25th Hour

Spike Lee has spent most of his long career directing movies about racial strife, but 25th Hour isn't really about that. The terrorist attack on 9/11 wasn't even a year old when they were making this movie, so Lee instead chose to lace those complicated feelings throughout what is otherwise a quiet character study about one man's last day of freedom. Edward Norton is strong (as he always is) in the leading role as an intelligent drug dealer who made bad decisions and has to face the consequences, but the supporting cast is excellent too. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rosario Dawson, Brian Cox and Anna Paquin all shine. It's Barry Pepper though who gets to play the character with the most layers. And the heartbreaking ending that evokes a certain 1980s Jesus movie is what makes 25th Hour so memorable. So know that it's all right (even if it probably isn't going to be all right) as the 458th Ellises' Analysis worries about a future in prison while enjoying one last day. To stay awake for 24 hours, guzzle a few mugs of Sparkplug Coffee. They continue to offer a 20% discount for those who use our promo code ("top100project"). You can certainly tweet us (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis) or email us ([email protected]). Ryan would also love it if you would take a gander at his other podcast (Scoring At The Movies) where sports pictures are discussed.