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ONE HOUR PHOTO Review
Ever since returning from China, my body clock has been on some sort of bizarre ‘no energy’ zone that has prevented me from being willing to take care of the regular writing on hand. In this case… a review that has been a long time in coming… ONE HOUR PHOTO.
What is it with Photographic Terminology films this year that seem to be resonating so strongly with me this year? Strange when odd little sub-sub-sub-categories pop out. ONE HOUR PHOTO and AUTO FOCUS. Now of the two, my personal pick as the best film was Paul Schrader’s… However, I’ll say without much doubt, most of you will prefer and adore ONE HOUR PHOTO far more than AUTO FOCUS, just because ONE HOUR PHOTO, while nowhere near a mainstream film, is much more accessible to folks than AUTO FOCUS. ONE HOUR PHOTO plays as a fantastic tonal suspense film that never lets you know for certain where Robin Williams is headed. You know from the opening he gets arrested, but you don’t know why or what he did. AUTO FOCUS you are suckered into thinking one thing, then led down a path that never lets you out… and when you get to the finale, you might not like what you’ve been made to witness.
The same may be true for some watching ONE HOUR PHOTO, but everyone I personally know is very very fond of ONE HOUR PHOTO, and I can’t say the same for AUTO FOCUS – though the hardest core film types I know LOVE (all caps) AUTO FOCUS.
However, it is really silly to be bringing AUTO FOCUS up, because titles aside… they are completely different films… or are they?
Both movies have camera terminology as titles. Both use cameras and the capturing of imagery as a gateway to their own fetishes… and both fetishists give me the heebie jeebies. Both films work primarily on the psyche of their audiences rather than choosing visceral or cheap thrills. Both are films of abuse with no real violence. Both are exceptionally well made films.
ONE HOUR PHOTO is the debut film that most of us will get to see Mark Romanek’s directing powers unleashed. His first feature, STATIC is not available on VHS or DVD and is an alleged Comedy – Drama that is fondly remembered by those that had a chance to see it back in 1985, but primarily, we’ve been relegated to watching Romanek’s directing powers on MTV with videos like Mick Jagger’s “GOD GAVE ME EVERYTHING I WANT “where the camera was affixed to Jagger himself to carry its motion solely from the energy of the singer himself. Or the Nine Inch Nails video “CLOSER” remember that crucified monkey alive and seemingly in pain or that spinning disembodied pig head or all those disturbing spinning folks? Or the pulled open lipped vagina or the blindfolded nude bald woman with a crucified statue on the forehead and the beating heart on that platter? Or maybe you remember the kaleidoscopic display of lighting effects above Lenny Kravitz in his “ARE YOU GONNA GO MY WAY” video…. An electrifying display to match his electrical guitar riffs. Very cool. Then there was the near zero contrast black and white video that probably cost near what ONE HOUR PHOTO did with Michael and Janet Jackson for their “SCREAM”. Then there is the crime scene style photography of Fiona Apple’s “CRIMINAL” which is absolutely haunting and vivid and real affecting looking.
From his Video work, what can one determine about Romanek? Well first off, from video to video he has a stylistic change that is arresting. He doesn’t tend to repeat himself in terms of palettes or movement of camera. He doesn’t bombard you at a thousand images a second, but sometimes his videos leave you in an emotionally odd place where you try to figure out what it is you’re feeling. I mean, after watching a video like CLOSER, I just wanted to scrub harder, while GOD GAVE ME EVERYTHING I WANT makes ya want to wiggle your ass, while CRIMINAL makes you wonder about the seedy side of life in those roadside motels next to the triple x video stores. The point is, Romanek hasn’t made a career out of mere puff videos. Whether through visuals, subject matter, tone or atmosphere… his videos have a definite effect on the viewer that goes much further than just thinking the rock star is cool… they make you wonder… “WHO MADE THIS?”
Well, after watching Mark’s Video work I wasn’t real sure what ONE HOUR PHOTO was going to be. The first version I saw was the “Sundance Cut” of the film. This is also the version of the movie that was released online. That cut didn’t have a final score in place and it wasn’t Romanek’s finished vision. But I liked that cut all the same. Many people that I’ve heard from online that loved that cut have professed absolute admiration for Romanek’s film, Robin Williams’ performance and well… They haven’t gone to see the film in the theater.
FOLKS, YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE MISSING!!!
While I liked the Sundance cut of ONE HOUR PHOTO – I absolutely love the final theatrical cut of the film. Sure you have the cool RED EYE scene missing, but what is in its place is far more affecting emotionally.
