Rating: 
Summary: You have got to be kidding
Review: This movie was awful. No story line, blatant metaphors about being alone even though surrounded by people. This could have been an important movie about finding friends when you least expect it or how people become so easily lost within and unhappy with their lives......I like independent "artsy" films BUT obviously the only reason this one got so much industry attention was because WHO the writer and director is. We can all hope she actually develops some talent instead of riding on her family name.
Rating: 
Summary: I LIKE IT A LITTLE MORE
Review: Igave this film a 3-star rating but now 4 cuz I seen it again and like other slower paced films like 'ABOUT SCMIDT' its gotta be seen differently than a hollywood film.Sophia Coppola said at the OSCARS she was influenced by Antonioni.I have many of his films and like Andre Tarkovsky must be judged apart from every one else.Their films seem slow and dull but keep watching them and their art is revealed.This is a italian trait.VISCONTI,FELLINI,BERTILUCCI,ETC...CEPT SERGIO LEONE,one of my faves of all-time,a grand opera of violence.I don't find this a racist film,the japanese are a charming people.I know they are intelligent and well-read.They are friendly and polite.We americans could learn a few things from asian cultures.Some of the one star posts seem from action crazed fans.I think if you are intelligent and can enjoy subtle and perceptive films this is a fine film.If you like the he-man action movies,fantasy fluff or lewed sex jokes this may not be your cup of coffee.
Rating: 
Summary: A rare blend of subtle power
Review: Lost in Translation for me is the perfect movie. It uses none of the Hollywood cliches found so often and instead tells its story in its own way. Reading a summary of the story, one would have trouble understanding why this film has garnered so much praise, yet upon viewing it is obvious. The characters relate in such a way that you are almost there with them as they blossom their relationships. Sofia Coppola has crafted a wonderful experience that slowly takes shape over the 100 or so minutes before it ends. I have a feeling this is a semi-autobiographical story in a lot of ways, but if that's what it takes for a writer to build something like this, more power to her. I give her credit for putting her own life into the mix when necessary, yet still creating new fiction that helps the story reach such a powerful peak. Some of the characters are a bit "thin", such as Charlotte's husband, but the emotion displayed by Johansson tell all that is missing from his role. The same effect is there when Bill Murray talks to his never seen wife on the telephone. I just loved how this movie never had to dumb it down to the lowest common denominator to get the story across. The scenes with Scarlett and Bill (which encompass most of the film) are so subtle, but at the same time powerful, that I was completely into it the whole time. This film tells me that American film can compete with the great films of Europe when the correct ingredients are present. Unfortunately this film is rare for American films. Watching the Oscars last night almost left me sad to see Bill Murray come up short in the best actor category. Then again, acting awards are completely ridiculous as all roles are subjective and cannot be compared. Also, I have seen enough of the Academy Awards to realize that the prize usually goes to the most over the top acting out there. I guess this is rambling but if it helps another film lover to see this film, I have done my job. Enjoy it (or not) and go from there.
Rating:
Summary: Hotel at the end of the universe
Review: The opening credits focus lovingly on Scarlett Johansson's rump as she lies in bed. We follow her as she gets up to look out the window of the Tokyo hotel room, focusing on a facsimile of the Empire State Building. Bill Murray is introduced with much greater fanfare, as he arrives at the hotel in a shiny black limousine with the lights of the porte-cochere reflecting off the windshield. He is in town to do a commercial for Santori whiskey. An aging actor whose draw seems to be mostly in Japan. Coppola takes her time in bringing these two actors together. At first a fleeting glance, then seeing each other in the lounge. They seem to come together out of boredom more than anything else. The movie initially has the melancholy tone of Leaving Las Vegas, but Coppola takes a warmer look at her characters. She doesn't let the film devolve into pathos, but keeps it relatively light an airy, as the characters embark on a whirlwind tour of Tokyo, led by an intrepid Japanese guide. The film offers a wonderful assemblage of Tokyo life replete with Murray taking a picture-perfect swing on a long fairway with Mount Fuji rising in the distance. Coppola makes no effort to translate the swirl of language around these characters. Murray bemused that by the truncated translations of the commercial director's instructions. Both characters find themselves in dead end marriages. Murray has been plugging along for 25 years, sticking it out for no other reason it seems than for his kids. While Johansson has only recently been married to a fashion photographer who seems to have little time for her. Rather than be a tag-a-long, she spends her time wandering around Tokyo in search of some intrinsic value, momentarily seeming to sense it in a traditional wedding she spies upon. Mostly, she seems to be wanting reassurance, which she was unable to get when she calls her parents. Enter Murray's world-weary personage. It is really a shame Bill Murray didn't win an Oscar for this role. It was a beautifully understated performance that showed what a consumate actor he is. Johansson more than holds her own to Murray, making her mark in this movie. But, what holds this movie together is the remarkably sensitive camera work. Sofia Coppola is a very gifted director, able to see so much in subtle details and drawing the most from her actors, which she first exhibited in The Virgin Suicides.
