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.
Rating:
Summary: Murray's fabulous in Coppola's gorgeous, dreamy Tokyo gem.
Review: Bill Murray has been building toward his mature, refined performance in "Lost In Translation" for the last half of his career, or at least since his droll, brilliant turn in "Groundhog Day." As a fading movie star, Bob Harris, he's never been better, and he's just about perfect: A wise, attractive, cynical presence with enough vigor and hope to recognize a much younger kindred spirit when he sees one. That spirit is Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson, announcing her arrival as a seriously talented actress), a recent Yale graduate, and both she and Bob are holed up in a luxury Tokyo hotel slightly against their better judgments: Bob is there to film a whiskey commercial; Charlotte skulks around the hotel while her photographer husband is on location. Sofia Coppola's sophomore writing/directing effort - and boy, is it no slump - is at least as much strange love borne of chance hotel encounters as it is about the cultural eccentricities of Tokyo, a gizmo metropolis that nonetheless seems hushed an intimate despite the crowded streets. After an opening half-hour of culture clash comedy - including a bizarre Japanese prostitute and the sublime, hilarious commercial shoot - that hooks the audience, Coppola blends a detached, bemused commentary on Japan with the May-December romance seamlessly. She has an ear for honest dialogue, and an eye for well-paced, intimate scenes. Bob and Charlotte's first meeting at the hotel bar after hours is awkward but sexy. Charlotte is still a work in progress, not tied to any career or family - and not particularly self-involved like most women her age - and Bob, at an age where introspection is stock and trade, is the kind of cynical, finger-snapping well from which she'd like to draw. Johansson doesn't push her acting style - she never rages or pouts or betrays too much emotion through facial tics. But the shy, intelligent performance grounds the picture, and provides Murray the stage to at long last unfurl some Cary Grant charm. The supporting cast, which includes Giovanni Ribisi as the geek-turned-gadfly photographer and Anna Faris as an airheaded actress working a junket at the same hotel, leave their small marks. And Tokyo itself is a character, with its bright lights rivaling Vegas. Paired with a warm, near-lullaby soundtrack, Coppola and cinematographer Lance Acord ("Adaptation" and "Being John Malkovich") punctuate "Lost In Translation" with dreamy, gorgeous Tokyo snapshots - Bob's golf outing near Mt. Fuji is the standout - without giving the film over to outright tourism. A club scene is pretty flat, but Coppola redeems it with a funny karaoke sequence inside a high-rise. The movie drags again while it brings Bob and Charlotte to the point where they admit the attraction, or remain coy. It's Bob who blinks, not surprisingly, but "Lost In Translation" ends with a powerful reconciliation that cements their connection. The movie's extended, final goodbye in a Tokyo market is shamelessly romantic, yet one of the great scenes in recent memory. Coppola the daughter is firmly out of her father Francis Ford's shadow with this movie, a darkhorse contender come awards season.
Rating: 
Summary: Murray at his best, Johansson his feminine equal
Review: Lost in Translation is the finest film I've seen so far this year. It's subtle yet brilliant portrait of a washed up movie star (Murray) who esapes to Japan to film some commercials and photo shoots and a young college grad (Johansson) who joined her newly wed husband to Japan for his photography assignment. The two of them come together and find comfort in each other rather than spending their sleepless nights wandering in certain limbo. They search the nights looking for excitement in their lives and end up building a bond that brings them closer. Lost is a beautifully filmed piece with outstanding performances by Bill Murray, at his comedic and sentimental best and equally impressive Scarlett Johansson, as his romantic, younger equal. Great work by Director Sofia Coppola, who has proved her own individual talents with this brilliant romantic comedy.
Rating:
Summary: extremely well-done -- they'll always have Tokyo!
Review: Bill Murray and Scarlett Johannsen shine in this movie about two Americans -- both married but in different age demographics --- who find themselves in bustling Tokyo, teeming with people, but nonetheless lonely. Murray is Bob Harris, an American actor who is there to film a commercial for whiskey. I liked that as it parallels Murray's actual life -- people bumping into him at bars saying "Hey! Aren't you that actor?" Bob keeps receiving faxes from his wife Lydia in the USA about how he missed their son's birthday, packages containing carpet samples for him to choose. All of it has a tone of "you would be HERE if you really cared." Johannsen is Charlotte, who has been married to John, a photographer, for 2 years. She tags along with him on assignment to Tokyo and finds herself not knowing who it is she married, as she tells someone in a tearful long-distance phone call. Charlotte sees Bob in the hotel bar and sends him a drink, because she sees in him a kindred spirit. He sees the same in her and they start hanging out, and their perception of Tokyop starts to change even though it is strictly platonic (in fact, she asks for his advice on marriage.) There is one point after a conversation where they are lying on the bed, fully clothed, and start to fall asleep as only people truly comfortable can do around each other, and Bob says "You're not hopeless." The affirmation can be applied to either one of them. It is touching how it is a friendship with romantic although not necessarily sexual overtones. Despite their age difference, they are peers in their search for meaning in their relationships and lives, and it's great that they can have fun in each other's company. As Charlotte says at one point, "Let's never come here again, because it will never be this much fun again."
