Review : Monster: The true-life story of Aileen Wuornos

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badkittykitty
I just returned from seeing Monster
Featuring: Charlize Theron , Bruce Dern , Christina Ricci
and this movie was very disturbing and incredibly believable

If any one is familiar with the true-life story of Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute executed in 2002 in Florida after being convicted of murdering six men. then you already know her terrible life and Charlize Theron depicted her perfectly.she should defiantly be nominated for a Oscar if not the winner for best actress from this performance.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars

badkittykitty
wow ! am I the only person takin a chance on this movie?

badkittykitty
I just watched Charlize Theron except a golden globe award for best actress in a drama movie(monster),she was cute by how humbled she was..I was so happy for her! now this should be a precursor for the academy yay!

movieman
Nah, this movie was beyond amazing.

Charlize became Aileen, and it was remarkable. And making a film that has the audience become emotionally attached is a hard thing to do. 5/5

Tired Hiker
I snuck into Monster after seeing Master And Commander, (which is my fav film for the Oscars) and Monster was amazing. Charleze totally deserves the Oscar for putting herself out there like she did. What's her name deserves best supporting actress as far as I'm concerned, damn, what is her name??? The chick from Casper????

badkittykitty
christina ricci lol! yeah she was awesome too!

BackFire
I've heard it's damn good from alot of people, I'll rent it when it comes out. It sounds somewhat similar to Henry - Portrait of a Serial Killer, which is the greatest serial killer movie ever made. I recommend you go rent that if you liked monster.

badkittykitty
I had the henry lee lucas book..scary stuff bf.I don't know as sick as that stuff is I can't help but read or watch programmes about it..it's interesting what could be going on in their minds.

BackFire
I know, I'm also very interested in the psyche of serial killers, whenever there is a special on murderers I can't help but watch.

Seriously, check out Henry - Portrait of a Serial Killer, great movie.

badkittykitty
I definatly will BF,sounds right up my alley!

Cinemaddiction
Just wanted to say, after seeing "Monster" today, this movie literally wipes the floor with "Henry"'s ass.

I don't know that I have ever felt so intrigued, yet uncomfortable at the same time in my life while seeing a movie..but Charlize deserves anything she gets for the movie.

Barf Heaven
I haven't seen it but from what I hear it was awesome... And Charlize seems like a nice gal in real life... At the Oscars she seemed genuinely surprised when she won. I thought it was kind of funny how she said "Now that everyone in New Zealand has been thanked, I'd like to thank everyone in South Africa" or whatever it was she said

I kinda wanted that 13 year old to win Best Actress just cos it would've been cool but Charlize really deserved it

Fire
aint a bad movie, not my thing tho

theron plays very well tho

A Talking Dog
Monster, its like the celluloid equivilant to fools gold, or maybe even substantial amounts of crap. The only redeeming factor of the movie was Theron's performance, everything else, though apparently based on actual incidents, still felt atrociously forced and bland. Not disturbing, it didn't really effect me at all. The script was cliched and the direction was mediocre at best. Plus, in terms of people and theories, it falls flat on its ugly face. I have never looked so many times at my watch than i did during this movie.

barlely passable entertainment:
4.5/10


oh, and Henry will always be the winner compared to the peice of decomposing garbage. That was emotional stimulating, tense, and depressing. This was just....uh.....well, you know, whats the word i am looking for here....

Cinemaddiction
..and you think "Dawn of the Dead" is crap too. Not many people are going to take stock in anything you say, you'll soon come to find out.

A Talking Dog
I really don't care what "people are goiing to take stock" to, its a review right? i gave reason for not liking both movies.

do you really think, that if you want to see a good, hilarious, social satire about consumerism, the first movie the pops into people's head is "Dawn of the Dead"?
I think i just saw that movie again on DVD and i still just remember the gore hilarity and the screw-driver in the ear. All great, just intented for other stuff.

Monster alike.

Cinemaddiction
That's fine, but from all your reviews, this included, you come off as not enjoying movies, period. Just saying you're certainly in the minority when it comes to "Monster", anyway. Not sure how other serial killer movies, fictional or not, can cliche an individual's true story.

