Rating: 
Summary: FUNNY?
Review: The movie had a few funny parts but it just didn't go anywere and a depressing feeling.
Rating: 
Summary: worst movie ever
Review: This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I kept expecting something to happen in the movie and it never did. There are a couple funny spots but they are few and far between. A most of the movie consists of shots of Japan with no dialog. Keep your money and see or buy something else!
Rating: 
Summary: You'll sleep more than the Stars
Review: I desperately wanted to see this movie after seeing the glowing reviews. Frankly, I was disappointed. By now everyone knows it's a story of Bill Murray, the aging star in Japan to make a lucrative commercial, and Scarlett Johansson as a young, unfulfilled wife. Much has been made of Murray's performance, but frankly, I don't see the excitement. He's basically playing Bill Murray and his enjoyable dry wit but there is absolutely no new ground broken here and no stretch required to play the role. If anything, he underacted. Scarlett Johansson is another matter. For such a young star she is able to convey her inner self with the slightest blank look. I predict a long and very successful career. I left the theater feeling very unfulfilled. Could the press and nepotism in Hollywood account for the hype of this film? Was it the intellectual's desire to tell us what we would enjoy? Or is this another Coppola masterpiece? All I knew is when I left, I was bored and depressed. But over the next two days, I continually revisited the haunted Scarlett Johansson character. Does she divorce? Does she ever get happy? Does she see Murray again? DOES SHE FINALLY GET OUT OF JAPAN? And that's what makes the film worth the trip. when an actor/screenwriter/director can make you think. Entertaining movie? Not really. Thought provoking? Yes!
Rating:
Summary: LOST IN MEDIOCRITY
Review: Probably the most overrated film of the year. A good word for this movie is DULL, because it goes nowhere fast. Bill Murray is a has-been actor from the states filming a commercial in Japan. While there and bored he meets Scarlett Johansson, who is also bored. They get together and are bored together. Its contagious and quickly spread to the audience. Not sure what the buzz is about. Murray's talent is clearly wasted here. Rent or buy something else.
Rating:
Summary: Lost in Disappointment...
Review: Like Shelley Fyfe, I felt robbed when I left the cinema. I thought with an original title like 'Lost in Translation, a talented cast headed by Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson and Giovanni Ribisi and a Coppola directing it, what could go wrong? Well in my view, from the moment that the film's dialogue started, it just went awry. 'Lost in Translation' centers around 2 neglected Americans who become drawn to each other because of their mutual loneliness and their need to find themselves. Bill Murray plays a has-been actor who feels more loved in Japan than in his native land. He sees Johansson often in their hotel, she plays an educated, young and married woman who feels neglected by her husband, a photographer (Giovanni Ribisi). These 2 characters become attracted to each other on a strictly platonic level at first but one begins to question that as the film continues. So far, so good, right? Wrong. My main qualm about this film that makes me give it 2 stars is the fact that this film is blatantly patronising to the Japanese: the constant, patronising and derisive comments uttered by Bill Murray made me think - Has Hollywood come to this? Do you need to make fun of people's accents and culture to gain an Oscar nod and laughs from expatriates? Even without the condescending remarks to the Japanese, the pace of the film is slow and worn out. You want to find out whether the 2 characters do have any genuine feelings for each other or whether it is platonic, but the film does not offer a platform for their feelings or their appreciation for each other to develop. Last Thoughts: Why did Johansson and Murray agree to do this film?
Rating: 
Summary: Love the Movie, Hate the DVD
Review: I think this is a wonderful film. I just want to vent my spleen over its DVD printing. There is a five minute forced viewing preview on the disc. If you buy this movie, then every single time you want to watch it, you are forced to watch previews for three or four other films. During those five minutes, you may fast forward, but you can't skip track or go directly to menu. Had I known this before I purchased this DVD, I would have left it in the store. I don't care for this trend in forced advertising. I already spent my $20 buying this DVD, I don't think I should be forced to watch a single minute of it.
Rating: 
Summary: Sleepless in Tokyo?
