Rating: 
Summary: Mark Romanek's feature debut is a great twisted film
Review: While lacking the overt twistedness of "Taxi Driver" (one of the films which inspired this movie), One Hour Photo hits you with its subtlety. Every scene, to this film fan's eyes, seemed to have meticulously crafted mise-en-scene (in sum: setup) to contrast the bleakness of the main character Sy's life with the lushness and color of the family he becomes obsessed with.Naturally, the movie revolves around photographs, with several profound lines spoken about them towards the latter half of the film. Even the colors of the scenes feel well chosen to bring out the full feeling of depth good photography holds. The sterility of Sy's world is made abundantly clear by the well chosen techniques of the director. Fans of Hitchcock will find much rewarding material here, as every prolonged silence shot of the main character (marvelously acted by Robin Williams in another experimental role) reveals the teeming rainbow of angst behind the eyes of the friendly neighborhood photo guy as he spirals out of control. And in the end, we are told (rather abruptly, and the one thing i would have modified about the film) why Sy is obsessed with photographs. There is no over the top butchery like at the end of Taxi Driver, but it lends a dab of wonderment and even sympathy to the curious old man's character. In conclusion, this film is more of a character study than an in your face thriller, but is nevertheless a fantastic feature debut from writer/director Mark Romanek. He has obviously done his homework and shows off his craft with great finesse.
Rating: 
Summary: I wouldn't order doubles to this film
Review: I remember a long time ago (probably a couple of years after Mork and Mindy), Robin Williams was on a talk show and the host asked him if he'd ever do a serious roles. Robin screamed,
"Hell No!!!" Now Robin goes against his word? I totally disrespect that...BR>The film was obviously not funny . I did not find it scary. I found the nicely displayed shelves at the SavMart store to be so unrealistic that I had to shut the DVD player off not once but twice, and talk to my brother ... about it. I mean, the store is filled with people, but not one item is missing on the shelves. The shelves are a perfect wall. My brother ...used to work for retail and he said there's no way in heck a retail store would have every single item avaliable on the shelf. He said there's a better chance of their being a American Buffalo Part 2 than there is of a perfect store like this. He said there's always an out of stock item. Did anyone see an empty space or an out of stock item on the shelf? No. What kind of store is this? What kind of sick fantasy is this so called director in?
The onscreen chemistry between Sy and Yoshii on the other end of the spectrum was uncanny and was the only good part in the whole film. Yoshii and Sy had a nice running flow between the two. It was so good, I told my brother ..., they should have their own TV show. It was too bad Yoshii had to stab him in the back at the end if the movie..but thinking back, thats what made Yoshii and Sy's relationship so good. You know what they said keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
I also thought the "other woman" MR. Yorkin was allegedly sleeping with looked like the actress Pam Dawber who played Mindy on Mork and Mindy...
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best of 2002
Review: This film blew me away. It was incredibly intriguing. In fact, my mother was sitting in the next room and within thirty minutes had come in to finish the movie. Robin Williams sucked me in with his brilliant portrayal of a disturbed man. Sy Parrish is a one-hour photo developer, and his favorite customers are the Yorkins. Nina (Connie Nielson) has been developing her family's photos there for years. Little does she know that Sy makes an extra print of every photo for himself to hang up on a wall in his apartment. Sy sees himself as a part of their family. But a disturbing obsession turns dangerous when Sy discovers a secret about Nina's husband, Will (Michael Vartan). The climax scene is, with the exception of a scene in "Pulp Fiction", the most disturbing scene I have ever seen. It's brilliantly done by Robin Williams, Michael Vartan, and another woman (I don't want to give away the ending). A good movie is one that has an impact on you, and "One Hour Photo" definitely had an impact on me. I will never look at the photo guy in my local Wal-Mart the same way again. This gives such a great insight into the mind of a crazy person. The ending is great, as it doesn't tie everything up in a neat little package. There's one particular conflict within the Yorkin family that is not really resolved at all, and we're left in the dark as to exactly what happens to Sy. Rent this movie -- you won't be sorry. However, don't think that just because Robin Williams is in it, your little kids can watch it -- they'll be scarred, I guarantee.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth a watch, but didn't live up to the hype
Review: Don't get me wrong I think Robin Williams is great in the role of Sy, the photo guy. At times, I was scared of him, and in the next scene, I felt sympathy for him. It was the story that I found hard to believe. I know that I personally would never get that close to my local "Target" photo guy. Plus I would get suspicous earlier, if each time I went in, he pushed his way up to help me and knew my address by heart. Plus the fact that he would write down 3 prints, then cross it out and put 2 down before he gave it back to her, if something was crossed out every time you get your photos back, I'd take my pictures elsewhere. But in the end, a great job by all the actors, and it's worth renting, BUT NOT WORTH ANY 10 BEST LISTS.