And personally, I don't know of another movies that pokes fun at commercialism, Pre-1976, since that was the age of said social stigma.

A Talking Dog
i enjoy movies that are different and have a certain edge. a breath fresh air, if you will.
plus, just because Dawn of the Dead was the first of its kind in consumerism, doesn't mean it was the best. doesn't even mean it was good.

"and another thing", fact based individual stories are great. but some are better than others, but who really knows for sure what actually happened right? it could have been tailored for the movie. Personally, i just think Henry, or even American Psycho are better seriel killer movies. Even though they all suck, out of the bunch Monster is the worst. IN MY OPINION.

Colabee
I can't wait to see Monster too. I'm also a fan of serial killer movies where they delve into what makes them tick. Is Henry-Portrait of a serial killer based on a true story?

A Talking Dog
yeah, it is "based on true events".
uh, i don't really know what the difference is, but i know for sure that Henry is infinitley better than the terrible Monster.

Darth Revan
No offense pal, but I really don't trust you as a movie reviewer, based solely on the fact that you think "life is too short for comedies". I admit, they can get on my nerves since many of them are so poorly thought out, but people need to laugh... Anyways, I'm veering off topic.

A Talking Dog
yeah, well, i am just pissed off at movies these days because there is such a major lack of originality in them. Even movies with a true to life premise seem lame and awkwardly scripted. When you watch as many movies as me {i'm a projectionist on the side...uh, i am 19, so don't think this is what i will be doing for the rest of my life}, you'll realise subtle similiarities, that at first wont do anything to you, but over time, will make you want to destroy something. From indie to mainstream, to even V-Rated stuff, there seems to be no thought in creativity these days.

oh my, i have also seemed to veer off topic

*cough* see what i mean

A Talking Dog
..plus
Monster WAS terrible on account of, they just didn't show enough of Aileen. The Ebert and Roeper review of this movie revealed more about her than the movie. They instead of looking at her with her flaws to make her visually appeasing, made the flaws to be something of an atrocious characteristic flaw of hers. This was clearly not her fault. They just didn't dive deep enough into her problems and mental psyche, but instead lingered on the question of "Love" and such.
they somehow managed to mess this up.
it just wasn't visceral enough, and that is kind of key in a movie about a seriel Killer.

Cinemaddiction
Your birthday notice yesterday said you turned 23, what gives? BTW, there's nothing wrong with being a projectionist, and there are people that have seen as many, if not more movies than you.

I'm probably one of 'em. wink

Word to the wise, don't dissect movies so thoroughly that you can't enjoy them.

..as for whomever asked about "Henry". It's a cheesy late 80's "serial killer" movie. Mike Rooker. It's painfully predictable from the beginning, very cliched in both the ways of "redneck" living, as well as the serial killer persona.

Of course, it was clever for 1986, but it surely doesn't stand the test of time.

A Talking Dog
uh, okay, i guess you have seen more movies than me, uh, that doesn't really matter {*snickers* your name is Cinemaddiction, right? and i am just a plain old talking dog. so therefore you have seen more movies}. I was just comparing Monster to the sheer amount of cliches in movies that I had seen. And, I always screw with the birthdays on ever site where it can be applicable. And, what i meant by being a projectionist, was that it isn't really a steady job, i make $6.25 Canadian per hour. I don't want to do this the rest of my life.

And lastly, you have to dissect movies, because after all they are also an art form. Personally, i don't want to pay money for a peice of crap art form.

Now, i really don't think Henry was a "cheesy late 80's "serial killer" movie. It posed many more interesting questions and debates than Monster did. As well as, Henry is a more interesting and watchable seriel killer then Aileen. Both movies are very predicatable. But in comparison, Monster is more "predicatable" then Henry, and lets face it, it just got boring. ...uh, in my opinion. Henry is also more harrowing in its view of violence. It seemed that Monster was just trying to hard.

Cinemaddiction
I don't think they needed to delve any deeper into Aileen's character in the movie. I thought it was pretty obvious from the opening sequences that she, like most other serial killers, was sexually abused, emotionally disturbed, ya know, those cliched serial killer stereotypes we supposidly loathe. The reason they exploited her relationships in the movie is because that's what was her catalyst for her lifestyle. A man hating, trust no one, balls to the wall girl power serial killer. She's not too much of a case study.