Rating:
Summary: my favorite movie this year!
Review: this movie had such a simple message and a simple story with a touch of humor. i've not seen a movie in a long time that made me think long after i left the theater. i can't wait for this film to be released on DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Get "Lost" in this movie...
Review: Lost In Translation is, in many ways, the cinematic representation of lying on your back in a meadow with your best friends, day-dreaming and watching the clouds go by. Frankly it's not something I could do everyday, but it's not a waste of time and it's definitely enjoyable while it lasts.
L.I.T. doesn't require you to think very much; as previous reviewers have pointed out, there isn't much of a plot. However, everyone seems to think this is a bad thing - why must every movie have a defined plot? Why can't a movie just drift along and entertain us gently without resorting to tactics designed to shock, disgust or scare us.
The movie is beautifully put together and the cinematography is stunning. While others may point out a lack of depth in the character, I believe the characters purposefully remain closed to us, much like a stranger you might run into on holiday occasionally and shoot the breeze with, but never really feel like you know.
Coppola also resists the temptation to bring things to a traditional, neat, Hollywood ending, which I personally felt was fantastic - I had no desire to see a naked Bill Murray sweat all over a beautiful young girl who could be his grand-daughter. The conclusion of the movie itself is similarly perfect - why not let the viewer make up his/her own mind as to how they want the film to conclude? Do we need to be spoon-fed everything? The depiction of Tokyo itself is marvelous, and has left me with a strong desire to visit as soon as possible. It seems so futuristic, and really hits home how much more technologically advanced the Japanese are compared to us, while simultaneously maintaining an awesome sense of tradition. This brings me to my next point - the portrayal of the Japanese people themselves is borderline racist. Many of the jokes, especially at the start of the movie revolve around the fact that Japanese people are shorter than westerners, and can't speak English as well. Ha Ha. The double-standard implicit in the film's mindset is also spelled out explicitly when, at the start of the film, the joke is on the Japanese director, for not realizing Bill Murray can't understand a word he says - while at the end of the film the joke is on the Japanese chef, who can't understand what Bill Murray is saying to him. The suggestion that "shall we just wait around until a customer comes in and orders [black toe]?" is also mindboggling. I would be very interested to read how the Japanese media have reacted to this film... (Another "Spot-the-boom-mic" moment; When Bill Murray's in the bath talking to his wife on his cell the mic drops into frame right above his head! D'oh!) Overall if you go into this movie with the right mindset, waiting to be carried away on a beautiful journey to a strange and foreign world you'll be happy, but if you expect an emotional moment deeper than "Please don't let them end up in bed together" you might be disappointed. And keep an eye out for those racist undertones...
Rating:
Summary: Bill Murray; in Good Movies Again
Review: There is a time in every actor's career when he must face the fact that his function and his purpose as an actor have not only been reache, but usually that both have been far surpassed and drawn out. Bill Murray has not reached this point. Lost is Translation may be the best movie of 2003, with the stylistic Dogme camera style, the dead on performances, and story which is not only heartfelt, but true to life. This is a movie for people who want to believe in the power of movies again.
Rating: 
Summary: You'll Need a Double Expresso to Get Through This Yawner
Review: As a frequent traveler who has sometimes felt the displacement of another culture, I was looking forward to Lost in Translation. But twenty minutes into it, I was looking at my watch. If it weren't for the dialogue I would have sworn there was a technical problem and it was being shown in slow motion. Yes there were a couple of laughs, yes it was well acted, yes the cinematography was good but in the end nothing could overcome the weight of its incredibly slow pace. Perhaps I missed a deeper significance, but this movie was just plain boring.
Rating: 
Summary: Should be used as psychological warfare
Review: Someone NEEDS to tell the military about this movie. Make it a Weapon of mass MIND Destruction. I really really wanted to just poke out my eyeball with a fork on this one. I don't think i've ever seen such a bad movie (i'm a big murray fan and a movie buff)... the plot was weak, the characters were unformed at best, and the stereotypical Japinese atmosphere and people were enough to make me yack. This was probably the worst 7.50 spent on anything..
Rating:
Summary: IThink that: "Lost in Translation" is very apt.
Review: I found this to be such a lovely, quiet movie -and with wit and itelligence.Refreshing vocabulary -This kind of thing happens somtimes when one is travelling. -kindred,spirits - married, lonely and finding weird harmless fun together, which is the best kind. Gee do you think "Lost in Translation" is about their marriages too?
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