Right at the start of the film we begin as some stories begin and that’s at the end. Robin Williams is being photographed by the police. There he is that sad man that you see at the grocery store at 2am that night where you happened to needed to get something, only to see a man middle-aged sad looking like he was being pushed forward by some invisible creation just occupying the earth for seemingly no reason whatsoever… that guy that gives you the creeps… makes the hairs on your neck stand up.
You don’t know why. What is he? Child Molester? Rapist? Violent Abuser? Butterfly Collector? Model Train Enthusiast? A Taxi Cab Driver? Catholic Priest? A Politician? Moriarty? A Serial Killer? Or maybe even just a safe mild mannered normal tired guy looking to pick up some Baby Ruth bars for the pregnant wife he has at home. But whoever he is, just something about him rubs you wrong.
Right from the get go Robin Williams’ Seymour Parrish is just downright creepy looking and feeling. Close-cropped Blonde haired folks always do that to me. I think they first started messing with my head in VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED. Then I discovered that Nazis did that. Then Roy Batty and Billy Idol convinced me that those with very short blonde hair… spawn of the devil, up to no good.
NONE OF THEM ARE CREEPIER THAN ROBIN WILLIAMS IN THIS!
I mean, Sy the photo guy is creepier on screen than Freddie Prinze Jr’s jive talking Fred in SCOOBY DOO. Which means I have a very strong phobic emotional reaction to Sy the photo guy. So I started thinking what makes Sy so damn creepy.
First off he is meticulous. Folks that are meticulous are just not normal, and need to be in prison or somewhere far from me. Why? Well, when you see some gang-banging baggy pants wearing homie with a Glock… You get concerned, but if a meticulous man coming at you with ill will. Well, he isn’t going to just pop 4 bullets into you… He’s probably got a knife, probably skinned dogs as a kid and put live bugs onto a peg board with straight pins then with tweezers pulled their wings and antennae off… slowly so it would hurt more? No. So he could hear what the wing sounded like, so he could hear the cry of the bug in agony. You see, if a sloppy person is killing you, you can die with the thought… This person is gonna pay for what they are doing to me. SY the photo guy, he’ll only get caught if he wants to get caught. He’ll only let you die, when he wants to let you die. He’s meticulous. You can sense it.
The pride he puts into operating that One Hour Photo Developing Machine. The way he remembers YOUR ADDRESS OFF THE TOP OF HIS FRIGGIN’ HEAD! Now, sometimes it is nice in the various service industries when somebody remembers details about you. Mostly in the waitress world. Like when they know you like Iced Tea and when you get to your table about 2.3 seconds later you have a tall glass of Iced Tea and Chips and tons and tons of Green Salsa. But your home address being remembered by a basic stranger… not fun.
Now, before this movie I never really thought about those strange folks at the one hour photo places, but now… Now I’m glad I switched to Digital Cameras. Maybe that was the underlying message beneath the film. Switch from film to digital. This film is more affecting propaganda against the sins of film processing than all the conversations I’ve had with Robert Rodriguez. The idea that those people at the labs have cumulative knowledge about one’s life by way of the photos they’ve developed for us… YUCK! No good.
The idea that they might fantasize about joining your life, becoming part of your life… Well, it has just never crossed my mind. And as you watch this film Mark Romanek is toying with your emotions and fears. Is Sy after little Jakob Yorkin? Is he in love with Connie Nielsen’s Nina Yorkin? Is he going to kill Michael Vartan’s Will Yorkin? What does he do to get arrested? What are Sy’s photos of?
This is a psychological thriller… meaning the thrills are in your head. They are there because Mark Romanek knows exactly how to toy with what is going on in your head. How we’ve been conditioned to respond to the heartbeat thump music… Our fears of the meticulous stranger with an obsession on the innocent family in that nice house. The fact that Sy is a ticking time bomb that we see people pouring gasoline on his fuse while waving a flame thrower overhead. We know Seymour Parrish is going to do something. We know he has motives, the ability to carry it out and we know he has nothing to lose.
The ONE HOUR PHOTO in theaters is immaculately shot, conceived and delivered. The Sundance cut was less accomplished in sinking into my skull, less vital and less involving. THIS is the superior version. Besides… the lush colors, the vibrancy, this is a film washed with TIDE with Color Guard. I mean bright bright colors. This is a disturbingly good time in a theater.
With this film, Romanek arrives as a feature film director. I can’t wait for his next film.
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You forgot the creepiest blonde ever.
