Rating: 
Summary: so clear if you've gone to tokyo
Review: I liked this movie when I saw it, but felt that some of the melodrama was a bit over the top.
After being a gaijin in tokyo, so much of this movie became clear--especially the reason for so much melodrama. Spend at least a week in Tokyo by yourself with minimal japanese, and you will understand everything. You really feel the hollowness that was portrayed.
My favorite scene has become Murray on the escalator at the JR station during rush hour...you're standing with a few thousand people and you're completely alone, in relative quiet (no one talks).
The desolate emptiness shown by the characters...it's real after a few days in Tokyo. I love Tokyo, but it can be very...strange.
This movie does a great job of using the unsettling effect of Tokyo exposure to intensify the characters' personal conflicts.
The santori director is a reference to remarks made by an actor (Harrisson Ford?) on the only direction that George Lucas gives his actors.
Rating: 
Summary: Lost In Translation
Review: This is the very worst, most boring, unfunny movie I have ever seen. Avoid it like the plague. Only reason the rating is one star is zero was not an available option.
Rating: 
Summary: They got it just right
Review: It was wonderful. It came to me at a time of uncertainty in my own life, and it made me feel human again. The imagery and humor made the film come to life, and the performances by Johansson and Murray were perfect. It reminded me that sometimes the best thing in your life, or for your life, is not necessarily in front of your face.
Everyone seems to have a mixed view of this film. Watch it and decide for yourself what it means to you.
Rating:
Summary: Expected Something Smarter
Review: From all the film reviews I'd expected something more intelligent than the retreaded humor about how Japanese roll their r's, their short stature (actually they're getting quite tall these days, must be eating more McBurgers), and cultural differences played for laughs. Murray's character is a snotty bore, angry and frustrated for being there, and dimissive of a culture that he never really tries to understand. The ugly American in a foreign land who is angry because the natives don't speak English correctly; the nerve! I'd have more sympathy for Murray's character if he'd actually tried to reach out to anyone, got off his sorry duff and tried to reach out the Japanese for a change, use a few lines of broken Japanese perhaps, but he never does and that's the shame of this film. Coppola seems talented and the cinematography was beautiful, but this film still read like a spoiled, jaded rich girl's vision of Japan. It was all about the beautiful surface.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: It was nice to see this movie. There we are, in Tokio with Bill Murray... This guy is one of the few good actors in Hollywood, a pit he has been so underestimated all these years! He has this thing that you just look and get engaged, what is essential for his role in this movie. I think people is so used to watch "easy-to-see expect-an-unintelligent-audience soap-opera cheesy-and-popcorn good-guy-gets-good-girl" sort of movies, that they get a bit confused with this one. And it's not a matter of watching this movie with an open mind... just sit, eat your popcorn (this isn't any problem), and try to think 2 minutes after watching it... (no, it isn't necessary make a long reflection)... Actually, you can skip thinking 2 minutes too... The very thing that I loved in this movie is that what everybody is expecting to happen at any time (sooner or later... probably later, in the end, as usual...) never happens... I hope I'm not spoiling things here... But the story is very simple... nice guy (Bill Murray) meets a nice girl whose husband lets her too much time alone... Besides, the nice guy is far from home and isn't getting nice conversations with his wife in the phone... Well, what does everybody expect to happen here? I'm not even say... The real spoiler might be that... it doesn't happen! And that's great that it doesn't happen... Seeing the trailer one can understand what this movie is really about... The guys don't speak japanese and need translators.. but they suddenly share something that doesn't need translation, which is friendship! And that's it. Nothing more, nothing less. Just friendship. For people that think that they understand immediately the point of other people... I would say at this point.. You are wrong... No I'm not saying that just because this movie breaks with a cliche this automatically makes it better than the others. I'm not even saying that it's better than anything. I'm just saying this is a good movie, I enjoyed it, I hope you enjoy too, and you get an enriching experience as I did. What's nice in the movie is the interaction among the characters and how people simply can't avoid feeling unhappy just because they're passing some time bored or a bit lonely, and don't have a nice way to kill time or some nice company... The point here is: Bill Murray is married and have some children! He's passing for some kind of personal crisis, and his relationship is not wonderful, but it's no reason for him to get a divorce and begin another relationship, just because he's going out with a nice young girl (that probably would turn out to be like his wife after some time engaged in a relationship with him...) Let us face the facts, no relationship is perfect and wonderful all the time. The truth is that one wouldn't be necessarily more happy just switching partners every time things are not so good and one meets another "nice" one... Of course, I'm not saying that one wouldn't want, if possible... Well... I hope you get my meaning here... The girl in the movie is just bored! She's not enjoying things, she doesn't like japanese tv, doesn't feel anything in a japanese church, doesn't comprehend (nor wants to understand) japanese culture, etc.. And his husband is leaving her too much time alone... That's her problem... She simply can't avoid the feeling that she's not as happy as she wanted to be... Besides, she's not even considering the hypothesis that she might be passing for a rich moment in her life. However, it doesn't mean that get involved with Bill Murray would make her life better, or make her more talented (other thing that she complains, that she's not very talented for her work...). That's it... So what? See the movie, and see what happens...
