Rating: 
Summary: Did the critics see a different film?
Review: I just saw "Lost In Translation" last night, trying to view all the 2003 Oscar Contenders before February 29's Academy Awards. After seeing it, I'm wondering if the critics saw a completely different film. It's certainly different from its rivals for Best Picture, but different isn't always better.Critical accolades and Oscar nominations aside, "Lost In Translation" suffers from a complete lack of plot and character development. Director Sofia Coppola certainly has an eye for interesting shots, but her talents as a screenwriter need development. Coppola is astounded at what her camera finds in Japan, but will you be? Wow: Japan has karaoke! Video arcades! Obnoxious talk show hosts! What a crazy country! Billed as a romantic comedy, "Lost In Translation" takes forever to go nowhere. 70 minutes pass before lead characters Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson have a serious conversation. Up to that point, the film presents a "slice of life" view of Japan. Murray and Johansson run from one party to another, enjoying each other's company but never really developing any rapport or chemistry. Coppola falls in love with her shots, but lingers way too long on each one, utterly failing to develop any dramatic momentum. The talented Giovanni Ribisi is wasted in a nothing role. I'm certainly not put off by films with a minimum of dialogue or action (after all, my favorite film is "2001: a space odyssey"). But Coppola's talents have not developed to the point where she can find the right notes in such a subtle story. Perhaps she had a great film in Japan, but something has been "lost in translation" (sorry, couldn't resist!)
Rating: 
Summary: BILL MURRAY
Review: IF YOU DIG BILL YOU HAVE GOT TO SEE THIS. HE IS HILARIOUS.
NATURAL, ADLIB TYPE STUFF. AWESOME.
Rating: 
Summary: Wish My Dad Was Frances Ford Coppola!
Review: Living over-seas in Southeast Asia, I was really looking forward to enjoying this movie. It was a tremdous disapointment. It is horribly slow, has little plot, and can these character's be more self absorbed? Japan is such an interesting place to visit even if you don't know the language. But these characters are so shallow they can't get past the differences in the language. If "Charlotte" is supose to be a philosophy grad, she sure wasted a lot of time in Japan not looking into the incredible amounts of philisophical sights and ideas that are right on the surface of this culture. It was about two really insecure people that had nothing to offer the audience at all. A great Graduate school project, but don't waste your money.
Rating:
Summary: utterly lost
Review: In writing this,I have to admit to having not seen the DVD version of this film.But I have seen the cinema version just this afternoon.What a lot of overrated tripe.The film has no meaning,no goal,and seems to drift from scene to scene.The characters seemed to lack a sense of purpose,and the European style "lingering shot" just looked ridiculous,as if the script writer had run out of ideas.I found trying to identify with the characters hard going ,and ultimately couldn't care less.If I were Bill Murray,I would be embarrassed to have appeared in this film,and even more embarrassed to receive an oscar for this role,a role in which not much was required.And as for Scarlett Johansson,the only thing that can be said about her ,is that she looks good in her underwear,little else.
Lost in Translation's right,utterly lost.
Rating:
Summary: LOST IN TRANSLATION
Review: I love this movie it is the closest thing to the old Woody Allen movies of the seventies. Bill Murray is superb with his trademark bemused expressions, as for Scarlett Johansen she is a very beautiful talented actress with a great future ahead.
They should both win the oscar for best actor/actress.
Also Anna Faris is great as an airhead A list actress, demonstrating her comic potential further from The Scary Movie pictures.
Soffia Coppla is establishing herself as a great director of her father's (old) work. What this movie show's is two people who try to find what they are looking for in an alien enviroment.
I saw this film in the cinema in London and ordered it on DVD the next day(thank god for multi region).
Rating:
Summary: Bill's favorite movie
Review: The location, mysterious mood and lack of strong narrative make "Lost in Translation" a natural for repeated viewings. The bright lights of Tokyo look great -- how could they not? -- but overall the visuals are soft, reflecting the low lighting and low budget for Sofia Coppola's sophomore effort. Audio is in DTS and Dolby Digital; go with the DTS for better-sounding dialog... but you still won't be able to hear what Bill Murray whispers in her ear. Alas, the DVD for one of the year's classiest films opens with six minutes of ads that can't be chapter-skipped. Best supporting features: "This is my favorite movie -- that I've ever been in," Bill Murray says to Sofia Coppola. "That's nice," the young director replies, a bit startled by the revelation. It's one of several honest, revealing moments in a casual interview with the duo shot on a Roman rooftop. Also showing: "Lost on Location," a half-hour camcorder docu that shows Coppola and her small band of guerrilla filmmakers trying to shoot on the cheap in Tokyo, often without permits. They sneak a camera into a Starbucks to get a long shot out a window and get thrown out of a shabu-shabu joint in the middle of a take.
Rating:
Summary: "Winged Migration" is a far better movie!!!
Review: Please watch the film "Winged Migration" instead. That film has gorgeous photography of birds in flight and is truly life-affirming. It is NOT boring like this very bad movie about two depressed people getting together and doubling their depression. "Winged Migration" is 85 minutes long and will leave you in awe of the natural world. I only watched the first hour of this super-dull movie. Save your time and money. This movie is dull, pretentious, and incredibly bad. Let's hope the Academy gives its Oscars to other films and actors.
Rating:
Summary: Is Coppola the next Cassavettes?
Review: One of the few movies ever made that has believable and very human characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Hmm? He's Lost, She's Lost, I'm Lost
Review: This is a story of two separately married people who meet by chance in Japan. These two lonely people becomes friends and they go through this story kind of learning about each other and the land they are visiting. The best character, of course, is played by Bill Murray. Without him, this movie would have been an utter bore. He was hilarous trying to understand the Japanese language and trying to just simply live. Little routine tasks for him are a challenge because of where he is. i.e. Check out the scene with the exercise machine, fuu-nny. I really liked Bill Murray in this movie. As for the landscape, beautiful-breathtaking. The buildings and lights were spectacular to watch, the greenery, the water, and even the people brings an atmosphere to the film never really captured before anywhere else (that I know of). It is a treat for the eyes. So, why did I give it 3 stars? Because in my opinion, this movie didn't really hold my attention the entire time. I felt like it was just going along with no real direction, no real goal. The story is nice, believeable, and completely understandable. It's not a shoot 'em up, ride 'em cowboy, chase 'em up type of movie. No jaw dropping effects, and no one dies of some horrific disease. The movie isn't bad because these elements are missing. The movie is just plan, showing you life as it is for the main characters. A simple story of friendship and falling in love with the reality of not being able to do anything about it. And there you have it.
Rating:
Summary: Tripe
Review: This movie tries desperately to express the struggle two people undergo to find meaning in their lives. Unfortunately, the expression of the whole concept of what it means to be human is overdone and tedious, and the main characters are unsuccessful in appearing complex and multi-dimensional in their journey. Instead, they seem spoiled, ungrateful, and just plain bored. All the scenes showing the main characters looking out of windows or looking into their drinks become annoying when you see them for the 99th time. I understand what this movie was trying to express, but it failed miserably and instead comes across as an immature and underdeveloped low-budget film that happens to have a big star in it and an association with another famous director. The Coppola reputation and Bill Murray's talented performance can't salvage it, unfortunately.
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