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Isn't Sy the Tooth Fairy all over again?
Tarantino is wearing the worlds worst grey pants in your Kill Bill snaps BTW. -
I once dropped off some pictures at my local Shaw's supermarket, and I checked every day for three weeks until they were finally in. I'll never develop my pictures there again, let me tell you that. But you think maybe they were so late because the entire photo staff was obsessing over them and all wanted copies of their own? I guess anything is possible behind the photo counter...
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... though I confess, this is one of those reviews where the neurotic editor in me (what can I say -- it's what I do for a living) pushes forward and wishes for the chance to work full-time as your managing editor... pruning that sentence structure... correcting that spelling... sharpening those concepts by way of paring away excess... Uh oh. I'm METICULOUS! Don't worry, Big Guy. The hair's blonde, but it's Ozzy-length. You're safe from my tweezers. =) And seriously -- some really great ideas here. Keep the fires burning, man.
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I saw One Hour Photo at the Edinburgh Film Festival, and I wondered what the cool RED EYE scene was that you refered to. (SPOILERS START) Was it the bit where he opens his eyes and blood sprays out of them. (SPOILERS END). If so, I saw that. But the way you refer to that scene just seems different. I just want to know what version of the film I saw. I would guess it was the theatrical version.
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1, as far as Romanek's accomplishments with music videos are concerned....he forgot my personal favorite entry into his collection of work.....Nine Inch Nails' The Perfect Drug...and actually, thats the one video where he does, at one point, barrage you with a million images a second....as part of an absinthe induced, drum riff overdosed headtrip. Anyone who has no idea what I'm talking about, trust me, go check it out. Every frame in that video is one of Emily Dickinson's nightmares come to life.....2. Due to me being unable to fanagle my way into the Red Dragon screening at the Ziegfeld in NYC last night, i ended up seeing One Hour Photo at the AMC Empire 25 in Times Square. Ill get to my comments on the film as a whole later, but i thought Harry and others would like to know that the Red Eye scene was indeed in the print i saw last night...dunno what the deal is with that, but it was there...just as creepy as it can get. So, it might vary, depending on where you go to see the flick. All that said, I dug the hell out of this film...even though some of the dumb assed teenagers kept laughing at the wrong moments, to the dismay of everyonewho actually "got" the movie....but undoubtedly, Romanek's pulled off some pure genius.And Robin Williams definitely just shot up the list of potential Academy Award nominees. And, as soon as possible, I'm switching to digital. Paying $300 for a camera is definitely worth NOT having the dude down at the camera shop dream about taking a shit in my house. Anyway, excellent work through and through, one of the few times dropping 10 bucks on a movie was worth every cents. Now, if NYC's one of the "select cities" that gets Spirited Away next week, I'll be a happy camper. Revolution is my name. Can I look at my pictures now?
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Didn't Romanek do this video too?
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Sep 14, 2002 9:55:10 AM CDT
For evey Romanek, Fincher or Jonze we get five Ratner's, McG
by cash bailey
Now if only Chris Cunningham can get a film together we will finally see the next generation of film visionaries take over.
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Everyones seen this movie already Harry!Come on,tell us something we don`t know!
Oh and another thing,how come every movie site worth its salt has had great pics and set reports from T3,but you haven`t even mentioned it?
Sulking because you weren`t invited?Hmmm? -
Great, great video that kicked my ass was back in '94 when I first saw it.
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Come on,everyones seen this movie!
Why don`t you mention T3 on your site Harry?Every movie site on the web has featured great pics and set reports this week,whereas there`s not been a squeak from you on the subject.
What`s the matter,sulking because you weren`t invited? -
Just wondering. Your conveniently detail-less post makes me longing for more....details, that is.
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One weird little game to play when watching the movie is finding the color red. It only seems to appear when Sy is upset about something, whether it be the photo equipment logo, the brake lights of his car, the soccer uniforms, red items on store racks, a photo of red galoshes and of course blood. Everything else in this movie is every other color but red, especially blue. Color tricks are all the rage lately. Tim Burton's "Sleepy Hollow" only had one scene with the color blue and "O Brother Where Art Thou?" never showed the color green.
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I thought OHP started well, but as the film progressed it became more about style than substance, of which there was precious little. Don't believe the hype. This film is a bore with a let down for a climax.
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I know it's probably not true, and the chances are far greater that they are crappy photo developers, I'm just speculating because of the context of the movie. And I know what you're thinking, pal, so let me assure you...they were not pornographic photos, lol.
