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Movies => Bad Movies => Topic started by: chopper on October 28, 2002, 04:32:33 PM



Title: 1 Hour Photo:
Post by: chopper on October 28, 2002, 04:32:33 PM
I know this is probably not what you would call a "B-movie" but did anyone out there ever catch this one? And if so what did you think about it? In my opinion Robin Williams playing a straight-up nut was nothing short of entertaining.


Title: Re: 1 Hour Photo:
Post by: Steven Millan on October 28, 2002, 06:03:55 PM
                         A really excellent psycho-thriller,as well as a great study of a completely emotional mess of a human being.
                         Robin Williams is,without doubt,very excellent,blowing away all of our dreads of him being an actor of commercial mainstream fluff("Flubber","Moscow On The Hudson"),and(along with "Insomnia")bringing more respect to him as an actor.
                         And,a very gifted one,at that.


Title: Re: 1 Hour Photo:
Post by: Dano on October 28, 2002, 06:18:05 PM
Robin Williams is,without doubt,very excellent,blowing away all of our dreads of him being an actor of commercial mainstream fluff("Flubber","Moscow On The Hudson"),and(along with "Insomnia")bringing more respect to him as an actor.
*****  My dread of Robin Williams isn't gone just yet (they televised "Hook" a couple of weeks ago and I unsuspectingly flipped past it and watched 3 seconds - He was smiling warmly, eyes aglow --*shudder*)... but it seems that the powers that be in Hollywood have seen the light as far as how to use him is concerned.  Not that much would have helped Batman 3, but Robin Williams as the Riddler (a rumor I heard as early as 1989 before Batman 1 was released) would have helped.



Title: Re: 1 Hour Photo:
Post by: chopper on October 28, 2002, 07:41:47 PM
Steve i couldn't agree more. it would be sad to see an actor of William's enormous talent lay waste to the blockbuter wasteland so many other great actors fall succeptable to.


Title: Reprint of what I said about ONE HOUR PHOTO at an earlier date
Post by: Chris K. on October 28, 2002, 08:37:54 PM
Reprint of what I said about ONE HOUR PHOTO in another thread:

With the usual cinema crap that spawns out in the summer, one would think Hollywood would scape down the bottom-of-the barrel for an idea. However, Hollywood has already done that before so it's nothing new. But, ONE HOUR PHOTO shows that Hollywood has some real talent on their hands and finally gives them a chance. And I might say the results are impressive.

ONE HOUR PHOTO begins with Seymour Parrish (played by Robin Williams), a middle-aged man who works at a one-hour photo shop in the neighborhood mall. A nice guy, he is throughly obsessed with the Yorkin family. Seymour wishes that he were their uncle due to being so alone and wanting to be with a happy family as he sees in their photos that he develops for them. Seymour actually makes copies of the Yorkins photos and places them on the wall of his apartment, while he sometimes daydreams about being apart of the family. But his boss ends up firing Seymour and if that couldn't be enough he discovers that the father of the family is chaeting on his wife. As it all crashes down on Seymour, he decides to step in a do something about it.

After reading this plot summary, you might think this is just your average "guy stalking a local family that he admires" filick. I wish I could say it was, but it takes a drasitic u-turn in that field. The character Seymour, or Sy as he is called by the Yorkin's young son, is a bit more complex than your average stalker. Hell, I wouldn't consider Seymour a stalker at all as he is just obsessed with the family and their happy-go-lucky lifestyle that he sees in their family photos. But he never stalks any of the characters. He does at one point confront the Yorkin son just to talk to him, but it looks as though it's the first time he has done such an attempt. Even during this scene, we learn more about him rather than sit back and say "He's a creep, plain and simple." He also confronts the mother and does friendly things like show her a picture of his mom (which is fake, as we find out earlier) just so he can get to know her better. But all these acts are not the work of a stalker. In record studies, a stalker does these followings and confrontations more than once. Seymour only does them once and that's it. He is just obsessed with them and wishes to be a part of their lifestyle. But, the way he approaches his obsessions shows that he needs help, yet that does not mean we can't sympathise.

But when Seymour discovers the husbands dirty little secret (which, I might add, how he discovers the secret is like an Italian giallo: somewhat illogical but possible and passable), he shows concern not for himself but for what it will do for the family. Seymour even takes the incriminating photos and places them in the Yorkin's photos that he develops for them on his last day. Again, one would say what he did was somewhat crude and not at all right, but then the guy was cheating on his family and Seymour felt they, as well as himself, needed justice. But then, Seymour goes the next route to get justice for himself which leads deliberate disaster for himself rather than the family.

I might have said bad things about Robin Williams in the past. But after seeing his great performace in ONE HOUR PHOTO, I was deeply impressed by his performace and I forgive Williams for starring in his earlier crap (i.e. FLUBBER). Williams makes his character of Seymour very likeable, even though he has a dark and sinister side that concerns us. But, he makes his character so likeable that we actually care for what will happen to him. Add to that a strange weird set design (everything from the place that Seymour works at, to his apartment, to his own car, to where he ends up at in the end is full of white set designs which could add to the fact the Seymour will be forever trapped with that color). And their is an unforgetable dream sequence that I can't describe, but I'll give you a hint: William's eyes+blood=REAL CHILLS!

I will praise ONE HOUR PHOTO for being stylish, original, and full of suspense that is totally non-existant in films (most notably horror and thrillers) today. I am also glad that Williams has finally made the right choice for his role in this film and I hope that he will recieve better roles in the future.


Title: Re: Reprint of what I said about ONE HOUR PHOTO at an earlier date
Post by: mark chopper on October 29, 2002, 01:46:43 PM
very well put.


Title: Re: 1 Hour Photo:
Post by: Mike on October 29, 2002, 10:55:52 PM
Those extreme close-ups of Robin Williams' face! Aaarrrgghh!!!


Title: Re: 1 Hour Photo:
Post by: mark chopper on October 31, 2002, 01:25:15 PM
ummm...ok (?).