Question:
25th Hour (2002) (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0307901)
Director - Spike Lee
Starring - Edward Norton, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox
I managed to attend a preview screening of this film yesterday morning and must say it is an excellent movie. Following Ed Norton's character's last day of freedom before he is sent to prison for seven years, it shows him re-evaluating his life and trying to put things right while he still has the chance.
The story is highly entertaining and the performances are spot on, especially Norton as Monty Brogan, who gives another charismatic performance. Just watching as Monty comes to terms with his situation and realises what a mistake he has made is quite moving and we are led to sympathise with the character despite the crimes he has commited
The film is also surprisingly humourous in places, courtesy of David Benioff's screenplay and the chemistry between the leads, nicely counterbalancing the more serious side of the movie.
Spike Lee does an impressive job of directing, keeping the film moving at a good pace and controlling the actors well.
All in all this is definitely a must see, one of my favourites of the year so far.
Answer:

Riddick - I couldnt have summed up a fantastically enjoyable film better myself.
A complete joy to watch. Excellent directing (of course), great characters and in some ways this film ensures we 'never forget', without that being the focus of the film (watch it and you'll understand).
Also one of my favourite films of the year. :thumbs:
Answer:

I saw the trailer for this awhile ago and I've been waiting to see it, looks good.
Answer:

Yep im looking forward to this one also.
Answer:

I was bored watching it, although I liked it, it could have been a lot better IMO.
Answer:

What's the name of the song being played on the trailer? It totally makes me wanna jam.
Answer:

I saw this tonight-I enjoyed it as well.
Not a classic, but still good
Answer:

Comes out on DVD in June (20th I think)
http://www.geocities.com/rjwilliams35/25thhourdvd.txt
Answer:

Excellent film. One of my faves of the year so far along with Far From Heaven, Punch Drunk Love and City of God.
Edit: Forgot to mention. The scene in the Gents mirror is bound to become an absolute classic. Respec.
Answer:

Fell apart towards the end for me, but many excellent moments - the club sequence and the gents bathroom to name but two...
Answer:

I read some of the Sunday paper reviews and it's been ripped to shreds. I really cannot understand critics sometimes. I can see that it may not be everyones cup of tea, but to label it a turkey is just silly.
Answer:

held my attention but not a classic, as someone mentioned i felt it fell away at the end and nortons 'uglying up' made me laugh more than anything
Answer:

Is this a sequel to the first season of 24?
Answer:

I have conflicting feelings about this film. I enjoyed the individual scenes, the night-club scene springs to mind. As a whole i felt there was a lack of direction, and at certain points this transpired into boredom. The scene with the dog.... was that really necessary?
Answer:

Originally posted by Emiaj
Is this a sequel to the first season of 24?
No it was going to be the final episode until someone pointed out that there were only 24 hours in a day (even american days) :lol:
Answer:

Saw it today and thought it was excellent all the way through, the ending played out with Brian Cox's voiceover was very moving IMHO, I'm definitely getting this joint on DVD :thumbs:
Answer:

Ahh, a man with taste! :thumbs: :clap:
Answer:

Don't want to get in the way of the praise in this thread, but 25th hour bored me to tears.
Of the (admittedly meagre) six Spike Lee films I've seen so far this was the least enjoyable, falling way behing the crazily outdated and ironically racist and intolerent jungle fever.
The film was pointless and laboured in my opinion.
I want my 2hrs+ back.
Very clumsy use of 9/11,the mafia,ethnic makeup of newyork,flash back,the dea,his classic car/the club,everything i could be bothered to notice between checking my watch...never again will i go to a picture on the basis of it being a 'spike lee joint'...should have listened to my pals who said of it generously - it was lame.
Answer:

Originally posted by George vader
Comes out on DVD in June (20th I think)
http://www.geocities.com/rjwilliams35/25thhourdvd.txt
20th May is the release date.
Answer:

horse - if you read the thread more closely you'll realise i am in the minority here so don't be too concered about the high praise factor. It's just horses for courses i guess (sorry, couldn't resist).
I would still recommend people discovering this movie for themselves though. Just as many reports have been extremely positive.
Answer:

i really enjoyed this - didn't plan to go and c it and didn't know what it was about but x-men was sold out everywhere and my friends and i choose a random film and this was it. didn't like the references to the twin towers and new york that kept coming up but this was a great film (there were also some fine looking ladies in there as well)
Answer:

Watched this last night and really enjoyed it - a quality and gritty film. Some of the sub plots did seem a bit pointless once the film had ended but that's one thing that made it interesting with lots of angles going on. I also thought Phillip S.Hoffman put in a great performance as the teacher.
Will probably pick it up on DVD when it comes out at the end of the month.
At the end can we assume Monty had decided to head west for a new life? That's what I thought but nothing was shown to confirm it.
Answer:

I just love Spike Lee's method of Directing. I also love the way the film was shot. Repeating certain shots from different angles is a great touch.
Some class dialogue too especially the speech regarding all the New Yorkers and why he won't miss them :lol:
Also some reference to R Kelly when the teacher kissed his student.
At times very slow but the excellent dialogue made up for it.
A real 5 star movie and I cannot wait for the DVD.
Answer:

Saw it at the weekend. I really liked it, great score, and acting from Norton and Pepper. My favourite scene was when Norton was picking out every minority in NYC when talking to himself in the mirror. I also liked the ending.
The DVD is now shipping from *********, £16.99. Street date is 20th May.
Answer:

Just wanted to say that it's a great film and a mustbuy on DVD. just wondering If I should wait for R2 (but I bet BV holfd the rights and make it rental first....R1 then) It even has THX cert. according to that poster:confused:
DVDwise: will the R1 be from Atlantis? I have the R1 Below and that one lost atrailer crossing to Canada so I might have to get the USR1, no?
Answer:

Originally posted by Splinter
Watched this last night and really enjoyed it - a quality and gritty film. Some of the sub plots did seem a bit pointless once the film had ended but that's one thing that made it interesting with lots of angles going on. I also thought Phillip S.Hoffman put in a great performance as the teacher.
Will probably pick it up on DVD when it comes out at the end of the month.
At the end can we assume Monty had decided to head west for a new life? That's what I thought but nothing was shown to confirm it.
I took it that it never happened and he was dreaming on his way to jail? [/B][/QUOTE]
Answer:

Originally posted by AndrewP
I took it that it never happened and he was dreaming on his way to jail? [/B][/QUOTE]
Yeah you're probably right, the way he's looking out the window would lend itself to that. I'll have a closer look when i get the DVD.
edit: Just remembered he was sleeping during the last shot, so yeah I guess he was dreaming
Answer:

Top movie. Really enjoyed it, with some great scenes and great performances.
Answer:

Mate, can you put that comment in spoilers or you may spoil the end for people. Cheers.
Answer:

Ooops, sorry, my mistake. Forgive my ignorance, but how do you put things in spoilers?
I've taken the comment out in the meantime - sorry to anyone who read it!
Answer:

Like this:
{spoiler**text here{/spoiler**
replace the ** with ]
Answer:

Cool, cheers Splinter. Will remember for future reference!
Answer:

I thought it was excellent and a fine companion to Lee's other New York films. I found it very moving as well - loved Brian Cox's voiceover at the end. Great use of the Springsteen song as well (I thought they might have chosen "My City of Ruin" which would have been a patriotic star too far).
Answer:

Off to see this at weekend,really looking forward to this now i have read what others think.:thumbs:
Answer:

REVIEW OUT!!!!
http://dvd.ign.com/articles/401/401634p1.html
and it's a MUST BUY!!!
I'll certainly get this..now;)
HTH
Answer:

Saw this last night - excellent film but missed the first fifteen minutes - anything interesting happen before the teacher/class scene when Monti pops in with his dog......
Answer:

Only a few things you missed. Right at the start you see how Monty finds the dog and there's a bit of character development with a drug user and Monty, with the former being an ex client of Monty's. Also a nice set of shots of Monty walking the dog through the streets.
Answer:

Watched this a couple of days ago.
FANTASTIC stuff, nice subtle use of surround sound in some scenes too and the endings a bit of a classic.
A big fat 9/10.
Ed Norton:notworthy
Answer:

After reading so much positive, have to see it too.
Answer:

Thanks for that Splinter looks like little was missed - it said in the paper that the showing was 6.25 - so no adverts,previews or anything & straight into the film - thanks again.
Answer:

Stunning film!!
Without a shadow of a doubt my favourite of the year!!
Its funny that the films I dont expect much of turn out to be great and the films I have been looking forward to have been poor!
Like this and Donnie Brasco!!
Answer:

I watched this last night, what a movie!! Excellent performances and impressive visuals. I really enjoyed the style of Spike Lee's direction on this movie. His commentary track is really informative too. :thumbs:
Best scene for me has to be the "bathroom mirror" scene. :clap:
Also, i thought the 9/11 images were very well placed.
I loved the discrete use of the rear speakers and the LFE especially in the club scenes later on in the film.
This one's a keeper
:clap:
Answer:

I have to agree it was well made and had a great cast but I found it a disappointment and boring.
And I'm a huge fan of anything Edward Norton and Philip Seymour Hoffman normally but I just couldn't connect with any of the characters and by the end of the film I didn't really care about what was going to happen to them, except maybe the dog.
Answer:

I'm no fan of Spike (or his movies), but this was excellent. Might even have been a classic w/out PHS, actor and character. And the much slagged fake-finale was brillbags!
Answer:

not a huge fan of Spike Lee either, but this is one of the best films I've seen this year. The first ten minutes is like watching a work of art come to life.
Loved it! :thumbs:
Answer:

Crackin film, very watchable, i have to say that the scene in front of the mirror, was the best thing i've seen in a film in years :thumbs:
Answer:

Absolutely phenomenal. I really enjoyed this movie, i can understand a lot of criticism leveled at Spike Lee about his homages to 9/11 and at times it does seem as if Spike is sacrificing telling a story in order to pay tribute on a larger scale. (Where these references in the book? or has Spike used this film to incorporate them?)
But all in all it was extremely engrossing. Top notch acting on everyones behalf, especially Barry Pepper who i've not seen much this side of Saving Private Ryan.
There were definately shades of Norton's American History X character 'Derek' i thought.
His tirade to himself against all ethnic groups in front of the mirror is excellent. Again you can't help but feel Spike is using this as a means to preach his views to the world.
I thought the end was very well written.
How do you end something like that resolutely and happily?. We've sympathised with Monty throughout the whole film, he saved a Dog from death at the beginning (which i also thought was a great opening scene, very funny and quite touching) who can hate a guy for saving a dog?.
The film does raise some intersting questions? Should he have gone off with his Dad and made a new life for him? His crime was reletively petty in comparison but his life would have been shattered because of it. Or do you take the harder stance and say 'if you can't do the crime...etc'
Also fantastic use of surround sound in the club scene with the DJ scratching in the rear speakers and also in Monty's NY rant where his voice pans across each speaker.
Thumbs up from me, i wasn't expecting much from the film but it delivered. :thumbs:
Answer:

Originally posted by d.boyd1uk
I was bored watching it, although I liked it, it could have been a lot better IMO.
Same here it was ood through out but weak ending i thought :| :)
Answer:

fantastic film....watch out for barry pepper in the role of tom ripley next year...
Answer:

Just came back from watching this tonite
sensational, will be getting this on DVD once i can afford it :)
Was well directed and well acted.. .nothing but high praise
Chris
Answer:

The ending was terribly slow, I think Norton did go to prison, right? A new identity was a dream? The rest was very good.
Answer:

I thought the ending was beautifully poignant and, ultimately, heartbreaking. I can't imagine a better way of ending the film.
Answer:

I liked it but since whan has anyone convicted of drug dealing
been allowed to swan off and make his own way to the slammer
at a later date ?.
Answer:

Originally posted by keoma
I liked it but since whan has anyone convicted of drug dealing
been allowed to swan off and make his own way to the slammer
at a later date ?.
It could possibly happen but with a huuuuuuuuuuge Bailbond, which wasn't mentioned in this film.
Answer:

Originally posted by Mike
I thought the ending was beautifully poignant and, ultimately, heartbreaking. I can't imagine a better way of ending the film.
I watched just the ending again a few days ago :thumbs:
Wonderfull.
Answer:

Great film. :thumbs:
Answer:

Quite frankly I could have sat and watched the film even if it was a couple of hours longer. So much was said about Monty not being able to survive in prison that seeing it would have been good as well.
Answer:

Enjoyed the film a lot.
An alternative ending would have been him being taken to his cell and clocking some prison loner and giving him a long stare and then a smirk appearing on his face , meaning he knows how to survive.
Answer:

<CENTER>http://www.cityonfire.com/gZa/25th.jpg </CENTER><bgsound SRC="http://www.cityonfire.com/gZa/25th.mp3" loop="0">