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Plant
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Sep 14, 2002 11:22:46 AM CDT
I didn't find Sy creepy at all, he seemed like a happy-go-lu
by modern_achilles
I take a pair of legs off of one and attach them to the other, so that one butterfly has only four legs and the other has eight! What fun!
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If you go to the "One Hour Photo" webpage at Fox Searchlight's site, then you can see the red eye monolouge.
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Just thought I'd mention it as Harry seems a bit slow on the uptake.
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My friend was a manager of one of these shops and another worked in one. Guess what? All your paranoid fears are pretty much true. The shop my friend worked in had a smalll box of photos (mostly naked girlfriends) that would get showings at parties and the like. not a lot of deviant stuff but a little bondage, light sm and some scat stuff were in the mix. the silliest thing is that customers expect their photos to magically look great without the workers checking them. they constantly had to do colour corrections which means they had to look at the photos. most customers thought the workers never looked at the photos. doh! the best part to this story? at my part time job one day(deli) a chick came in and bugger me if she wasn't one of the girls in the photos. all i could think about was her naked and the slimy boyfriend on her arm. she wasn't a stunner and the boyfriend was a redneck. put me off eating for the rest of the day. you may be wondering how explicit the photos were? well let's say that hustler aint got nothing on the general population. so to end this sordid tale I just want to say that any of you out there that have ever taken pics of your chick in the nude and got them developed at a place like this then your girlfriend is probably in some collection sitting in the back room of the shop or in a box at one of the worker's homes. and to all the female readers who have let their boyfriends do this i only have this to say: get him a digital camera for his birthday. they are pretty cheap now. that's all i have to say.
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Did any anime fans catch the evangelion and gundam cameos in One Hour Photo? The son pick up a eva unit 5 toy and shows it to Sy the photo guy in the store, the same one he buys for the kid. The gundam toy shows up when Sy is imagining living with the family he develops photos for. I thought it was great that Romanek put in an anime reference other than Akira for once.
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Isn't this a fan boy geek site? Are you that jealous of CA?
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So, maybe the bleeding eye thing in the movie ISNT the infamous "red eye" scene....Quick Robin...to the website...
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This site is excellent for getting advanced word on things and for "regular folk" takes on screenings...but the official "reviews" from Harry and other regulars are just lame and almost always far too generous. This movie was ridiculously bad. Robin Williams was far scarier in "Patch Adams". And that coda at the end..."This is why I'm crazy..." The look of it was all wrong....just because something is stylized, doesn't mean the it's good. After reading this and Harry's "Blood Work" review which mildly praised the single worst studio release of the year, I'm ignoring all future reviews. Although Harry provides a valuable service on this site for fans, I'm starting to think he wouldn't know a good film if it bit him on the ass.
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I first heard about the movie One Hour Photo almost a year ago. It was described as being one of three movies that were supposed to kill the "Patch Adams" in Robin Williams. The other two were Death To Smoochy and Insomnia. Death To Smoochy was funny and great. I didn't see Insomnia. I saw One Hour Photo last night. Of the three, I was most looking forward to this one. All I knew was that Robin Williams played a Wal-mart-type photo guy who becomes obsessed with this one family that has been getting their film developed there for ten years. It sounded intriguing and I'm always attracted to average-guy-who's-not-so-average type stories.
Over the past few weeks, I read more and more positive reviews of One Hour Photo. A week ago it was released in seven theaters in the country and seemed to sell out every show. When I found out that this movie was coming to Seattle, I invited my closest friends to come see it with me. I was excited.
The theater was packed. We ended up sitting in the last row. As the film began, I was astonished at the use of color. It was very deliberate. During the first fifteen minutes or so, I kept noticing the whites, the blues, the yellows, the silvers, the browns. It was like watching a moving canvas. Adding to this was the fact that sitting in the back row I could look up and see the light from the projection booth and the colors being shot up onto the screen. It reminded me of the other word for movies: motion pictures.
It is no secret to me that Robin Williams is capable of acting without being funny. My favorite performance of Robin Williams was in his guest appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street as a grieving husband. His work in movies like The Fisher King, Dead Poets Society, and Good Will Hunting is all very good. He is one of the handful of comedians out there that was able to successfully make the transition from stand-up to screen. Despite all of this, his performance in One Hour Photo is shocking. It's not the career defining thing that I've heard other reviewers speak of. It's just not what you expect. He underplays the part and it makes him creepy as hell.
