Rating: 
Summary: made it into my top5
Review: "Finally, my friend gave the comment that the film was cheapened by the last kissing scene. It was romantic to watch what we thought was a platonic love between Bob and Charlotte, but because of that final kiss, this movie became just like any other movie we watched - typical and predictable."don't be offended that im quoting you. but i must point out that such a revelation in a review is unnecessary and superfluous...and above all, your interpretation of it was completely false. To the point that i would speculate you missed half the movie. What is romantic about watching it, if you felt a kiss was forbodden? and you are quite a silly person to allow one scene to transform a beautiful artsy film into 'typical and predictable'. I'd assume nobody went into the threates to watch something unpredictable....wrong movie, bub. I guess the premise of two people falling in love is old, and maybe you should avoid LIFE. but onto my review. This movie i saw back in september, and watched it again and again, and i still love it. What captured me was just what the quoted person above didn't like. The relationship between the two main characters was the best i've seen in years. Props to ms coppola for the writing. They had great chemistry on screen (johannsen and murray) and the development of their relationship was timed perfectly. from beginning to end, you could find yourself wanting what you expected. Success in humility. You felt like you knew the characters as if they were you. But beyond the acting, the cinematography was gorgeous...some of teh shots of tokyo were tremendously captivating. and some of the silent scenes with no dialogue spoke more than the obligatory 1,000 words.
Rating:
Summary: Strangers in the night exchanging glances...
Review: What does LOST IN TRANSLATION have going for it you may ask? Two terrific performances by Bill Murray, whose performance is likely his most understated yet most substantial of his entire career. He plays against his usual type by playing an American actor making ridiculous amounts of money promoting Suntory whisky for the Japanese market. Bill Murray's wry comedic style blends nicely with the mostly somber tone of the film. Scarlett Johansson plays the wife of an American photographer who's too busy working to spend much time with her. She spends most of her days sulking in her hotel room, while feeling quite homesick for family and friends. Johansson has great chemistry with Bill Murray. They make the most unlikely of friends who share an innocent affair of the heart and the mind. They are indeed two strangers in a strange land who find something special in common. While the greater part of the film moved very slowly, I found it to be very touching and even romantic. Lost In Translation has its own special charms that speak to everyone no matter the language or culture.
Rating: 
Summary: Most Incredible movie ever
Review: Sophia Coppola's Lost in Translation is incredible from start to end. Every scene in the film seems to be perfect and one cannot help but to fully empathize with both Mr. Murray and Ms. Johansson. Mr. Murray, always wonderful to watch, turns in his best preformence since Groundhog's Day, and Ms. Johansson has signalled her arrival as an incredible actress, even while so young, with her perfect portrayal of lost Charlotte.
I have been watching and studying movies for 40 years, and I can honestly say that this is the best movie I have ever seen.
Rating: 
Summary: There are better movies to spend your time and $$ on........
Review: A Sofia Coppola's movie always makes you think, but also a little uncomfortable. In "Lost in Translation", Bob Harries is a Hollywood actor who goes to Japan to shoot an ad for Santori whiskey. Meanwhile another American, a young woman who is with her husband, is also in the same hotel as Bob. Both become friends because they're both lost and lonely. Because Bob does not understand the language, and is making an ad that he does not care about, we see him being ridiculed by the Japanese, and we also see the Japanese being ridiculed by the film.
Coppola tries not to portray the Japanese or Americans in a good or bad light, we just see each group just as a caricature. We may get a more balanced view of the Americans but this is just because it's their story we're seeing and it's their language we're understanding. It is troubling slightly because although we laugh loudly at the many funny moments in the film, we're also partly uncomfortable with our laughter because we're laughing at the expense of the Japanese through our foreigners' eyes. Finally, my friend gave the comment that the film was cheapened by the last kissing scene. It was romantic to watch what we thought was a platonic love between Bob and Charlotte, but because of that final kiss, this movie became just like any other movie we watched - typical and predictable. This is a movie that caters to the American public's taste. If you're very sensitive to culture issues you may be offended watching this film. Other than that, it's your typical art house movie, just something to make you think a little and leave feeling a little more cultured or sophisticated.
Rating:
Summary: Bill Murray's best film & a triumph for Sofia Coppola
Review: Sofia Coppola wrote the "Lost in Translation" script with Bill Murray in mind. Then, she peppered him for almost a year to get him to commit to the film. She went through trusted intermediaries, wooed him with gifts, letters, the works. Thank goodness the private Bill Murray (a shy, reclusive individual 180 degress different than his usual on-screen persona) finally relented to Ms. Coppola's very subtle charisma and wiles. Turns out she did know best: Murray's take as fading Hollywood star Bob Harris is the role of a lifetime. If Murray doesn't at least get an Oscar nomination for 'Lost' (after getting jobbed for 'Rushmore'), it will be nothing short of criminal. In stories that appeared in the New York Times and elsewhere around the time of the national release of this film, there was talk of Ms. Coppola's original treatment of this film, and how - as a 10-page draft - it seemed too slight to transform into an art-house film. But, in simplicity, there is brilliance. The powerhouse scene of the movie is Murray's combined commercial/photo shoot in Tokyo. The New York Times reports that the scene came about as follows: - Ms. Coppola - who possesses a deep knowledge of all things Japan thanks to other business interests there - enivisioned the scene between the Japanese director and Murray. - She scripted *in English* the "coaching" that the Japanese director gives to Murray prior to the first take. It's filled with purposely ridiculous emotional outpourings of the deep sentiments that Suntory Whiskey will arouse in you. - She asked a friend to translate the monologue into Japanese. - She never revealed to Murray the monologue's content and instructed the translator to be oblique and perfunctory (boy, is she ever) when providing him with the on-screen translation. The rest is just great ad-lib acting by Murray. His confusion is genuine. The improvisational stuff he comes up with in the subsequent photo shoot is pure magic. Only Bill Murray could pull it off with such perfect aplomb. Let's hope the academy recognizes this brilliance and rewards it next Spring.