Rating: 
Summary: I just didn't get it.
Review: The rating is more like 2.5 stars, but who's counting. The main reason I didn't get or like this movie is because I've never been to Japan. I can't feel for the characters because I don't know the culture, which I get that they don't either, but it still just didn't work for me.
Rating:
Summary: i guess i am too dumb for this
Review: I was looking forward to this film to be released on dvd and rented it about three weeks ago. Amazingly, it still remains in me memory of certain distaste. The music by Kevin Shields was nice and so was Tokyo. The rest of the film (story, characters and cal) tried desperately to appear deep and dimensional, but it just didn't work. Maybe it was because the film was from Hollywood and I thought the colours were just too rich in contrast to the slow, boring mood in the film. Somehow i got the impression that the Coppola wanted to achieve those moods and... a story about people being meaninglessly stupid and fearing their own loneliness (although they brought it upon themselves). If true, well done fooling us! Just dont bring any expectations when watching Lost In Translation, but rather have your own voice and emphaised with the characters when you wish to.
Rating:
Summary: Not everyone will understand the humor behind it.
Review: Prior to watching this film, some understandings of the Japanese culture is highly recommended. In the Japanese language, there's no pronunciation to distinguish between the "L" and "R" sounds. They do not roll their tongue when speaking so the "L" and "R" sounds come out to be the same. The Japanese term for "to cover" can also mean "to close" when translated literally. The most common S&M fantasy in the Japanese adult video involves a woman role-playing as a victim who is continuously struggling, moaning, and yelling out "stop!" as the man removes her clothes. A Japanese talk show with a whacky and goofy looking host is called a "variety show". It's a type of unstructured, anything-goes TV program that usually offers various contents geared toward viewers of all ages. In Japan, people often tie folded notes to a "wish-making tree". It's the Japanese version of a wish fountain. Hot-Pot is a popular way of Asian dining (especially during winter season) where customers cook their own food in a boiling pot and then dip it in sauce that's mixed accordingly to their own taste. The benefit of cooking your own food in a restaurant is that there's no clean-up afterwards. "Lost in Translation is by all accounts a huge film. Telling of a 50-something married man and a 20ish married woman - both Americans stuck in a hotel in Tokyo with too much time on their hands - who come together to soothe the yearning they both have for companionship. It is a sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, and always sensitive look at the importance of being human. Masterfully struck from little more than nuances with slick art and technicals, this Coppola coup will tell you more about who you are than about the two principals. Lost in Translation will speak most loudly to anyone who has ever experienced the love which could never be." (IMDB)
Rating:
Summary: Bleak, Boring, Bleah
Review: If you're looking for something to do with your Saturday night, scratch "Watch Lost in Translation" off your list right now, and move on to "Have eyes pecked out by seagulls"
You'll be far happier that you did.
Rating:
Summary: Ignore negative reviews of this movie!
Review: "Lost in Translation" was the best film I saw that came out in 2003, maybe coming in close to "Monster", however by the time that film opened in my city it was '04, but maybe that doesn't count. Other reviewers called this movie boring or pointless, but you just have to enjoy the fact that this movie isn't really complex, but instead its simplicity is what makes it so good. Instead of all the C.G.I. blockbusters out there now, it's nice to see a movie that completely focuses on human elements. "Lost in Translation" is really just about a relationship two people develop at semi-confusing times in their lives, and how that relationship develops into something important to them. If you think you could find yourself interested in this very simple but captivating storyline, you'll love this movie. Sofia Coppola relies on shots of Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson kissing each other goodnight or looking at each other to make you interested rather than creating tons of computer-generated monsters. Sure, people go to movies for an otherworldly cinematic experience, which is always nice, but this film proves that movies don't always have to go to insane levels to be great. However, even though some of the people who knocked this movie seem very closed-minded, I'm a 16 year old male who usually doesn't care to see movies that don't have action or violence, and I still loved this movie.
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