I enjoy movies where the filmmaker tries to take you inside the mind of a madman, especially if the filmmaker is trying to show how the madman isn't so different from us. This is why Falling Down is one of my favorite movies. Unfortunately, this same idea is not conveyed in this movie. We never really feel what William's 'Sy the Photoguy' feels. He is alienated and alone throughout the movie. That's all well and good, but unfortunately it alienates the audience from Sy as well.
The first thing that alienates us from Sy is the music. The music in this movie has all the gentleness of a gorilla at the glass museum. Despite the fact that there seems to be a certain effort to make Sy sympathetic, the music plays like something out of any b horror movie. Whenever Sy does something off, there's creepy music. In fact, sometimes BEFORE he does something creepy. It's the sort of thing that is maddening because it's simply impossible to ignore.
There has been a lot of talk in other reviews of the idea of snapshots and how people overlook the fact that the people who work at the photo place are people and will likely look at your photos. Being the paranoid sort that I am, this is no revelation to me. There are reasons I prefer a digital camera. While the concept of pictures freezing time and only portraying happy thoughts is interesting, it is not enough to base a film on.
Speaking of happy thoughts, the one thing that really stood out to me was that there were no happy thoughts in this movie. Don't get me wrong. I don't want to watch The Carebears Movie, but as one of my friends who was with me last night said, "This was another in a long line of movies about unpleasant people doing unpleasant things." I don't entirely agree with that statement considering that some of my favorite movies are in that classification, but there is a balance that is necessary between disturbing and entertaining. And contrary to what many filmmakers today may think, it is NOT the same thing. I don't mind if a movie is disturbing, but it better have a reason to be disturbing.
Movies are supposed to be entertainment. This doesn't mean that they can't have a message. This doesn't mean they can't be thought provoking. It's a good thing when a movie takes us to places we're afraid or don't want to go to, but there has to be a reason for it. You can't put someone through hell just to say, "Wasn't that a horrible thing?" That's not entertainment, that's sadism.
For what it is, One Hour Photo is well made. The acting is good. The directing is reasonable. The writing is even ok. But at no time did I have fun with this movie. It was just creepy and that's simply not enough. At the end of One Hour Photo, my friends and I sat in silence. And it wasn -
Sep 14, 2002 1:50:56 PM CDT
The sequel to this movie should have Hulk Hogan in it and should
by shiva
Don't touch that remote, brother.
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I managed to get myself a copy of Static on VHS a few years back. I had to buy it from my the local mom 'n pop video store. Just so ya know though, it's out there.
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I didn't care as much for this as I had hoped. The ending, to me, was lame and anti-climactic. I know it's en vogue to include endings that are all up to interpretation, but this one was just a little TOO confusing to me, we're not really given any hints at exactly what happened and I was really pissed he didnt kill the father. Oh well -- as for the anime references, yeah that was really cool to me, I definitely noticed the Gundam model kit as well (and of course the Eva models) :D EVA was even mentioned in the dialogue.
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I don't mean to get psychological or to offend you, but he is a man who had a bad childhood, and built his life on images he was never really a part of. He's obsessed, and that's creepy, you may see something of yourself in him (I'm not saying he reminds me of you, but you may think so). Also, maybe you're dehydrated or something, because it takes little energy to post or type...try cold air, some water and a teaspoon of honey ('blood-sugar!'), I lost a lot of weight and energy boosts that, I hope you will start soon, too. :)
About the movie: it fell apart in the end, BIG TIME, the original cut was flawless, it established who he was from the beginning and filled him out as a person, but clearly, they wanted Sy to be the next Norman Bates or Hannibal, an iconic horror star. The thought process behind the whole thing is very retarded, and unnatural. Sex evolves all parts of the plot. The parents are about 15 years too young and 4x too beautiful. I loved the scene where they wished him pleasant thoughts, though. The shots were nice, especially when Sy's in the aisle and when he runs through the car park, and it pans down... I feel that this review didn't have enough to do with the actual film... -
on CA. And...let me tell you...it's bad. It's classic Warner Bros. it's so painfully, horribly wrong. It hurts. I can't find the words. Anger fades. Murder is looking more like an option. They got KEANU. Yeah, because his last name is Reeves and because he's in the MATRIX, someone is being real clever! And Ratner's directing! Go WB! They got the typical hunky soap opera-esque star for BEAST, he has fairly boyish features, but it could be done well, as Singer was impressed. Also, about ONE HOUR PHOTO, the music was far too distracting, though they picked great pieces. Sy's actions being dictated by his childhood felt soo flat and fake, it was funny when it was brought up and tossed out, like a person without personality trying to write deeply personal moments, it was disgusting as someone else noted, all it really offers and compliments that with is a touching sadness, which is not original... When the police show up in the original cut, the audience is isolated from Sy (this was done in Spider-Man).
