Rating: 
Summary: I'm lost
Review: I'll be the first to admit I'm not the most astute film reviewer in the world, and I don't appreciate all the deep meanings behind a movie, but would someone please tell me what the fuss was about this film?Two lonely people meet in Tokyo, both suffering from a lack of sleep and some serious culture shock. They meet, hang out, almost have an affair, and ...? I guess I'm a dumb American, but what's the point? OK, I'll concede a couple of scenes were a little funny, but yikes, the movie as a whole was a snoozer. (...).
Rating:
Summary: $9 nap
Review: This has got to be the most boring movies of
all time! At the beginning of the move my
wife promptly fell asleep and I had to fight
to stay awake to see some entertainment value
in this film. The humor was cliche and the
endless hours in the hotel room were unbearable.
Regardless of whether you are in Japan or Europe,
if you choose to mope in your room or go out and
explore, you are in control of your experience.
Rating:
Summary: i want my money back...............
Review: The movie started well with a few humurous situations, but degenerated quickly into where one feels that SOMETHING will happen that will actually give the viewer a story or storyline.......alas, it was a complete waste of time......the person i was with (usually she watches deep dramatic movies with meaning) even said " let's go" so we hightailed it out of there along with most of the viewers.... this movie wasted more than an hour of my life.... it should air on "discovery channel" and may pass as a documentary about Japan, but nothing else...i felt cheated not because of the money i paid, but i felt let down since it had gotten such good reviews.... maybe because its about how 2 different people with totally different backgrounds can find something in common, but that in itself is a weak theme. Or it could have been done in a more exciting or interesting way that holds a viewers attention.........this way, the 'movie-documentary' is an evening wasted. One good thing i got out of it is that i wont eve watch another movie directed by this Coppolla woman... just proves that nepotism is a failure...just because you have the name, doesnt mean you can do it....
Rating:
Summary: Lost in Meaning
Review: With all the praise that this movie garnered,I came away feeling as empty as the characters.
I wondered why this movie did not explore more of the dynamics between Japanese/foreigner?
The characters come together only out of lonely circumstances,and given any other place,would more than likely not be bothered knowing each other.
Hanging out together in a different city does not make one a true friend,let alone soul mate.
Sorry Sophia,this movie doesn't cut it.
Rating: 
Summary: Sleepless in Tokyo
Review: Bill Murray is a movie actor who has come to Tokyo to film whisky ads. Scarlett Johansson plays the wife of a young photographer who is doing a shoot in Tokyo, but who is too busy to pay much attention to her. They are both sleep-deprived and culture-shocked which seems like a good start to a relationship. The movie pokes a lot of fun at the differences between American and Japanese cultures, from Bill Murray towering over the diminutive Japanese in an elevator, to a Japanese director who is trying to get Murray to look like Frank Sinatra of the "lat pack" (rat pack.) Murray makes the most of these scenes and is hilarious as he gets carried away on an exercise machine and watches Japanese ladies prancing in a pool in a water aerobics class. The movie is slow at the beginning and I kept wondering, "What is the point to all of this", but eventually the developing friendship between Murray and Johannson is a joy to behold and it doesn't need much plot to sustain it. Some of the characters seem unnecessarily shrill, such as the movie star friend of Johannson's husband and the manic talk-show host who interviews Murray, but perhaps these characters just serve as a contrast to the laid-back and somewhat melancholy main characters. All in all, this is a good film and I look forward to more pictures from Sofia Coppola.
Rating: 
Summary: A DEADLY BORE...
