Rating: 
Summary: What's the big deal with Sofia Coppola?
Review: The movie is not that great, but like many debuts is an honest attempt. I'll give her props for that, but this year's selection must have been pretty grim for LiT to win all those awards. And yes, there is a strange undercurrent of racial ignorance and stereotyping. Either that or it's meant to bring us into Scarlett and Bill's (characters') drunken, self-absorbed perspective on things. Depressing, disappointing - they were not good for each other, did not understand each other, and left each other more jaded than when they met. Not that it has to be feel-good to be a good film, but let's at least bring it all into perspective.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful Movie
Review: "Lost in Translation" captures the mood of feeling lost and out of place in life, which is echoed cinematically by being lost in an unfamiliar city and culture. This isn't a movie that moves very quickly or that has direction -- it's all about conveying a mood and atmosphere.
Rating:
Summary: Lost in Silence
Review: Amidst the various Best Picture Oscar contenders this year lies two hidden treasures most likely to be overlooked for the greater presence exuded by The Return of the King, Master and Commander and Seabiscuit. The two treasures are Mystic River and Lost In Translation.
Yes, the movie may run incredibly slow at times, is seldom upbeat and even without any significant climax. Then why was this movie able to shine. It's really the good combination of good acting and directing. Hemled by second time director, Sophia Coppola (incidentally also nomianted for Best Director and Best Screenplay), she was very much able to explore and bring out the inner struggles of two helplessly souls in a foreign land. The director deliberately makes use of the slow pace to showcase the development of a great platonic friendship between the most unlikely of couples.
The special effect here is really the superb performance by the two leads. The sweetly innocent Scarlett Johansson puts on excellent portrayal of a lost wife stuck in the monotony of a seemingly aimless marriage. Bill Murray, nomianted for a Best Actor Oscar, is convincing as a has-been actor making a quick buck in Japan trying to promote Japanese beer. Dejected and totally indifferent most of the time, his world suddenly lights up when he meets a transient soulmate. Both married to others but still can't find the fulfilment they want in life. It's ultimately about the power of silence and how greatly it wrecks relationships. It's also about how amazing relationships can develop no matter how strange the situation is or the people are.
It's a good while since such great human drama has ben played on screens withou the need for steamy sex scenes or extreme violence. In my heart, this is already the Best Picture of 2003!
Rating: 
Summary: Greatly overrated, tedious and psuedo art movie
Review: Two lonely people in Lost in Translation remain untouched by each other emotionally and in every other way throughout the whole movie. And the viewer has little reason or feeling to care. There is little that is interesting about them, and good cinematography cannot substitute for the lack of a plot or character development. Boring, thin and highly dissatisfying.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful movie, beautifully shot
Review: For all of you folks out there screaming racism, it's time a Japanese-American (whose family lives in Kyoto) weighed in. Please, get a life! Being of Japanese heritage, I didn't see ANY racism in this movie, but can see how some well-meaning non-Japanese people (who probably haven't experienced real racism a single day in their lives) can superficially claim that this movie causes Japanese people pain. Puhleeze! This movie lovingly sets the mood through the plot-vehicles of Tokyo and the Japanese, and it is a memorial by the director to a people and country she obviously has tremendous affection for. Even better, it makes some of us action-freaks (like me, a HUGE Bruce Willis fan) slow down for just a bit and realize that a movie can be great by telling a simple story of 2 people who are lost culturally and emotionally, but against all odds create a beautiful dance of discovery at the cusp of much-needed change. I've always enjoyed Bill Murray, and I applaud him for one of the best performances of the year. Scarlett Johannson is a revelation. There is no way that this movie is for everybody. Some will love it immediately, some will find it an acquired taste, and I can easily seem some people bored to tears. But angry? No.
Rating:
Summary: If "The Sun Also Rises" was made into a movie...
Review: This film has a lot of similarities with Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises". The characters in both are heavily depressed and drink and drink and drink and drink. Both this film and Hemingway's book are about Americans in foreign countries. Both works are DULL, BORING, POINTLESS, and NOT WORTH YOUR TIME.
Rating: 
Summary: DVD Review
Review: Lost in Translation is definately one of this year's best films, but the Focus Features DVD release is far from perfect.