Rating: 
Summary: no good
Review: The movie takes you all-the-way to the edge of your seat waiting for the photo man to be a killer and he really is a pussycat. Don't waste your time with this movie.
Rating:
Summary: greatness
Review: This is a dark drab movie with Robin Williams putting so much into his charector Cy the photo guy Parrish. He's a lonely guy who has no family and photo developers don't really steal pictures and hang em up in there rooms do they. Well this was a choppy thriller with terrific acting and directing. Rent this movie. You won't be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: What Would You Do?
Review: SOME SPOILERS: Don't go and buy this DVD if you're expecting another Robin Williams bad boy role akin to the one he played in "Insomnia" because you're going to be in for a major disappointment. HOWEVER, if you have this fantasy: what if I were in some kind of position that allowed me to voyeuristically take a peek into other people's private lives, would I take advantage of that power? Robin Williams, who plays the photo technician/printer "Sy", DOES take advantage of that power. His character has been played up many times before: the bored, friendless, no-family kind of guy. But what they manage to do with this character is give him this job that allows me to pry into the private lives of his customers by viewing those photos that he prints in private, and in secret at that. Oh, but the plot thickens here: He develops a certain obsession on the couple Nina and Will, and takes an interest in their son Jake. This obsession is the one that makes him the bad guy. But I'd have to stop at that. The key actors here are Robin Williams and Connie Nielsen. While I do understand that Robin Williams is trying to get out of his comedy act stereotype (which a lot of actors try to do anyway), this is quite a good attempt. The films itself is a whole flashback story, because from the very beginning, we already know that Sy has been captured by the law. What DID surprise me is the ending- and you'll have to see for yourself why. The DVD has quite a number of interesting extra features, which adds up to the value of purchasing this DVD. I found the commentary by the director and Williams alone is worth it.
Rating:
Summary: One Hour Photo: Version 2.0
Review: I originally rated this film 3 stars, so I went back and changed my review to 2 stars. I guess I gave it pity points, not fully realizing how stupid this movie was. Not being a fan of Robin Williams in the first place, this film had to really sell me on it's strong points and give me a good reason to like it, and as you can see, it failed miserably. Come to think of it, I don't think I've liked a single movie Robin Williams has been in. Wait, there's one, "Shakes The Clown". And to further illustrate my point on how horrible this film is, I will include one sort of funny anedote bordering on the surreal. I was at a Hollywood Video the other day and saw a clerk rounding up a huge stack of previously viewed copies of "One Hour Photo". He brought them behind the counter and began chucking them in the trash, with much vigor. I, being the curious video store patron asked him what was going on. He remarked, "we've got so many, we don't know what else to do with them". I laughed at his comment and further explained I had seen the movie and understood the unpopularity of this particular DVD. He then scoffed a bit and asked me if I would like a free copy before he trashed the rest of the lot. I thanked him for his offer, but declined. Point being, they can't even give this horrilbe film away. Strange but true.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: This movie was absolutely heart wrenching, and thrilling at the same time. To see Sy (Robin Williams) mental breakdown, and his lonliness turn into violence was absolutely fantastic, and gives a peak into the mind of what I would bet is most psychopaths.
This movie is a must see, and probably a must buy.
Rating:
Summary: Great Direction and Solid Work From Robin Williams, But.....
Review: .....there isn't much of a story here. While "....Photo" tries really hard to summon up tension and actual fear, one walks away from the film feeling a little letdown. Robin Williams is terrific as Sy, a sad, lonely and obviously disturbed man who obsesses over his work a bit too much (and the wall collage of photos in his apartment is sorta creepy), but I never sensed any real danger from him, even when he was holding Will Yorkin and his mistress Maya at knife point, on the contrary, it was actually rather funny! The ending is a completely worthless, but I rate the film so highly because it LOOKS so good and Williams is first-rate in all his scenes. Director Mark Romanek copies Kubrick a little too closely at times but never quite achieves Kubrick's fluid camera movement or his brilliance at making every scene look like a finely detailed painting awash in blinding white light and full of uncomfortable silences. A nice film to look at, but "One Hour Photo" seems comedic instead of disturbing or scary.
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