Film history is littered with proposed projects that seemed tantalizing in concept, but somehow never found their way before the cameras. But were these aborted efforts destined to succeed? Seriously, would Stanley Kubrick’s proposed biopic of Napoleon or Alejandro Jodorowsky’s “Dune” been instant classics? I think that some vigorous debates could be enjoyed on whether or not we should be fortunate those works never got made.
At this point in his career, I think I’d pay to see Clive Owen introduce host an episode of “The Price is Right,” only because god damn the man is just so freaking talented. I’m a huge fan of Owen, and starring in a Spike Lee joint was no exception to seeking him out. The guy could say Superman was gay, and I’d sit there in awe at his delivery. My disdain for about ninety-percent of Spike Lee’s films not withstanding, “Inside Man” was a film I intended to watch. And happily, I wasn’t disappointed. Almost like Vietnam flashbacks coming back to me, “Inside Man” reminded me of one of my favorite thrillers “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.”
My immense hatred for Spike Lee’s body of work not withstanding, “She Hate Me”, while making a statement of the sheer cruelty women are capable of for reach of their goals and manipulating men, is possibly one of Lee’s worst. Jack, the dumbest asshole ever depicted on film, is the true model of the intelligent man who isn’t smart enough to say no to a woman just because she flashes her cleavage and gives lustful stares to other women in front of him. Lee may not be the smartest man alive, but he is smart enough to show how wicked, manipulative, and objectifying women can be, and he shows how utterly unrealistic people can talk in his world. While posing for women to make money one girl proclaims, “Now you know what it feels like to be the sex object.”
Thanks, Lee, shove it down our throats why don’t you?
“The 25th Hour” delves with the question of: If you only had one day left of freedom what would you do? Where would you go? Whom would you spend your last hours with. For Monty Brogan, it’s something he must face as he quickly looks out onto his seven year sentence in jail after being discovered by DEA agents for storing a kilo of drugs. But, as his last hour draws upon him he decides to tie up old wounds with his friends and family and discover who squealed on him to the DEA, what he inevitably discovers will shock him and make him question his life. From the opening scenes symbolic of New Yorkers and the events of 9/11 to the heart-wrenching finale, this thought provoking character study which dares to answer that question of what a man would do on his last days free. It’s also symbolic asking the audience watching, what would you do on your last day of freedom?