Rating: 
Summary: A generous rating out of respect to the Coppola name
Review: This movie was visually interesting but, otherwise, a completely unengaging stinker. I saw Sophia on the Charlie Rose program and liked her very much. It gives me no pleasure to be so blunt about this film. I am amazed at the critical enthusiasm and pre-Oscar hoopla. If there is ANYthing here, it entirely escaped me. (If you're reading this, Sophia, please don't be depressed. You're charming. It is more worthy to be an engaging human being than to make a good film. Besides, you'll probably do much better next time.)
Rating: 
Summary: great movie
Review: This movie is a wonder blend of humor, emotional lows, eye candy, and amazing performances by everyone in the movie down to the "Johmmy Carson of Japan." The only weird thing was when I realized that I had stayed at this hotel, ate in that dark bar/restaurant and swam in that amazing top floor pool. It's the Park Hyatt. If you have the means, I highly recommend...
Rating: 
Summary: The movie from Hell
Review: This has got to be the most BORING movie in the history of cinema. DON'T BUY THIS MOVIE, YOU WILL DIE OF SHEER BOREDOM!!!
Rating:
Summary: Murray & Johansson in Slumberland
Review: This film was produced for those of you who may have trouble sleeping. I usually enjoy offbeat films, and liked some of Bill Murray's comedy features, but this movie has nothing to offer except a cool soundtrack and some neat shots of Tokyo. Numerous scenes of the Murray character in the hotel bar set the tone for this mostly monotonous film.
If you can swallow the implausible premise that a young, hip chick in Tokyo would be attracted to the lunkish, sullen Murray, then you may enjoy this. I kept wondering when something interesting or humorous was going to happen - nada
Its a soundtrack with a half baked movie attached. The point? maybe that lonliness makes young girls pine for unattractive older men who hang out in hotel bars. This would be a good way to cleanse the palate if you've been watching too many Hollywood action films,otherwise stay away. One star for Scarlett Johansson though, - a pleasure to watch and a darn good young actress.
Rating:
Summary: This is How it Feels.
Review: The power of this movie lies in the emotional response it creates in the viewer. If you can appreciate this simple concept and allow yourself to become immersed in this beautiful world Sophia Coppola has brought to the screen then you too then you will love this movie. If you are looking for a movie which force feeds dialogue down your throat, is packaged in the cookie cutter structure of most movies these days or offers some gratuitous scenes of naked Japanese ladies this is not for you.Though many different settings could have worked for this movie, I think the setting of this movie in the Hyatt in Tokyo was perfect. Tokyo at night, with the neon lights, the look and mannerisms of the people and the unique sounds coupled with the silence of the hotel hallways and rooms (save for the Japanese on the TV, the shuffle of your shoes against the floor or the occasional fax) allows the viewers to really feel that they too are alone with only the voices in their head to keep them company. The souls in this movie are just slightly off kilter ?not completely lost. You know that these two people would not meet or have a connection if they were home in the US in their normal universe. This is the beauty of this movie. You experience this wonderful moment and these emotions. Have you ever had an experience like this in your life? Have you ever had experiences with a person that you knew was terminal but that fact, in and of itself, enhanced the emotion of that experience and relationship? The goodbyes that made your heart literally feel like it was physically ripped from your body? If you have, then you can relate. If you haven't, then this movie can take you through to this experience if you allow yourself the chance. Many people seem to be complaining about the lack of plot in this movie and the lack of dialogue. I think these people miss the boat completely. You aren't supposed to be hand held through the story and be told how to feel or what these people are going through. You experience what they experience, see what they see, hear what they hear. You are supposed to feel how these people feel over the few days. In this regard, this movie is a success. The ending of this movie was one of the best endings I've seen in some time. I say this because of the sense of emotion it creates ?sad and subdued though eventually, after some time, forces you to crack a smile ?however slight ?due to the fact that, even though you have to go back to your "normal?life in your "normal?universe, you've been blessed to have an experience like this and your life has been that much more fulfilled with this moment. If you are people who like movie endings from Roman Holiday (I think one of the best endings for a film ever), Remains of the Day or maybe Before Sunrise then you will enjoy this movie. Don't knock this movie for the lack of plot and lack of typical Hollywood convention. This movie stands on its own uniqueness and that's what makes this movie as good as it is.
