Rating: 
Summary: excellent movie
Review: This movie may not be for everyone, but the people who like it, will REALLY LIKE IT. The acting, camera work, dialogue and uniqueness of this movie are to be appreciated. It is founded in reality and the reality doesn't include a cheery ending. If you have enjoyed other movies with Edward Norton, you will likely enjoy this one too.
Rating:
Summary: MOST EXCELLENT MOVIE
Review: This movie is perfection in so far as acting, camera work, sound track use and directing go. The story may not be for everyone to appreciate. If your life has ever taken you to places many don't go, you'll probably love (and get)it. It is about making the most of your alloted time (before prison) by spending it with the people who matter to you while running the scenarios of a person in a bad spot (what if???) Best NEW movie I've seen this year.
Rating: 
Summary: One of Spike Lee's Best
Review: I haven't been a fan of Spike Lee, but he is really maturing as a director. Almost gone are those long, awkward, diologues that interrupt his movies. The cast in this film is great and it is a FANTASTIC "New York Movie." As a native of NY, I really appreciated Lee's treatment of 9-11, which most Hollywood films set in NY tend to ignore.
Rating:
Summary: SPIKE AND EDWARD CREATE MASTERPIECE
Review: The best film I've seen in a long time. It deserved to be let out into nationwide theatres. This spike lee joint is one of the first films to confront 9/11 without beating it to death. The writing is brilliant and edward norton's casting was supperb. Film is an intellectual adventure through the human mind during desperate measures, drastic change, somber endings, and ventures into the possibility of radical self altercation.
Rating:
Summary: Great Acting, Beautifully Told
Review: This is an awesome movie. The characters are distinct and interesting, and the acting is great by everyone, especially Ed Norton. You never know where it is going to lead, and ultimately it is about relationships, trust, potential, life and the (bad) choices that people make that will catch up to them in the end. While not a central theme to the movie, I liked the statement about bigotry, which as I interpreted it said that its easier for out of touch people to displace their anger and hate and blame people ethnically different rather than look at themselves to see that they really have only themselves to blame for their unhappiness. Here, in reflecting before going to prison, the Norton character quietly realized that he messed up and was to blame--not others. The movie was quiet but not the least boring and visually very stimulating. I think its a million times more interesting to watch than other highly acclaimed movies playing right now...
Rating:
Summary: Shocking and Engrossing
Review: A superb cast (and brilliant performances) greatly benefit "25th Hour," Spike Lee's latest directorial effort. Fascinating and frustrating, this is the story of the last twenty four hours Monty Brogan (Edward Norton) gets to spend with his two best friends, Frank (Barry Pepper), a bonds trader, and Jakob (Phillip Seymour Hoffman in another brilliant performance), a high school English teacher, and his girlfriend, Naturelle (Rosario Dawson), before he goes to prison for seven years for pushing heroin, as they party the night away in New York City one last time. Monty spends most of his last day tying up loose ends. There's his dog, a mangy mongrel he rescued after it was burned and left for dead, who needs a new home. There's peace to be made with his father (Brian Cox), who runs a fine Irish bar catering to firefighters. There's a final meeting with his Russian bosses, who play hard and rough. And there's the nagging question: Who ratted him out? Was it, as Jacob and Francis believe, his live-in girlfriend, Naturelle, whose street smarts and supple beauty hint at betrayal? Adapted by screenwriter David Benioff from his novel that was written before 9/11, the film brilliantly uses this transition in Monty's life as a powerful metaphor for the changes we all went through after that terrible Tuesday in September. Shades of September 11 are everywhere, including the memorable scene in Frank's apartment where we get a clear view of the trgedy's aftermath. There is also the brilliant sequence where Monty looks in the mirror of a restroom and spits out a litany of hate for every group he can think of in New York--every economic, ethnic, sexual and age group gets the f-word, until finally he sees himself in the mirror and includes himself. This scene seems so typical of Spike Lee (it's like an extension of a sequence in "Do the Right Thing") that it's a surprise to find it's in the original novel--but then Benioff's novel may have been inspired by Lee's earlier film. The film is unusual for not having a plot or a payoff. It is about the end of this stage of Monty's life, so there is no goal he is striving for--unless it is closure with Naturelle and his father. He may not see them again; certainly not like this. Perhaps the film's main flaw is that it goes on a good 20 minutes too long, but it manages to pack a wallop nonetheless, for a truly memorable experience.
