leading to an inability to love his son (Heath Ledger) and feel any compassion for the convicts in his care. When he loses a "loved one", he embarks on a relationship with the widow (Halle Berry) of a man whom he strapped in the electric chair, and the two of them search for comfort in sex, alcohol and chocolate ice-cream. The movie features fine turns from all actors involved, with Berry deservedly winning an Oscar for best actress and Ledger proving he is more than eye candy. Far from concluding the suffering, the ending leaves the viewer in an emotional void in which you will find yourself analysing your own shortcomings, prejudices and emotional ties. --INikki Disney/I

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 20 1 2 3 4 Next » Monster's Ball September 19, 2005 Rich Milligan (Thatcham, Berkshire) 15 out of 18 found this review helpful "The Monster's Ball" begins with one of the finest opening sequences I have ever seen and really sets the tone for an intelligent, well acted and credible film. The tension and lead up to the main event in the first half of the film is superbly developed and really draws the viewer into plot. pHank Grotowski (Billy Bob Thornton) is a prison guard at the local prison, this is like his father before him and his own son, Sonny (Heath Ledger) is following in his footsteps. Hank is in charge of the execution procedure and the film opens with him running through this grisly process which for the first time will involve his son. pThe prisoner due for the electric chair is Lawrence Musgrove (Sean Combs - P. Diddy for those in the know) and we first meet him during his final visit with his ex-wife and their son. Leticia (Halle Berry) his wife is angry and venomous and shows no mercy to her soon to be executed ex-husband. Their son Tyrell (Coronji Calhoun) idolises his wayward father and presents a tragic figure of someone desperate for love and a guiding hand. He receives none of this from his mother who alternately smothers him and berates the poor chap for being a "fat little piggy".pUnfortunately the execution doesn't run smoothly and Hank violently berates Sonny for not performing correctly. In a dramatic and catastrophic sequence Sonny and Hank fight with appalling consequences. In a similar disastrous event of her own, Leticia must also come to terms with her own loss. It is here that fates plays a hand and puts the two baggage carrying characters together and they start to develop an ever deepening relationship with each other.pThe success of the film is in the acting performances and the only surprise is that only Halle Berry won an Oscar here. She puts in a performance of great depth and feeling and her raw passion and needs are plainly obvious. Thornton on the other hand plays a much more taciturn role but even so the feelings of the character he plays comes shining through. Great support from Coronji Calhoun and Heath Ledger.pSome have questioned the composition of the film, especially the lengthy sex scene between the two leads. Admittedly this is a lengthy sequence and there's little doubt it could have been cut shorter but it still remains a powerful and raw piece of the whole film. It would also be wrong to concentrate on this scene alone when there are so many other good ones, the stand off between Leticia and Hank's racist and bigoted father or the tear jerking scene in the hospital. The ending also deserves special mention for being believable, credible and not taking the easy Hollywood get out that we all were probably expecting. Brilliant Acting - Simple Plot January 7, 2003 Martin A Hogan (San Francisco, CA. (Hercules)) 26 out of 32 found this review helpful This cleverly simple, but well balanced plot is well known by now and if you don't know it, it doesn't matter much, as the acting carries this film. Billy Bob Thorton again plays a southern hick (a Corrections Officer), a character he does so well at. His father (Peter Boyle) also plays a great bigot (something he began in 1970's "Joe"). Billy Bob's son, played by Heath Ledger, again plays his typical character role as a hick with a conscience. Now, it is Ms. Halle Berry that breaks rank and shows her best in a shockingly well-acted part as a single mother waitress. I saw "X-Men" and didn't expect anything out of Berry, but she went for broke and plays such a convincing character, I was happy she won that Oscar! pAgain, it's a simple plot, but not one without merit, as it explores some serious issues of racism, bigotry, inter-racial relationships, child abuse, obesity, murder, suicide - and does it with a deft and staight forward tone. Quite a load for a 'small' film. It's not a happy picture and at times can be terribly depressing. But, the script also keeps it afloat with realistic dialogue, taken well advantage of by the cast.pOne note of dismay: Only in America can two characters make love in a film where the woman is completely naked and the man still has his underwear on! What is up with that Gritty and grim but spellbinding October 26, 2002 J. Keedwell (London UK) 25 out of 31 found this review helpful This is the film that Halle Berry won the Oscar for in 2001. the film is a tale about racial disharmony and about the brutality of the death sentence in the USA.br brBilly Bob Thornton plays a calm and controlled prison officer who is given the grim task of taking condemned prisoners to the electric chair. He takes a pride in making sure what he and his fellow officers do is done in the correct way, albeit a gruesome existence. He is a man who has grown up in a house with a father who is extremely prejudiced and this has made his outlook on life all the more desperate.pHalle Berry plays the wife of a condemned prisoner who is put to death at the hands of Thorton and his officers.This is shown in some gruesome detail, and the sheer horror of the event does not hold back. This is not for fimic sensationalism, but to show what kind of a man he is, and this sets the scene to what comes. pWithout spoiling this for the viewer, Billy Bob Thornton meets with Halle Berry and they begin a relationship which he tries to keep quiet from his father, for obvious reasons.pThe film audience know of his past and the relationship that actually makes them have a lot more in common than each other knows. That is what makes the film compelling and powerful.We think they will each discover each others secrets, yet somehow things conspire to keep those facts from the other. We are waiting to see what happens when they do find out about each other.pIn a way this is quite a grim story of predjudice, the death penalty, inequality and how people struggle through in life. In other ways its a film that shows us that the chemistry that happens between two people can often overcome some extraordinary fears and other factors. Quite a slow film, and maybe slightly too long, but well worth the viewing. pJK Touches some of the most polarizing issues without preaching February 21, 2009 Hugh Garske (Maidenhead, UK) 10 out of 12 found this review helpful This is a compelling movie that just kind of lingers with you well after the credits have rolled. br /The acting is awesome. Although Halle Berry looked a little too young and a little too beautiful for the role, she made up for it in performance. The music by Asche and Spencer threaded everything together seamlessly. br /The theme of racism is not condoned or condemned, but we are surreptitiously shown that not one good thing comes out of it, on top of that we also get an insight into the blind ignorance of those who are brought up in such an environment. Touching and human. Totally un-Hollywood. March 13, 2003 PB (London, UK) 15 out of 19 found this review helpful Despite the fact that this film sports some of the biggest names in showbusiness (Halle Berry, Billy Bob Thornton and P. Diddy/Sean Coombs) this simple and elegant story keeps those personalities at bay. Every single actor in this film does a sterling job. I was very impressed with Mos Def's performance in particular - I had no idea he could act.pWhile some may say that this film is slow, I think the pace is perfect. You get to experience the rawness of the characters' emotions as you make the final walk with a condemned man and watch him die; as you watch his wife struggle to cope with her life as a widow; as you watch the relationships between four fathers and their sons - some nurturing, some destructive. I felt that all the characters were brilliantly played and felt I understood all of them -- even those I desperately didn't like. Superb acting.pUltimately, this is story of hope, and how love can overcome prejudice and hate. The director does not cop out with an ending that's sickly-sweet, either.pSure, it's not Die Hard, but this film touches on what it is to feel loss; how some relationships can make us and how some can destroy us; what it is to love a parent, a child and a lover. I found the film deeply touching. Before you write me off -- I never watch "chickflicks" and I would argue this film can never be judged a chickflick - it is a movie about human nature. Showing reviews 1-5 of 20 1 2 3 4 Next »

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