Monday Movies You Aught to See: 25th Hour

Regardless of whether the decade ended already ended in 2009 or will end at the close of the current year, the 2000s were a wonderful period of cinema with many treasures that deserve to be remembered. Check in at Movies with Abe on Mondays for Movies You Aught to See, a look back at memorable movies from the aughts. They are posted in no particular order, and if you have a great film from the 2000s that you think merits consideration, leave a note in the comments!

25th Hour
Directed by Spike Lee
Released December 19, 2002



This powerful drama is easily one of the most underrated films of all time. It’s one of Spike Lee’s strongest movies about race relations, worthy of side-by-side comparison with “Do the Right Thing,” exemplified by the astonishing scene I’ve selected above, in addition to being an insightful portrait and questionable celebration of New York City. Edward Norton delivers one of his finest performances ever as a man headed to jail with the rest of his life flashing before his eyes during the twenty-four-hour period leading up to his incarceration. The ensemble cast includes tremendous tour de force turns from Brian Cox and Barry Pepper, as well as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Anna Paquin, and Rosario Dawson. The score by Terence Blanchard is astonishing and beautiful, and the power of the ending sequence (watch it here if you’ve seen the film) can’t be described with words. If you haven’t seen this one yet, check it out immediately.