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I haven't seen ONE HOUR PHOTO, but the remark about BLOOD WORK - granted, it was no intellectual tour de' force. Admittedly, it was probably a pretty forgettable piece of fluff entertainment. But it told a story and did a decent job of it. Some of you think if it isn't the most button pushing, anti-mainstream thing out there it sucks. And you're entitled to your opinion. But just how many hyper-sexual, foul languaged movies can you praise before you wake up and realize that those things aren't always realistic and not EVERYBODY talks or acts the way people do in the movies you like. You seem to resent any movie that represents a type of person other than the kind of characters Kevin Smith and Tarantino do, and especially if they're represented in a good light.
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Sep 14, 2002 6:36:10 PM CDT
question for those who saw the movie (WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILER
by martinblank
When Sy makes that speech to the cop at the end, about how 'you as a family man wouldn't [do bad things deleted here to preserve surprise]...' blah blah blah...was Sy talking about stuff his OWN father did to him, or was he insinuating that Will did those things to Jake? If the latter, there was no preparation for that whatsoever. If the former, it makes psychological sense I guess, and explains Sy's photo-related control trip, but it was a little confusing, and it seems like an easy revelation ('oh, THAT'S why he's fekked up'). Thoughts?
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Keanu Reeves cast as Superman? Warners is on crack. (BTW, the title of this post is a joke, to you paranoid types).
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- -Now I'm Going To Have To Buy Robin William's Dark Trilogy =)
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I thought it was pretty obvious at the end of it he was referring to his father's action to himself as a child (Sy's).
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Sy was speaking of his own father. When he was in the hotel room taking pictures and telling them how to pose, and saying it was only make believe, I assumed that he was reenacting something his father had done to him.
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I figured Sy was referring to his dad. Two reasons why it was a bit unclear to me: (A) they'd planted a detail about kiddy porn photos, so I almost expected the photos Sy wanted to see to be photos he had developed of Will abusing Jake. Which would have explained Sy's deadly rage against Will moreso than what's in the movie. (B) Like I said, it just seems like such an easy revelation that I guess I was on the lookout for something more convoluted -- more of a twist ending -- and was caught leaning the wrong way by Sy's speech. I'm not saying there should've been more of a twist ending, I'm saying most of these types of films recently have conditioned me to expect one. Still, is there a way that his speech could be taken either way? It's still worded very ambiguously. Aside from his fake mother photo and the theory that he was re-enacting his father's actions, there's really no preparation for Sy's revelation; until then he's your basic lonely empty guy waiting to explode, like Travis Bickle or Rupert Pupkin. I guess that was part of it too: Scorsese didn't need eleventh-hour revelations to explain his psychos' problems, he just presented us with the sick fucks and forced us to deal with them.
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I welcome a photo booth serial killer now...take me, Jesus!
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I saw it mentioned a few times in the talkback... I assume it is a website but which? Thanks!
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Did anyone notice the gaping plot hole? Sy discovers and plants the affair pictures, right? Lame to begin with. Anyway, who the hell took the pictures? Do people hire photographers to follow them around and take pictures of them having an affair? Romanek could have written something smarter than that. And does anyone remember the "argument" between the husband and wife? It sucked a fat one. Paraphrased: "Bitch, quit spending all my money!" "This isn't about me wasting your money. You're a bad father!" Also, the cop in the beginning says "We developed the pictures from the hotel and they aren't pretty." Ooooooh, so we think he murdered them or whatever. But of course, we see the pictures at the end. The cop would never have said that. BLEH!
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CA is the two-letter postal service code for California. I have never seen it used for any other purpose. As for OHP, sound OK but probably not worth a visit to the theater.
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Perhaps I am wrong, but my interpretation of the speach to the cop at the end was that the father was having his son take those pictures with the other woman. If you remember when the wife sees the pictures the boy doesn't look shocked at all. He seems to almost be ashamed that his mother has seen them. Anyways that is my interpretation, take it for what you will.
