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2002-03-11 | 6:41 p.m.

corduroy licorice was willing to take a bullet for his brother. actually, he'd shoplift just about anything for his sibling.

***

this was a weekend of girltime, good food and kickin' back. three good things, y'all.

i saw monster's ball with my buddy c-girl and we enjoyed it...despite sharing the experience with an audience of commentators, cough drop-unwrappers and even a female snorer.

i'd avoided the film for quite awhile since it seemed like a trite tale. the story was flawed in many ways, but it was a pleasure to watch billy bob thornton and hallee berry turn in lovely performances. bbt is quickly becoming my favorite actor. he is such a charismatic presence and truly seems to inhabit his characters, as the saying goes.

monster's ball felt like it was someone's first movie...and it was the co-writers' first produced film. maybe the giveaway was that it was ambitious to a fault in its storytelling. when i walked out of the theater, my mind was reeling at all the dramatics that had gone down in two hours. it was one of those films where bad happenin's just keep on a'coming!

i read that the two actors who wrote it refused to make any changes to the script during all the green light/red tape negotiations with the various studios who had considered producing it since it hit hollywood in 1995. i admire their stick-to-it-iveness, but their story could have benefitted from a little rewriting.

the movie poster tagline says: "a lifetime of change can happen in a single moment." i guess that's supposed to explain how--in a single moment, which must have happened off-screen--billy bob's character could change from a well-mannered monster--who, without flinching, watches his own son die--into a head-over-heels softie with enough "aw shucks" appeal to melt a whole freezer-full of chocolate ice cream.* that was the biggest "wha-?" of the movie.

the second biggest "wha-?" was p. diddy's performance. let's just say i don't blame j-lo for getting her booty on the six and leaving that boy behind. the rest of the acting was excellent...including heath ledger, coronji calhoun (especially touching) and peter boyle. the characters were interesting to watch and the dialogue was really well-written...organic-sounding and real-to-life. sometimes when i'm watching a movie i'll anticipate the next line, and a few different times during this film i was right on. *back pat* (for myself and the writers who kept it re-al.)

the third biggest "wha-" was the "hand reaching into the bird cage" shots that were cut into sex scene. mkay, could you get a bit more heavy-handed with the symbology, yo? plus, don't distract me. i wanna see some boot-knockin'. as tv zero commented to me, the couch scene between hank and leticia was the best in the film--pre- and post-sex. tentative, charming, sad, sexy and sweet.

*speaking of chocolate ice cream, billy bob's character's repeated mentions of the treat compelled me to pick up a pint on my way home. darn that loveable hillbilly.

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take a peek at these - (c) 2000-2003 nictate:

health tip
2005-03-16

health tip
2005-03-16

moving house
2004-11-19

quibbling with quitherfeather
2004-11-17

catcher in the wry
2004-11-16