7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.1 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.1 |
Hank, an embittered prison guard, lives with his aging racist father, Buck, and his own twenty something son, Sonny. Hank and Sonny work for the local prison where they are preparing the electric chair for a black inmate. After the man is executed, Hank falls in love with Letitia, the inmate's widow. This emotionally charged affair forces Hank to re-evaluate how deeply prison work and his father's infectious hatred have affected his soul.
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Heath Ledger, Halle Berry, Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Peter BoyleRomance | 100% |
Drama | 40% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.36:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
I do not think I have seen a movie that made me sadder and depressed as Monster’s Ball did. Everything about it was just so bleak, dark, sad, hateful, with the good having to dig itself out of a deep hole just to be seen. Monster’s Ball is a tough watch. It’s gritty, ugly, and shows the worst in humans, and how any human can change if they either put their minds to it, or have a life changing event fuel it. I understand why Halle Berry got an Oscar for this film. While she still looked hot, I found her ability to create hopelessness, and the realities of a hard life very compelling. Heath Ledgers performance was short, but highly effective. Billy Bob Thornton’s performance was also noteworthy, and I dare to say not a single actor was weak and unconvincing. Even Sean Combs did a believable job in his role. This film is about people, and people lives, and how someone can overcome a negative background or circumstance, and change into a better person, or at least a different one. This film really shows the pliability of the human spirit, and it also shows how good modern day Hollywood filmmaking can really be.
Lionsgate brings Monster's Ball to Bluray in a 1080p/AVC encoding framed at 2:35:1 aspect ratio that quite frankly is dogged by a bit by the use of DNR and edge enhancement. The images on screen do justice to the storyline as often the film is under saturated, skin tones pale, and often monochromatic in look. Black levels were stable, very deep and inky without being crushed. Shadow detail was only average though, as some scenes didn't look fleshed out going into the darker areas of the picture. I also detected some print master related issues as it appears to have sporadic speckles, pops, and film scratches. It's not like it right in your face, but it certainly is noticeable on occasion. It's not that the picture quality is horrible, but the flaws are in your face, and its hard to miss them. Once again, for film the images are just too clean, devoid of any film grain which makes it look like a good video tranfer, instead of film. In the end the picture quality isn't horrible, it just does not stand up to the best tranfers that I have seen, and the use of DNR and edge enhancement keeps it from being a really good transfer.
Monster's Ball is about characters, and as such the audio is about dialog. The 5.1 Dts-HD Master Audio takes care of this nicely, as it is always clear and never crushed by the other elements within the mix. You are treated to a great deal of scene by scene ambience that is subtle, but noticeable. Silence is used often as a vehicle for emotions, and it comes from a deep acoustical darkness which shows extremely low track noise. The music while appropriately haunting, does not come into the room clearly. It sounds veiled, slightly low fi, but does convey the darkness and hopelessness of the picture. LFE is used infrequently, though the surrounds are used pretty effectively in the music. This track is not going to make your sub sing, or push your main speakers to the edge of their existence, but it does get you in the right mood for the picture.
Lionsgate has chosen to include a fairly decent assortment of extra, but its missing some content include on the 2002 DVD. But at least we get a new Commentary from Director Marc Forster, and screenwriters Milo Addica and Will Rokos. While it really get's into the films message, characters and themes, it bored me to tears with its dryness and lack of dynamics. Next we get Behind the Scenes (18 minutes) which I found really good, and really worth the watch. This is by far the best extra material on this disc. Following that is Interviews (20 minutes) which is just what it is, interviews with the cast and crew. Another piece I liked in particular was Music for the Film (8 Minutes) which touch on the creation of the film score. Deleted Scenes (4minutes) is a port over from the 2002 DVD, and as I have said in other reviews, I understand why they ended up on the cutting room floor. And lastly we get On the Set (4 minutes) which is nothing more than a bunch of performance mistakes and blunders. Also included is a Theatrical Trailer (2 minutes) , which rounds out the compliment of extras on this disc. They are all presented in standard definition video.
As a minority in this great country we call America, this movie was tough to watch. One thing I did walk away with is that God (and for some of you fate) knows just when, and where to place us on this planet. I as a person could not have survived this Louisiana during this period. My god mother did, and her stories were just as ugly as this film portrays it. This cast took me to that period, and that place. I cared about each of them; I shared their pain, and watch them evolve. When a film can transport you at that level, then it is a total success as far as I am concerned. Anyone that was associated with this production deserved the awards they won. No one and nothing was weak here. If you do not like powerful, thought provoking filmmaking, stay far, far away from this picture. This Bluray comes highly recommended, especially for those who already own the DVD. The trade up in quality is certainly worth it.
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