Rating:
Summary: Up the Establishment
Review: The plot of 25th Hour is simple and wonderful. Monty Brogan is trying to tie up lose ends in his last 24 hours as a free man before he goes to prision for selling drugs. Basically this encompasses saying good by to his father (Brian Cox), his girlfriend (Rosario Dawson), and his two best friends (Phillip Seymor Hoffman and Barry Pepper). This is what happens, but this film is about so much more. Monty is a drug dealer, but he isn't sorry for dealing drugs. At least he doesn't give that impression. He's sorry he got caught. He's sorry he got greedy. He's sorry he has to give up a life he likes. His close friends don't seem to care that he sold drugs either. They think he got a bum deal as well. His father blames his own alcholism and the death of his mother for Monty's choice to sell drugs. The funny thing is, is that Monty doesn't seem like a bad guy. In fact he isn't. 25th Hour makes a serious point out of this. This role has been a long time in the making. The film is attacking our drug laws. So what if Monty sells drugs to [individuals], they don't have to buy them. And at least they know what they are buying. The argument is there, and it is poignant. The performances and the diection of this film are teriffic. Norton, always strong, is even stronger. Norton gives Monty life that a lesser actor couldn't. In one particular scene, Monty enters a bathroom and sees [a message] written on the mirror. He then falls into a powerful monologue where he precedes to rip every ethnic or religious group in the city before finally arriving at himself. Barry Pepper and Phillip Seymor Hoffman are both outstanding in their roles. Pepper completely embodies the Wall Street trader persona that eventually becomes overcome at the loss of his friend. Lee's always made strong films, but this film didn't remind me of his other work. Never afraid to take chances with the camera, the film looks great. He really got down with these actors because they don't miss a beat. One last note, the opening credit sequence of this film is one of the most haunting images I have ever seen. Using a combination of lights, time-elapse photography, and Terence Blanchard's score, Lee directly acknowledges the 9/11 attack on our nation, and the absence of the Trade Centers that once loomed over New York City. Honestly, I'm not sure what it has to do with the rest of the film, but it is the first time I have seen a filmmaker make it a point. I must admit that at times the film seems to wander, but I didn't care because it was a good kind of wandering. David Benioff delivered a great script and Spike Lee and crew delivered a great film. Big thumbs up.
Rating: 
Summary: im sorry, this just doesn't do it for me
Review: this is such an original story, something that has so much promise. however, it failed because this was not a fitting movie for spike lee to direct. the movie is ridiculusly overcut and he randomly throws in a sequence of the wtc memorial lights turning on. but did it have any relevance to a story of a drug dealer who is going to go to jail? no. there is a sequence in which the main character stands in front of a mirror and yells at every ethnic group, then blames himself at the end. however, none of the characters in this movie show any real racist tension towards others to justify having this scene. edward norton's character is a puerto rican; his dad talks about how great she is, his friends love her- these people seem to be liberal on the whole race factor. spike lee effectively uses these sequences in "do the right thing" and "he got game", but it feels like he just threw these things into this movie to get cheap points with people who are less keen. i don't know, but if i were going to jail for seven years, i would be looking at the mirror talking about how much i hate cops rather than ethnic groups which have nothing to do with me going to jail. spike lee should have known better, this movie was nothing more than a disaster for me since i now think that he would somehow find a way to throw themes of racism and sept 11th in everything.
Rating:
Summary: a must see
Review: The 25th hour is a must see, set in New York the 25th hour has taboos that will tug at naughty preverse of ones own mind. No other shows Rosario Dawson like Spike Lee and his directing is superb.
Rating:
Summary: I felt like New Yorker living in NYC after 9/11
Review: What I mean is, watching this film almost put me in the shoes of your average New Yorker and seeing the life they have lived with over the past couple of years. Sharing the emotions of 9/11 that you really can't avoid. Anger, depression, sadness, frustration....Edward Norton's character goes through it all in this. Blaming others for the mess that New York is in...I felt right there next to him. This surprises me b/c it took away focus from the main plot of the movie at times. Although this movie doesn't have much of a plot. It's a guy's last day before going to jail for several years for drugs. He learns who his true friends are and who isn't. It's a simple plot but frankly it's a very well made film that addresses 9/11 in a wonderful way - the way that it made me feel as I described earlier. That's why I rated this so high even though not much went on. Acting is wonderful. The characters are easy to believe and understand. The shots are well composed with a great score. It's worth watching I think if you don't live in NY and want to understand what life is like for them. All in all, another solid film for Norton you need to add to your Ed Norton library.
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