Kyle. -
As I stood in line at the multiplex today, I decided against OHP and strolled over to a nearby bookstore, instead. Thanks, AICN, for steering me away so I could spend a much more pleasant two hours browsing the stacks. Couldn't find that Ben Bear novel everyone was on about some time ago, though. Is it out of print? At any rate, about Bloodwork, and those who defend it as "meaningless fluff." I'd just like to say that I have no problem with meaningless fluff. Case in point, I enjoyed the heck out of Sum of All Fears, which was a well-written, engaging thriller with a compelling human angle. Bloodwork, however, put the "crap" in "crapfest." I sat down in the theater for this one wanting to be entertained, thinking that Clint wouldn't steer me wrong. I bought the story, too, right up until I met the Sister on a Mission. "This girl must suck a mean dick," I thought, "Because she certainly can't act." But then I found myself thinking the same about the unfriendly LA cop, the Russian thug, and even, by the end, Daniels. When you figure in the screenwriter, and hell, even the director, that's a lot of dicksucking going on. It seemed like everyone connected to this movie must have been out of their minds with fellatial delight, because they couldn't find the time to keep me from going out of my mind with boredom. Just one example of the suckiness of the dialog: notice how everyone call's Clint's character by his last name alone? You tell me, who does that outside of TV cop shows and Clint Eastwood movies? It seems Eastwood goes through phases: For every stretch of films that include a "White Hunter, Black Heart," "Pale Rider," and "Unforgiven;" we're forced to suffer through an "Every Which Way You Can," "Pink Cadillac," and "Bronco Billy" period. Mr. Eastwood, you've have your fun. You embarrassed yourself with "Space Cowboys" and embarrassed us with "Bloodwork." Please, let's get back to quality, before you make us sit through "Pink Cadillac 2."
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It's no plot hole. The pictures were taken by the two in the photograph. One of them was holding the camera while they were kissing and embracing. One of their arms coming toward the camera and extending out of the photo's frame was quite apparent in everyone of those pictures. Plus, they were supercloseups and had the bright flash thing going. All indications of what I just said. And what's so lame about the planting of the photos and the argument? Nothing.
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Robin Williams is as Funny as a Child molester with Gloves on. The man Talks and Talks about Bullshit. He Fucking Sucks and I hate him! One hour Photo Stinks! I bet he is that obsessed in real life. I can't take this anymore, I'm going to take my anger out on some anonymous woman.
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"Well, he isn
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Static was a great indie film, one of the first US indie pics I ever saw. Great cast, great direction, it was recommended to me by Jerome Piroue, owner of Au Paradoxe Perdu, the best English-language comic book & memorabilia store in Switzerland, as his movie of the year. My off-air VHS of it from Swiss tv (widescreen, in English) is a 'lost treasure', along with ex-rental tapes of Miracle Mile and Encounter At Raven's Gate, fellow indie borderline scifi films. A crime it isn't on dvd; I had always wondered what happened to the director. Just on his name alone, I'll go see OHP when it opens here in the UK.
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I especially noticed the last photograph. The husband and slut are embracing each other, paying no attention to the camera. Neither of them take that picture. Would you take pictures of yourself kissing someone like that? Maybe if you were some fuckin American Psycho freak, but I didn't get that impression from the jerkoff hubbie. Even if you are right, it was a shallow, lackluster way to move the story along.
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You know what would have made a better movie? Robin Williams, sitting on the toilet, staring off into space for 2 hours. The plot would have been more intricate, that's for sure! And by the way, to the last message: I noticed the last picture with the slut, but for some idiotic reason I didn't put 2 and 2 together. Of course you are right!! That is the worst editing, perhaps in history!
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I don't think I like ONE HOUR PHOTO as much as I liked AUTO-FOCUS, mainly because AUTO-FOCUS never loses it's identity at any point.
The last act of ONE HOUR PHOTO devolves into a lecture on psychotic behavior that seems to be trying a little too hard to turn Sy the Photo Guy into another Hannibal Lecter. That's unfortunate because Sy is a great character because he's different than Hannibal, just as ONE HOUR PHOT is a different film from SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
One of my favorite things about SoL is the clinical feel that Demme gave the film. It works, because the focus of the movie is on an FBI agent and a man who was once a psychiatrist, two very clinical professions.
There's nothing clincal about the first 3/4 of OHP. Romanek involves you personally in Sy's life, and through him, in the lives of his 'family'. Why he veers of course in the final act is incomprehensible.
Sy is a frightening character because he's a sad and lonely man who only wants what's best for the people in his life, the type of person you could meet anywhere. His instability makes him dangerous, and the contrast between kindness and violence is frightening because there's mystery in it. Explaining his behavior takes away the mystery and removes some of the fear from the film. -
Sep 16, 2002 9:57:55 PM CDT
"Now, before this movie I never really thought about those stran
by kiyone
But I always take my film to a Pharmaprix (Quebec version of Shoppers Drug Mart) with cute Asian clerks... I *want* them to stalk me!