Review: One of the most thoughtful and beautiful movies I've seen in the past year. Coppola is clearly an observant writer and director. There are several little fascinating, yet unexplained observations of life in modern Japan (the traditional wedding party and the Tokyo video arcade are good examples). These scenes are engaging because we are also engaged by the two main characters who are stumbling through this strange world, even as they are discovering a soul mate in each other. The photography is beautiful. One of my favorite compositions is a shot of Murray driving a golf ball off a tee with a beautiful mountain backdrop (Mt. Fuji maybe?) In another eye-filling scene, Johansson meanders through a park filled with ribboned trees, and stepping stone ponds. Scenic nature is nice, but even better is the urban atmosphere of Tokyo. Both the interior and exterior shots are interestingly composed and lit. The hotel and taxi scenes were evocative, reminding me of Polanski's "Frantic", another jet-lagged, fish-out-of-water movie. (The only scene I could have done without was strip club scene, but it was mercifully short.) There is great writing and acting as well. There are interesting read-between-the-lines conversations several times; like when Murray meets a couple American businessmen in the hotel bar. And the unspoken expressive acting between the two when they go out for a silent lunch after he disappoints her was also very well done. If you like dialogue and character development, this movie's for you. Since the two main characters comment often about not being able to sleep, it's tempting to call the movie 'Sleepless in Tokyo'. But while I like the Seattle movie, the similarities aren't that many. It's just a good pun. Why this movie is categorized as a comedy I'm not sure. Murray is very funny, but in an understated way. And the movie is much deeper than most comedies I see. Maybe I'm just biased against the word 'comedy' because so many of them don't appeal to my taste. This movie appealed to me in so many ways. I heartily recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: The Emperor's Clothes
Review: After all the hoopla and misguided 'critics' fawning over this film, I went ahead and watched it, and came away feeling exactly as I felt years ago after watching 'Life is Beautiful' (albeit two very different films in tone)--I had just been subjected to a prime example of The Emperor's Clothes. Instead of joining the lemmings who praise this utter yawner, call it what it is: BOOOOORRRRRIIINNNGG. Dull, dull, dull, and not even close to what it's made out to be. I'm a big fan of Bill Murray, but to call him Oscar worthy is nothing short of a travesty. My only moment of levity (in between the yawns) was in the karaoke scene where Murray starts to sing--sounded just like his character Ned the Lounge Lizard from SNL days. Very one dimensional. Johannson at least shows she has talent, but considering the sleep-walk everyone else in this movie took, most anyone could stand out with even a minor amount of emotion. Far and away the biggest disappointment I've seen in the past couple years, especially given the hoopla. Was everyone else given a different video, and I only saw the out-takes?
Rating:
Summary: This movie sucked...artistic or not...it just sucked
Review: I don't understand how someone can say a movie is good just because it's artistic. Take the movie for what it is. The movie to me was boring and uneventful. It was kind of racist after I thought about it. Japanese surfers...she seemed like she was trying to make a spoof of this. She was basically commenting on the whole japanese culture in this movie, thats all it really was. The characters where there just for her comments on japanese culture. The love between the two characters was the reason I watched it. The development of their love seemed plastic and pushed. Yes, they were two strangers needing a partner in a time when they were alone. Everyone understands this. The problem lies in the development of their love. The Karaoke scenes were good but the rest of the interaction and dialogue was pretty much passe. If this was supposed to be artistic and fresh, then show some new ideas about love. I read somewhere how Coppola was "true" to her characters. The characters didn't have much development opportunities so there was nothing to be true too. They were kind of boring actually. Bill Murray was funny, but the girl was vanilla plain. There are plenty of movies where a middle age man meets a young woman and sparks develop. Where does this movie seperate itself from those movies...it doesn't. That is the problem. When it comes down to it this movie is just bad, artistic or not.
Rating:
Summary: Racism
Review: In response to "A Viewer" from VT below - you posted a near identical comment on February 13 under the pseudonym "Projek A". I think that to keep revisiting this site under different names to keep banging the "racist" drum in the guise of a review is a little worrying. As I said below my impression of the Japanese in this film was very positive. I think you have to accept though that the film is a story of alienation, told from the viewpoint of characters in the throes of culture shock, jet lag, and existential doubt. If we are seeing the world interpreted through them it is bound to be painted in broad stokes. I don't believe this film sold itself as an exploration of Japan's very rich culture, it is simply the background and context for an examination of the main protagonists feelings.
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