Rating: 
Summary: To be rich, beautiful and bored in Japan
Review: "Lost in Translation" shows once again that, while Sofia Coppola has a fine eye for visuals, she is a poor storyteller. This movie comes across like a pouting super-model, beautiful and fashionable and sophisticated looking but attempt to scratch the surface and you will find less than a fingernail's depth. The ennui of the idle rich. Bored and rich are the characters in this film. Bored with their treasures so undeservedly received, as in the case of Bob's million-dollar commercial. Bored with being rich enough to not require an occupation, but trying to pass the hours in some fashion, as with Charlotte. Bored with the expensive hotels, the dives, the temples, their families. Really, there is nothing that cannot bore this boring duo. Ennui at its most self-indulgent. I have no problem with a slow storytelling style, or understated and unspoken dialog. I am a huge fan of Ozu, and I know how a master craftsperson can manipulate emotions using a minimal of stimulus. However, as the saying goes, Sofia Coppola is no Ozu. Her storytelling lacks the depth necessary for that style, and it comes off as an affectation. Shallow as "Lost in Translation" is, there are some redeeming qualities. Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson deliver a find performances, the best possible when working with such material. The visuals are lovely, and one can almost catalog the influences director by director. The treatment of Japan has often been called racist, but, aside from the prostitute scene, I don't think so. It is no more racist than "Crocodile Dundee" and presents about as accurate a portrait of the country and its people. Don't come to Tokyo expecting to find what you see in this movie. Its too bad that the staff didn't go with their initial impulse, and fire Sofia Coppola and bring on a more talented director. The same cast, with the same concept could have produced an excellent film. Coppola could have stayed on as cinematographer.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: Phew, what a breathe of fresh air this movie is. I'm sick of hollywood movies made for people with a 1 second concentration span. I'm sick of mindless, moronic, predictable, over-edited, hollywood crap. Now THIS is what I call a MOVIE. Scarlett should have at least been nominated for her role. She is fantastic in this movie....totally natural and believable...not to mention utterly adorable. I'm sure Sophia is kicking herself for forgetting to mention Sccarlet in her Oscar acceptance speech. Congratulations Sophia, great job all round. I loved your choice of Kevin Shields for scoring the music. I'm sure he's happy too. God bless you Sophia, you probably worked yourself into the ground to make this movie for $4 million. I really appreciate that. Congratulations on your Oscar. Richly deserved.
Rating:
Summary: Oscar - for shame! This film deserved much better.
Review: I don't know what's happened to the Oscars. Maybe the Academy always voted for shallow movies? All I know is that Lord of the Rings must be about the least deserving Oscar winner of all time, and Lost in Translation must be the unluckiest Oscar nominee of all time. To my mind, Lost In Translation should have swept the Oscars this year. All I can think is that the judges just didn't get it. Shame! This movie deserved better in terms of accolades. Not many directors can make such a subtle yet deeply moving piece of art, and the fact that this director emerged from a Hollywood environment makes her achievement even greater. Bravo Sofia Coppola and the cast and crew of Lost In Translation! This is an awesome movie, and the shameful lack of laurels it received from the industry only reflects poorly on those who couldn't see its greatness. One more thing - about the racism that some seem to see in the film. I just don't see it. Sure, there are some tongue-in-cheek remarks made (in jest) about cultural differences, but that's the reality of people trying to connect in a foreign environment. It may be culture-ist, but I just don't see the racism. The same kind of jokes would have arisen if the movie had been set in Rome, Athens, London or Berlin, where the population tends to be racially similar to America. As I saw it, the Americans were as much the butt of the jokes as were the Japanese. Anyway, do films that strive to be authentic really have to be politically correct? I don't think so.
Rating:
Summary: DUMB AND DUMBERER
Review: I'm going to quote an anonymous reviewer whose opinion I wholeheartedly agree with, regarding those leaving inane 1-star reviews for this amazing movie. "You are dumb, you'll always be dumb, you don't realize it, and you'll never understand movies like this." Ditto. But thank you for explaining why "Armageddon" made so much money and why half the country still supports the lying criminal of a President we currently have in office. Can't wait for the backlash! Bring it on, morons!
Rating:
Summary: I'm shocked -- 3 stars?
Review: I find it difficult to imagine that THIS many people disliked this film. I can see four stars....maybe...but three? Come ON. Though I usually can't help but let reviewers' opinions sway my preferences, this time I stand proudly at odds with those who gave this film three stars or less. I thought it was a n excellent, refreshing film....and I'm definitely buying the DVD.
Rating:
Summary: The Haiku Review
Review: Subtle and heartfelt. Emotional connections, Genuine and real.
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