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"wide release" means it was released at one theater in columbus. IT'S GOT ROBIN WILLIAMS IN IT PEOPLE!!! PUT IT IN SOME DECENT THEATERS!!!!...
had the same problem with mulholland drive and the man who wasn't there. -
Let's get Brett Ratner to direct. Maybe he can find time in between Yom Kippur and his next hollywood joke. Why does everyone want to like this movie so much? I wanted it to be good just like everyone else, but c'mon, it was SUCH a mixed bag.
PS: Can't wait for One Hour Photo 2: Kiddie Porn Killa
PSS: Heard they added a laugh track to Red Dragon during the "directed by" credit. -
Let's get Brett Ratner to direct it. Maybe he can find time in between Yom Kippur and his next hollywood joke.
I wanted it to be great just like everyone else, but I thought it was a mixed bag.
PS: Can't wait for One Hour Photo 2: Kiddie Porn Killa
PSS: Heard they added a laugh track to Red Dragon during the "directed by" credit. -
Sy supposedly has worked at the SaveMart for what, 20 years or something? And he's obviously been making extra copies of this family's photos even before the kid was born, at least 10 years maybe. So why is it that now suddenly his boss realizes there's photos missing? Did I miss something? Maybe it's not important, just seemed odd. I'm with the group that says the first 3/4 of this movie was quite good. The rest left me kind of wishing something else had been done. Did you care at all what happened with the family? Well apparently you're not supposed to. And the "my dad abused me" was a little too convenient. Not that it wasn't convincing, just felt too easy. Good movie, just left me feeling it could've been great.
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Robin Williams is creepy as hell, and the movie has some nice cinematic flourishes, but the whole child-abuse angle at the end is just too pat ---- it was like watching a movie of the week.
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There were some comments a few posts back about how it would have been impossible for the adulterous couple to take the kissing photos... Couldn't they have had a camera with a timer on it? And, as for why the couple would even take pictures like that, some people like to remember fun times, and the best way to do that is with a picture.
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Yeah, some people want to remember and keep a staunch record of the incredible vacation they took with the woman they are fucking instead of their wife. Makes sense, I know I'D want proof that I was cheating on my wife so that she would be sure to take me to the cleaners when she divorced me.
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... the photos don't make sense in and of themselves, but even after they were taken, why wouldn't Will Yorkin have told his little slutdrawers not to have them developed by the creepy photo guy he already met and was disconcerted by, at the department store where he and his wife had had their photos developed for the past ten years?
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I never have posted on thses forums before but Harry's stupid comments forced me to do so. I am 19 and work in the one hour photo section of the store/pharmacy (Rite Aid) i am employed at. So yes i am a photo lab technician. Let me assure you we are not like Sy at all, and harry implying that we stalk customers or that we do nasty things with the pictures or saying he is happy he went digital, is retarded. I can care less what people take photos of, in fact I am get scared at what some cusotmers bring in. I dread the day when i might get pornographic or violent pictures and have to report them to the managers since it makes a big mess for me. My supervisor has gotten picutes involving pedophile and drug use, and had to report thewm to the police.
this makes our job distressing.
Also it would be virtually impossible for Sy to make doubles with out any one knowing. We have to keep a adetailed log of how many pictures are devolped in the course of the day. the we have the record the click count(a number on the side of the photo machine that says how many pictures were developed)at the end of the day. If these numbers don't match up, then there is a problem. Sy could not lie on this daily log since the supervisor would check it. I MAY HAVE NOT EXPLAINED FULLY, BUT TRUST ME THERE IS NO WAY SY COULD MAKE DOUB;ED FOR OVER 10 YEARS WITH NOBODY KNOWING IT
IN CONCLUSION HARRY YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE
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Photo was one of the best movie I have seen this year,its 100% brilliant.Harrys review was spot on.
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I hate when actors congratulate each other on how well they acted in a movie. All reviews by myself will strip and torture each movie,
anough said!
Here is my view of the top ten fuc* up's of One hour photo:
1) The story. Who writes this crap?
A photo lab tech who perves over photo's. Whats new!
2) The soundtrack. I'm sure somebody forgot to give the orchastra working instruments.
3) Why am I wasting my time writing about this piece of crap.
Check out more reviews by Harry D
HarryDorransOnline@Hotmail.com -
...the image of Harry shaking his ass to "God Gave Me Everything I Want" is definately not heavenly...
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