KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?

Clarissa Mora The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Delight Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

ajhowellmd Seriously. This whole movie did not make any sense to me at all. If he was convicted and sentenced to prison for seven years, then they would have immediately taken him into custody so he would NEVER have the chance to potentially run away (as his dad even suggests to him late in the movie). I do not get this AT ALL!

cinemajesty Movie Review: "25th Hour" (2002)In arguable director Spike Lee's most accomplished as satisfying motion picture by interpreting an self-adapted screenplay by David Benioff, known also for creating as adapting fantasy books by George R.R. Martin for HBO exhibition "Game of Thrones", comes this crime-drama in the wake of two towers down in New York City fall of 2001, following the drug-dealing character of Monty Brogan and his close-to-faithful girlfriend Naturelle Riviera, in match-making as beautiful to watch character-performances by Edward Norton and Rosario Dawson, when the director conditions all supporting cast members including the protagonist's closest circle of club-party-making friends played by scene-owning Barry Pepper, down-on-luck seconds after "Boogie Nights" Philip Seymour Hoffman (1967-2014), hitting on 17-year-old minor-mimicking actress Anna Paquin, in overall heart-breaking scenes of inevitable honesty from hard-hitting New Yorkers, who want to be more then there are able to perform in life in another microscopic cinematic approach accompanied by breathtaking cinematography from lighting cameraman Rodrigo Prieto, working on classic 35mm filmstock under minimalistic budgetary conditions toward a prevailing picture of full impact; charged with hope in favor for an universal human condition in a better world presented by daring Buena Vista affiliate Touchstone Pictures in holiday season 2002/2003 open for revisits.© 2018 Felix Alexander Dausend (Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC)

Rameshwar IN Reviewed May 2011This is the first time I have watched this entirely and was quite impressed 'mostly'. The premise evokes sympathy for the character even without seeing a single frame since the character's mind will be in a dreadful state awaiting what is to come. So it is all about how it is dealt. Edward Norton always comes across as a very decent actor but I have not come across his realized potential until this and American History X. The inevitable sentimental and pity moments are fresh because of a tremendous performance by Norton. The rest of the cast too gives their best to make this drama affecting and relatable. It has a stylish look as does most of Spike Lee's works along with Anna Paquin and Rosario Dawson looking their best ever. I felt the monologues were out of place and over the top too. The climax dream sequence is too stretched. But despite a couple of glitches, it is a great entertainer for it's premise without being too dark and gloomy which it could have easily been.

bandw Monty Brogan deals drugs, gets ratted on, and nets a seven year prison sentence. It would seen that some people feel that by tweaking a few of the initial conditions in stories in this genre an original and creative movie will pop out. Not so, at least in this case, with the tweak being that we follow Monty in the 24 hours prior to his reporting to prison.As Monty, Edward Norton turns in a performance that is what you would expect from him in this role. The talents of Philip Seymour Hoffman are wasted as Monty's nerdy English teacher friend. The only actor whose performance goes beyond the adequate is Brian Cox as Monty's father.There are one or two interesting scenes, but that is not enough to carry the movie. The scene where Monty is talking to himself in the mirror where he vents his spleen against every sexual, racial, and class stereotype, winding up with himself, is interesting and the fantasy that his dad spins about an escape at the end is well done. I did like that the assurance "we will be there for you when you get out," offered by Monty's friends was offset by the recognition by all concerned that Monty would not be the same person when he got out that he was before going in.A lot of efforts were made to add some gravitas to the happenings, but they seemed forced to me. The cleanup of the Twin Towers site is used as the backdrop for some scenes, with bulldozers plying the ground and the vertical blue searchlights piercing the night sky. Such scenes provoke strong emotions for most Americans, particularly for those who lived through that time. But what was the purpose for having those scenes in this movie besides exploitation? Evoking such tragedy in a story that is no tragedy seems cheap. Scenes filmed using unusual color palettes, odd camera angles, or double takes were more distracting than illuminating. The thing that I found most irritating was the score--most of the time it worked at cross purposes to the mood, calling attention to it rather than the action on screen. The score tries to produce a heavy mood that simply is not there in the story.Many scenes, like the ones in the nightclub, go on too long--those scenes accumulate to the entire movie's going on too long.