Rating:
Summary: Charming film
Review: A middle-aged actor shooting a whiskey commercial (Bill Murray) and a neglected young wife (Scarlett Johansson), both American, cross paths in a Tokyo hotel. Both exist in a kind of limbo--emotionally distant from their spouses, physically distant from their homes and culture, tired and dissatisfied. A sweet friendship that avoids the traditional movie cliches grows between them. The story may seem meandering and aimless, but that is an accurate reflection of the lives of these characters. Murray plays his role with an easy, understated charm, and Johansson is charming and vulnerable. The authentic representation of Japanese society, augmented by on location filming in Tokyo, is another plus. Writer/director Sofia Coppola has done a terrific job.
Rating: 
Summary: The worst movie I've ever seen...
Review: I'm the biggest Bill Murray fan on the planet, but that being said...[was not his best.] I was all pumped up, the newspaper reviews said he'd probably be an Oscar nominee for this role and I though "Great, Bill's finally going to get that Oscar he deserves for entertaining us all for so many years." My wife and I looked at each other after the first 20 minutes and started laughing...laughing because this movie [was so horible.] For only the second time in our 10-year marriage, we walked out of the movie before it ended (after 60 minutes of yawn after yawn) and we see on average 15 movies per year. Groundhog Day, Ghostbusters, Caddyshack, Scrooged...the list goes on and on...Bill Murray is one of the great entertainers of our time, but this horrible movie will forever be a black mark by his name.
Rating:
Summary: i'm giving it 4 stars
Review: i loved this movie. it's a beautifully shot movie and johanson and murray are really good together. i also liked the story very much and the pacing, which is slow. but hey, i have all the time in the world to wander tokyo with scarlett and bill. why only 4 stars, you ask? because i hated the ending. it struck me as annoyingly clever, but without purpose. it was important for me to hear what he said at the end. in fact, that was the most important thing to me in the movie and i was cheated out of it for absolutely no good reason.
Rating:
Summary: slow and stinky
Review: ... it is terrible! Just shot after shot of low energy staring out of windows at Tokyo. Where is the charm? All in the trailer! I did think the trailer was funny, but then there was all this other film in between the good moments. ...
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Yet Underwhelming
Review: I was extremely excited as I walked into the theater. Never mind that Bill Murray, one of the greatest comics in America was taking on a very fitting and quirky role, which is just brilliantly well suited for an actor of his comedic style. No, this movie was the king of hype, people were practically handing it the Oscar and its heralds were all over the print and electronic media. Often, this pre-game excitement factor can lead to a bit of a disappointment once you actually see the movie. That factor might have a small part in the fact that I was not blown away by this movie. I just could not share in the euphoria that some reviewers were and are displaying over this movie. It's a gutsy movie by Sofia Coppola, marked by two great performances, but deep down, under all the art house drama and masquerade, I felt the movie just had a hollow heart. Oh, and don't regale me with criticisms concerning the fact that I "didn't get it", I know what I was supposed to get and I do not think this movie was good enough to get that message across. Bill Murray is at this best when he can play himself. Deep down, I think Bill shares a lot with his character in the film. Bob Harris is charmingly surly, cynically hilarious and dour in a very enjoyable way, many of Murray's best characteristics. Harris is an actor clinging to respectability, forced to sell out for 2 million dollars in order to push a new brand of Japanese whiskey. He is not a bad person by any means, but he is slowly being warn down the by the monotony of his life. His wife and child are distant, and his career prospects and sheer self respect are waning. The Japanese adventure is a necessary evil for him, and he can do little but muse at the eccentricities of his Asian hosts. In a similar boat is young Scarlett Johansson, the wife of a globe trotting photographer. She is a very smart young lady, but is beginning to lose faith in her marriage and her husband. Away from friends and family, she struggles mightily with life n Tokyo. By chance, Scarlett and Bill, suffering from the same disease, meet up, and quickly realize the only chance for a good trip lies in each other. The chemistry between the two is amazing given their age difference. The acting is just spot on, you feel a real kinship exists between the two of them. Misery loves company, but the two cynics begin to enjoy themselves more as they find the hilarity and joy of downtown Tokyo. Besides the acting, the cinematography and the use of urban Tokyo as a setting is probably the most impressive part of the movie. Coppola really shows off her talents here, as she continues to show real development as a stylistic director. She knows just how to use her two main actors, keeping their story realistic and streamlined. Most impressively, in my opinion, she avoids some movie clichés and keeps the audience guessing and wondering about the relationship between the older actor and the young newlywed. The movie also has some very funny observations concerning Japanese society, for those inclined. What did not impress me about the movie was its somewhat directionless story. I am going to avoid the cliché, "nothing happens", because that is not really the problem. The problem for me was that the story tries so hard to connect with the viewer that it kind of falls off message. It is really hard to explain, but, after leaving the theater, I felt somewhat unfulfilled. The movie had several ingredients of greatness, but the story just was not built right to really take advantage, in my opinion. Still, it is very much worth seeing, and others may enjoy the somewhat wondering plot more than I.
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