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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.

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Dramas

US 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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Reviews for Monster's Ball

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
08/17/02
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
06/13/02
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
10/15/09
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Mark Halverson
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

Though marred by script that telegraphs its messages, this drama still manages to tell a compelling love story betweenn a redneck guard and a black widow, well played by Billy Bob Thronton and particularly Halle Berre, who should get Oscar nomination

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
12/25/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out

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Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Forster makes us too intimate with these characters. But, heavy-handed and derivative as it is, its lead actors strike some resonant chords....

Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment Comment
12/06/04
Jeffrey Overstreet
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
01/12/04
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Susan Tavernetti
Susan Tavernetti
Palo Alto Weekly
N/R

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Full Review Source: BlackFilm.com | comment Comment
05/13/03
Wilson Morales
Wilson Morales
BlackFilm.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
04/25/03
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Forster's poised direction, as well as powerful turns from Billy Bob Thornton and the Oscar-winning Halle Berry, make this compelling viewing.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
03/02/03
Caroline Westbrook
Caroline Westbrook
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Thornton and Berry show us what acting is in this movie.

Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | comment Comment
02/08/03
John R. McEwen
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online

Halle Berry turns in an amazing performance.

Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | comment Comment
01/29/03
Wesley Lovell
Wesley Lovell
Oscar Guy

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
12/17/02
Rebecca Murray
Rebecca Murray
About.com

Recalls Tender Mercies, another astutely acted character study that remained resolutely small-scale and was all the more affecting because it didn't overreach.

Full Review Source: Movieline | comment Comment
12/02/02
Stephen Farber
Stephen Farber
Movieline

It's not a polemic on the death penalty, race relations or family dynamics. It's a character study that really sticks with you.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
11/06/02
Jeff Strickler
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/30/02
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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