As for "Henry". It was just soooo painfully 80's. I think it and "Manhunter" both are highly overrated, and almost laughable! Yeah, Mike Rooker plays an emotionally disturbed person to the max, but the whole premise of the story is so predictable. Once a killer, always a killer. Anyone he supposidly "befriends" is fair game. I was sorely disappointed.

To be honest, I had a hard time sitting through "Monster" in parts. Not so much the killing, but to witness what it was that pushed her over the edge, and having to relive it just to survive. It was indeed disturbing.

All that said, I understood the whole projectionist bit, and that is pretty shitty pay, but it's still a decent side job. I know alot older people who did it for years upon years, and made a career of it.

As an aside, no need to get even minorly bent out of shape regarding the amount of movies we watch. I am just saying, you're not the only one that can draw parallels between movies, point out the similarities and direct lifts. I'm a movie elitist for the most part, and the majority of what Hollywood has had to offer in the past 10 years alone has equally as impressive, if not better, counterparts lurking in the underground, only making it to video where people are less likely to access them.

In closing, I just don't think it's fair to chastise the "true story" serial killer copycat movies. It's just a fact of life that serial killers are mostly the same, and movies about them are almost always going to draw their inspirations from the same place. I still don't think there has been a better serial killer movie, fact or fiction, than "Red Dragon".

Whew. Don't you love debating?

BackFire
The thing that makes Henry so great is that for its time, there had never been anything quite like it. It was the first really honest and realistic portrayal of a believable serial killer. Now I can't compare it to monster because I haven't seen it yet, but I'm willing to bet money that alot of the aspects that made monsters so good were inspired by Henry it's use of a believable character that was totally evil taht we actually felt sorry for at the end.

Don't hold it against me if that assesment is totally off, just a prediction I'm making about Monster's relation to henry. Since both movies seem destined to be constantly compared to eachother.

A Talking Dog
Cinemaddiction,
uh, I heartly disagree. So, i guess that is where this conversation ends, because i don't feel we will influence our opinions.

But, if you think Monster was good, and you didn't like Henry, what did you think of Man Bites Dog?
i eagerly wait your response

i guess this has nothing to do with Monster, so reply to the Man Bites Dog thread.

BackFire
I just saw this flick. Great acting. Although it was hard to care for the character of Aileen when she was so stupid. Acting like she couldn't get a real job is just bull. Put on some makeup, ditch the attitude and become a waitress.

As a whole it was strong, just with such an unlikable character at the helm it was hard to care what she was going through.

KharmaDog
Unfortunately, lately there have been many news reports and tv specials that show that although this story was based on true events, it really whitewashed those events or left out some major details that would've shown wournos' charactar to be even more of a monster than portrayed and thereby unable to garner any pity or empathy from the audience.

The makers of this movie did not even interview the families of the men that this woman killed. I would think that you would want a semi-authentic portrayal of her victims as well.

Colabee
A very brilliant, moving but disturbing movie. It goes without saying that Charlize's performance was outstanding. I've watched a few Aileen documentries and Charlize had her mannerisms down to a fine art. The awkward smile and the sudden widening of the eyes when something or someone had annoyed her. Great stuff.

There was one particular scene where I had to look away after I realized what was about to happen, and if you have seen the film you'll probably know which one I'm referring to. I just couldn't watch it. Even had to put my fingers in my ears to block it out completely. If that is truly what happened to her there was no way I could judge or be against her after that. I'm not condoning what she did but this interpretation of her life made me view her as the victim who had never been given a chance since day one.

I felt more dislike towards Selby. I don't know if it was the director's intention but the way that Christina Ricci portrayed her made me feel that Selby was the one doing all the using. She was shown as the one to pursue Aileen in the first place. She claimed to love Aileen but as the film went on it seemed to me that was only the case when things were good. Ricci's Selby to me seemed nothing more than an emotional vampire.

I found the whole thing very thought provoking and it left me feeling very grateful for the life that I have and thankful not to have been dealt a bad card like Miss Wournos. Although I would find it too harrowing to sit through again, I'm glad I took the time to see it and very highly recommend it.

9/10 from me.

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