Review: This is a film that both my daughter and I were interested in seeing, given the acclaim that Bill Murray's performance had drawn. Moreover, the film itself had drawn critical acclaim. So, when my daughter was home from college one weekend, we decided to hunker down and watch it together. When we both fell asleep while watching it, we decided that we were just tired. So, we decided to give it another go around the next evening. Well, unlike love, it was not much better the second time around, though we managed to avoid falling asleep, yet again. Quite frankly, if Sophia Coppola, the writer and director of this film, were not the daughter of legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, I am convinced that this film would have quickly vanished without a trace. In fact, I doubt that it would even have been made. When her acting career fizzled, after making her less than memorable acting debut in her father's film "Godfather III", Sophia Coppola apparently turned her hand to directing and was let loose upon an unsuspecting public. While this film has good production values, it simply meanders along in a loosey-goosey sort of way. If focuses upon two individuals, Americans who find themselves in Tokyo, alienated from their surroundings and, seemingly, from life in general. One of these individuals is Bob Harris, a film actor on a career downslide, who now finds himself shilling whiskey in Japan for mega bucks, while his movie career is at an impasse. The other is a beautiful twenty-five year old woman, a Yale Graduate with a degree in philosophy, who is in Japan with her husband, a photographer who is working on a shooting assignment. Bob Harris, played with wry bemusement by Bill Murray, is a man who is alienated from his family and, quite frankly, just plain lonely. His is a stark universe, as he seems to have a myopic view on life, seeing little beyond his luxury hotel's bar, where he like to go and drink. Charlotte, played with surprising maturity and flair by eighteen year old Scarlett Johansson, feels bereft and set adrift, as she struggles to keep herself occupied while her husband is ostensibly working. It is these two souls whose worlds collide, coloring their perspectives on life when an unlikely bond forms between them. The film, which takes place in Tokyo, Japan, appears to mock the Japanese. Its stereotypic portrayal of the Japanese people, generally as buffoons, is reprehensible and a cheap joke. Sophia Coppola apparently thinks that the way Japanese people speak English is funny, as it is a running, unfunny joke through out the film. Since the film takes place in Japan, perhaps it might have been funnier to see Bob (or Charlotte) attempt to speak Japanese, rather than turn Bob into the quintessential ugly American. The film meanders along lacking a definitive narrative and any real profundity of thought. While there is definition about the characters' exterior selves, the film never delves into their inner selves in defining their present state of affairs. There are no big or traditional cinematic moments. Unfortunately, there are no small ones either, as there is really no introspection by either of the two protagonists. This is a film that viewers will either love or hate. I fall into the latter category. "Lost in Translation" is simply lost on me.
Rating: 
Summary: A must see for the Non-provincial
Review: This movie is indeed the defining role for Murray. I am looking forward to watching Sofia Copola's career develop and will watch anything she makes because of this movie. For anyone who has traveled internationally, you will identify with it immeidately! The wit is dry and provincial twits won't get it, but it is one of the funniest movies of the decade.
Rating:
Summary: lost in the doldrums
Review: All I have to say is, if you want a movie to put you to sleep, this is definitely IT! This film is perfect for the insomniac looking for a way to sleep without the aid of sleeping pills! One of THE most boring movies in the past 10 years which somehow was able to receive quite a few academy award nominations. I don't recommend this movie. It's sad because I think Bill Murray is such a talented comedic actor. He has been so entertaining in most of his other films, just not this one. There is only 1 laughable scene, where he is in the midst of making a commercial. The dialogue between Bill and his Japanese director is priceless. However, that scene alone is not worth the time it takes to filter through this boring story line. Save your time and energy and see any number of his other movies instead. You'll be happy that you didn't waste your time sitting through lost in the doldrums.
Rating:
Summary: Not my cup of saki..............
Review: Having lived in Japan for nearly 14 years, I was so hoping for a look at a country I love (like is seen in parts of "Enlightenment Gauranteed"). Instead I found this to be a depressing, non-acted film where the Japanese were made to sound stupid because Bill Murray's character simply didn't want to take the time to learn and understand anything about this marvelous place and its citizens. Here he and Johannson's character had the opportunity of a lifetime to enjoy Japan and all it has to offer and instead they were maudlin and condescending. This could have been a good film...it was not but that may be because I personally know what the characters missed. Regardless, I think the movie cast Japanese people from a less than positive vantage point which was offensive to me and I think will be to others.
Rating: 
Summary: A short lifetime experienced in a Tokyo hotel.
Review: It is hard to describe this film. To do so would leave the other person somewhat bewildered as to why you would be suggesting they spend an hour or two of their life watching other people just hang out. In fact, that just about does describe the film. Set in Tokyo, a famous actor is being paid well to shoot commercials about whiskey, while being shouted at in Japanese. In the same hotel is a young wife who is traveling with her photographer husband, and is left to wander around while he works all the time. And? Well that's about it. Half the time while watching the film I thought to myself, "something did get lost in translation", because how in the world did this film get nominated for best picture? Yet, the rest of the time I did get drawn in to the wonderful mood. Life sometimes finds us in moments which create a whole lifetime by themselves. We find ourselves somewhere we do not really want to be, but when connections are made, we may not want to leave. Once back in our routine these moments may fade away, but while in them, we lived briefly another life altogether. This is the way the film "worked" for me. I did not want the film to end, but yet I did not want anything "big" to happen either as that would have spoiled the reality. Is the acting as good as people say it is? Who knows? I guess I really did buy into these people, as if it really was Bill Murray, stuck in a hotel and surrounded by glad-handling Japanese people, and connecting with this young woman in a friendship that is full of sexual tension which is thankfully never acted on. So I guess the acting is sound in that regard. Overall, I think this is a film that a person will either be drawn in to, or bored to death. But for what it is, it does capture the emotions and mood of the moment well. Like the characters it depicts, the audience may also get to live a another short lifetime in a Tokyo hotel.
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