Rating: 
Summary: Suspicious of the recent 5 star reviews
Review: I have noticed several 5 star reviews all from "A viewer from USA", this seems like quite a coincidence that with such a rash of 1 star reviews we have a spate of 5 or 6 perfect reviews all from people with the same description. It is a shame that the few who actually liked this film have to resort to in essence stuffing the ballot box in order to keep the score inflated. There are many poeple who reply on these ratings before deciding whether to spend hard earned money and it is a real diservice to them to write multiple reviews under false pretenses. I hope in the3 future amazon will require a different sign on for each review.
Rating: 
Summary: Lost on Me
Review: I wanted to watch this movie ever since it came out in theaters because everyone I heard said it was so wonderful. When I finally watched it the other night, I was not impressed. This movie is so slow and so dull that I just wanted it to end.There was really nothing in this movie to draw me in. There's no action, no drama, only one brief sexual moment, and only a little dry humor. Were it not for that one brief moment of nudity, this movie could easily have been a low-end PG rating because NOTHING happens. I have to hand it to the actors, though, they were so good at acting bored that I in turn felt bored just watching them. This movie doesn't really have any conflict; it's just two people whiling away a week in a foreign land. In the end they have a very chaste friendship because neither has the courage to make it into anything more. I imagine this movie is like one of those paintings in an art museum where you're supposed to look deeper to pry out all the hidden meanings and symbolisms. The problem then is a lot of the movie's message gets lost in translation. To sum it up, this was another case of where all the media hype surrounding the film made me expect a lot more from it than I might have otherwise. In the end, this bland, dry movie couldn't live up to my expectations.
Rating: 
Summary: Pure and Simple
Review: Lost in Translation is honestly one of the best films of 2003 and even the critics, who loved it, agree. Its something different from the usual film. Lost in Translation centers around lonliness, the longing to belong, and cultural differeces which can cause some problems. Bill Murray is fantastic as the aging actor Bob Harris. He fills the character with a charm that you cannot get enough of. Bill Murray really does deserve the Best Actor Oscar. Scarlett Johansson is awesome as a neglected wife who finds joy in life when she meets Bob Harris. She really should have gotten a Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress nomination. Last, but not least, to mention is Sofia Coppla. As the director, she did a great job and it shows with all the hype that has surrounded the film. Bob Harris WAS a movie actor. Now as his popularity has fallen in America, he is hired in Japan, where he is still a star, to shoot commercials and photos for Suntory, a whiskey company. He is obviously not having a good time due to frequent calls and complaints from his wife and the lack of sleep. Charolette has come to Japan with her photographer husband and spends almost all of her time in the hotel. She is lonely from the lack of excitement around her and the neglect she gets from her husband, who cares more about his job. The two meet when Charolette is dining with her husband and his actress friend who is a complete-never-stops-talking moron. She has a brief conversation with him and we feel the warmth. At their next meeting, she invites him to go see her Japanese friends with her. With this experience with see how well they connect and we wish we had the same thing with someone. Lost in Translation is a fantastic film that is funny and somewhat sad at the same time. This is a great movie that everyone should see because it is so enjoyable. Bill Murray truly rocks and is so alluring with his comidic and dramatic acting. See this movie.
Rating:
Summary: a film that offers us something new
Review: I was one of the few people who didn't see "Lost In Translation" when it first came out, but I longed to see it and plugged my ears everytime someone around me talked about it, so it wouldn't be ruined for me. As soon as "Lost In Translation" came out on DVD I rented it, and have to say I loved it. The film shows us something that hollywood rarely does. Two smart strangers, who are not lovers, who meet and have fun together and talk philosophy, here and there. The story is realistic and one that the audience can relate to. Bill Murray does a top-notch performance. He is hilarious as always, but at the same time he remains in character and shows us a real person. Sopfia Coppola does an amazing job at showing us modern Tokyo. It is amazing that this is her second film. "Lost In Translation" is a fantastic film, and should be seen by all.
Rating:
Summary: No Longer Strangers in a Wonderful Land
Review: Many of the reviewers don't get it and never will. I didn't get the English Patient (or did, and I did not plain like it). Have you never stayed in a big city in a strange hotel and were totally bored, despite the fantastic things around you? Have you ever tried to do business with the Japanese, not speaking their language, yet they could speak some of yours in an overly polite way? At the end of WWII my father was in Nagasaki Prov. (no not the city) about 6 weeks after the end of that terrible war. A woman in her fifties came up to his group of sailors and in perfect English, asked if any were from Boston? She had gone to school at Wellesley College in her 20's. My father was the a 19 year old sailor from a small town just outside of Boston. The woman was interned by Japanese Fascists at the begining if the war for speaking out. She gave my father a small white and blue banded tea pot as a gift that still sits in my mother's living room. What a wonderful gift she gave my father. Here the roles are reversed, but the two chief charactors give each other a gift, that crosses a boundry beyond translation to the transendent. How odd for occidentals lost in such a wonderful distant land to find each other. This may not be technically a perfect film, but oh what a perfect concept. (If all the critics out there can do better why are not there projects made, even if there last name is not Copula?) As a last note the Japanese are not cutouts in the film but come across as real, as is the fascination with everything American! We have just as real a fascination with their wonderful culture. P.S. Scarlet is extra yummy, and I can't wait to see Girl With a Pearl Earring.
Rating:
Summary: simply amazing
Review: i honesty cannot think of anything to say about this movie. the amazon review is right, it is like a great dream...on dvd. not a lot happens, but the general vibe of it is just...relaxing and, subtle
Rating:
Summary: lost in translation
Review: The thing about this movie is that is just about life and how two people deal with a situation. There is no revelation or humangous theme that comes from it, its just life. I think it is a very good movie and could definitely be difficult to appreciate for some. Overall this was a very good movie.