The film is a delightful work with a script that touches the heart and the funnybone. Murray's performance is excellent and he manages to even outdue his work in Rushmore. Johansson's work is stunning and she manages to match Murray note for note throughout the picture. By being able to pair off with Murray in such an equal manner, the relationship that developes is so much more engrossing. After watching Lost in Translation, the thing that struck me the most was the uncanny mood that the film creates. This mood lingered with me long after I had left the theater. It doesn't take a trip to Japan to become lost in the translation of everyday life. The worst problem with the DVD is the forced previews. This is the first disc I've ever owned where you couldn't just push the menu button to skip the previews. I don't even think skipping the track works. The previews actually were for decent films, but seeing this everytime you put in the disc is really annoying. Video quality is good, but not great. Color and contrast were okay. Shimmering was not a problem. Unfortunately the picture seemed pretty soft. Although the cinematography tends to push an intended hazy look, there we some shots that seemed almost blurry that I don't recall looking this way in the theater. Beware there is a fullscreen version out there. There is no excuse for getting that because the film is shot in 1:85:1, so no matter how small your TV is your picture is going to be larger enough. I can understand, but don't condone the purchase of full screen editions for films shot in wider aspect ratios, because on a small TV the picture is barely visible. Sound was quite good. There are many intriguing sound edits in the picture and the track was of good quality. Be sure to listend to the manipulation of the music when Murray carries Johansson back to her room. Extras were a mixed bag. The interview with Murray and Coppola is very strange. It is shot in Rome on top of a building and the whole time Coppola barely speaks and Murrary's shadow covers her. Murray is straight forward and doesn't joke around. It is not very enlightening. The Behind the Scenes documentary is over long with lots of dull spots, but there are several enjoyable moments in it. For one thing Murray is hilirious and his off screen antics are a riot. The music video is boring, watching someone doing nothing but walk around Tokyo for an entire song gets tiresome, even if it's Scarlett! The deleted scenes are mostly extensions that add little, but be sure to check the robot scene. This scene is very weird, but totally fits with the mood of the film, too bad it didn't make the cut. There is also an extended clip of Murray on the "Johnny Carson of Japan" show. This is a riot, check out what Murray does with the "surprise" he finds in the box. Lost in Translation is a great film, maybe not a classic, but time will tell. Coppola has proved herself as a skilled filmmaker and has removed the sting of her performance in Godfather III. Johansson has the potential of being a great movie star of the future as long as she continues to select quality projects like this. The Focus Features DVD has an okay transfer that is rather soft with average extras and a terrible set of unavoidable previews before the picture starts.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely LOST in Translation
Review: Although I can see the appeal of this film, and understand why some people like it, I was certainly not one of those people. Like others, I found this movie to be very slow, melancholy (which was the intent I'm sure), choppy and sad. There is nothing uplifting about it. There is no message, no lesson, no epiphany of any kind. However, that is the intention and done quite purposefully. Bill Murray is the picture of restraint. His performance is stiff, truthful and bleak. If this movie had a sound, it would be monotone. Do not expect to see Bill Murray as his comedic self, and do not expect a laugh a minute. This is a sad, soul searching film, with superficial humor sprinkled in to lighten the heavy theme. The two main characters can be summed up as boredom meets boredom. There is nothing deep here. I also think the Japanese are portrayed in quite an unflattering light. They are depicted as sterotypical, clueless characters who cannot pronounce any English whatsoever ("L" and "R") words. This theme of, "How come they talk so funny?" is quite arrogant. Not very PC for 2004. The American characters ARE the foreigners, but act as if they shouldn't be. Was this intentional? Realistic and touching at times, with beautiful scenery, this movie is best seen with the viewer knowing what to expect - understated sadness, bored characters questioning their life choices, and nothing much more than that.
Rating:
Summary: A Complete Flatliner
Review: I was told that this film was the best of the year and an absolute must for any serious film collector. Subsequently, I purchased it. What a mistake. My friends and I watched the film, silently taking it all in, and kept waiting for some pulse. It has none. The dialogue is completely flat and there is nothing interesting about the characters whatsoever. The viewer cares nothing about them. We laughed a bit during Bill Murray's scene in which he appears on a talk show, but that was about it. The most appealing element was the cinematography, which was indeed beautiful. I asked a friend who loved this film what the attraction was. She said it was "so cute and sweet." There you have it.
Rating:
Summary: Some people are missing the point
Review: Everyone has said what is to be said on why this movie is worth 4 or 5 stars. I want to address the Japan angle of the movie. Yes there is some depreciating humor towards Japanese in the scenes with Murray. Yes neither Murray or Johansson do much "sightseeing" - although Johansson does some. Why is this though? These two characters are in Japan because they are forced there, not because they want to be tourists and explore Japanese culture. Murray needs the money and Johansson tagged along with her boyfriend. Hence the characters are not there to fall in love with Japan and fawn over the Japanese. And for you critics, these two actors did meet, hang out with, and have fun with some Japanese in the film. How do you explain that in your "racism" critique? You can't. The best you can say is that the "L" and "R" pronunciation jokes are old, which they are, and are the only thing that I would change about the movie.
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