Rating:
Summary: Angry about the stupid reviews
Review: So, I enjoyed the movie and wanted to see what people had to say about it. I am caught between anger and humor as I read all of the ridiculous reviews that fume about how crappy the movie was and yet say nothing intelligible at all. Most frequently I saw that people were bored, Bill Murray did a horrible job, there is an american-supremacy theme, and other junk that doesn't get explained at all. Honestly, to those who found the movie boring and such, I wonder if you have ever thought anything productive in your entire life. Have you never thought about what the meaning of your life is? Is life really so cushy for you that you just coast by without a truly deep thought ever? The movie's depth is too great to go into here, but a few things will be said. As to the racism, Charlotte and Bob are alienated from those around them, the culture, the technology, the meaning of it all. Naturally, whatever culture they were to be alienated in, there has to be some sort of disconnect--hence the word "alienated". Like when Bob is in the elevator and he's the tallest one. No, he's not looking down from the throne of superiority; if you think that, then you haven't even understood the theme of the movie. And not only that, but you have just discriminated because you think, "taller equals superior...grrr..." He's not demeaning them, he is just misunderstood by them. The Japanese culture is portrayed as it is. So R's and L's get mixed up, it's a fact of life and they put it in the movie. To those who were bored with the movie: take a step back, think about your life, what you do, why you do it. Plato said through the mouth of Socrates, "The unexamined life is not worth living." I agree. Probably, if you hated this movie, your life is not worth living. You probably haven't taken even a second, let alone sufficient time (which would be the rest of your life), to examine your life. Try to step out and actually see the world from an objective standpoint, then let that objectivity affect your subjective self. Be obsessed with knowing the truth, it's not quite as obvious as one might think. Read something for goodness sake. Don't veg in front of the screen for your entire life. Read, talk to people, see if there is something worth living and dying for. Then come back to the movie, tell me you hate it, and I'll still think you need to examine life a little more deeply. Get over yourself, you're not going to be original; find the virtue of humility--remember all those great people we hail today: Mother Theresa, Ghandi, Buddha, Jesus (maybe you think these people are weak, then you should read Nietzsche and find out what you believe, even there some real question needs to be answered). In each one of them, one of their greatest virtues was humility. Learn it. I'm sorry if I haven't defended my point of view on the movie, it's just that it already has been defended and those who haven't understood won't understand by my explanation--it takes greater depth of thought than they are capable of. Being a student of philosophy, this is one of the deepest films I have seen in a long time. It attempts to give an answers to some deep questions: "Is there hope?"; "What does it mean to love someone?"; "Is life worth living?"; "What is life worth living for?"; "What idea can I live and die for?" What are the answers to these questions? I encourage you to think about life, then revaluate the movie.
Rating:
Summary: No Longer Strangers in a Wonderful Land
Review: Greenknight01@hotmail.com
Many of the reviewers don't get it and never will. I didn't get the English Patient (or did, and I did not plain like it). Have you never stayed in a big city in a strange hotel and were totally bored, despite the fantastic things around you? Have you ever tried to do business with the Japanese, not speaking their language, yet they could speak some of yours in an overly polite way? At the end of WWII my father was in Nagasaki Prov. (no not the city) about 6 weeks after the end of that terrible war. A woman in her fifties came up to his group of sailors and in perfect English, asked if any were from Boston? She had gone to school at Wellesley College in her 20's. My father was the a 19 year old sailor from a small town just outside of Boston. The woman was interned by Japanese Fascists at the begining if the war for speaking out. She gave my father a small white and blue banded tea pot as a gift that still sits in my mother's living room. What a wonderful gift she gave my father. Here the roles are reversed, but the two chief charactors give each other a gift, that crosses a boundry beyond translation to the transendent. How odd for occidentals lost in such a wonderful distant land to find each other. This may not be technically a perfect film, but oh what a perfect concept. (If all the critics out there can do better why are not there projects made, even if there last name is not Copula?) As a last note the Japanese are not cutouts in the film but come across as real, as is the fascination with everything American! We have just as real a fascination with their wonderful culture. P.S. Scarlet is extra yummy, and I can't wait to see Girl With a Pearl Earring.
Rating:
Summary: not for everyone
Review: i will start off by saying, i absolutely loved this movie. that being said i will leave a disclaimer...this movie is not, i repeat, NOT for everyone. this is a movie that revolves around two people who find themselves in japan for different reasons. this movie is first and foremost a character study. it has funny parts, it has dramatic parts, but mainly it is a look into the life of two people. that having been said, if you like rich and vivid characters you may find yourself liking this movie. bill murray plays an aging actor who finds himself in japan filming a commercial for whiskey (something we find him drinking often!). scarlett johansson plays a character who travels to japan with her husband. we find her character wandering japan quite a bit as her husband (brilliantly played by giovanni ribisi) is a very busy photographer. both johansson and murray are absolutely great in this film. they play the characters with a passion that is rarely seen in films (at least in my humble opinion) today. we have seen flashes of greatness from murray (ex. rushmore) but he has never been as on top of his game as he is here. and although johansson is basically a newcomer, she plays the part with a style and grace rarely found in actresses of her age. again, i will note that this is not a movie that everyone will enjoy, in fact most people will probably be bored by it. but, if you are looking for two outstanding performances, and a movie that hits character development full on, then watch soffia copola's "lost in translation!"
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