Rating: 
Summary: Ineffably Inane
Review: Emotional states cannot be communicated using language? Are you kidding me? Is this what passes for 'avant-garde' in the age of decadence and debauchery? A brackish blend of quotidian malaise and deplorably vapid psychology, this movie leaves one certain of two things: primo, that we're out of ideas, and, secundo, that most everyone is suffering from some sort of mnesic deficiency that prevents them from noticing and makes hacks like Sophia Coppola rich and famous. This isn't groundbreaking, folks, and it's too cliche to warrant further dissection. Contrived, banal, and puerile. Fine acting, but who cares when the movie isn't entertaining? No aesthetic pleasure will be found here - move along.
Rating:
Summary: Vacuous and uninspiring
Review: Lost in Translation is a character study without insight, a mood piece that leaves you cold. The chic photographic stills and its synopsis convey as much about the ideas Sofia Coppola possesses. From its compositions to its pseudo-searching hangdog countenances of its stars, this is not a film, but an advertisement of hipness. The core relationship between unlikely movie star, Bob (Bill Murray) and Charlotte (Scarlet Johansson) is unbelievable and vapid. Their hotel-bar interactions consist of him making a lame wisecrack and her giggling uncontrollably. Both actors have charisma, and especially in the later scenes, there's a superficial chemistry between the two that is heightened by some hiply evocative electronica, but the dialogue is sparse and Coppola's compositions are too wispy and indirect. So where is the profundity that cuts through their supposedly banal surroundings? Much has been made of the fact that Charlotte and Bob don't sleep together, as if that fact warrants praise on its own. But their connection is so facile that the lure of sex is hardly palpable...There is not hunger between them, intellectual or otherwise. That they don't have sex is not indicative of some great directorial "restraint" because we as viewers never genuinely want them to. There wasn't a discernible narrative, and ideas/characters/locations/themes floated around with as much fluidity as the movie's amorphous camera. This is hardly a critcism though. Movies that rely purely on mood and the intuitive senses of the viewer can be spectacular (the oeuvre of David Lynch for example) but, in addition to foregoing intellectual austerity, the film possesses so little genuine emotion that it fails to arouse any immediate rush of entertainment. The conceptually intriguing thought of roaming around Tokyo with Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson is surprisingly dull, and Coppola has no gift for emotional headrush. The scenes of them goofing around Tokyo (and how often they are) are hardly cinematic, and seem like an amateurish bad music video. It's neither thought-provoking nor much fun. Despite its anti-glamor, anti-banality message, the film enabled the very superficiality that it preached against. Everything from Charlotte's Yale degree in philosophy to Bill Murray's cool whiskey ads seem relentlessly, self-consciously hip. The movie dabbles in outcast ideology yet deifies its characters' exterior traits without ever delving into the true flaws and personality quirks that make them so searching and dissatisfied with their lives. All the scenes of the characters sopping in their own tragic prettiness could have been substituted for heartfelt introspection. Yet they aren't. The Virgin Suicides is a good if flawed first film, and Sofia Coppola is still young. But so are a lot of other directors who are making brilliant movies. Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Kimberly Peirce, Richard Kelly, even her ex-husband, Spike Jonze have each created films that put this slinky effort to shame.
Rating:
Summary: What a real and substantive movie
Review: I think the reason this movie worked so well for me is the believeability both Bill Murray as Bob Harris and Scarlett Johansson as Charlotte brought to this unglamorous portrayal of human loneliness. Japan is the perfect location to explore the contrasts in culture with isolationism of the heart. Bill Murray comes to a luxury hotel in Tokyo and is given red carpet treatment he barely acknowledges. He is in Japan to do liquor commercials. He is middle-aged, married with a family he left behind in the U.S. but his circumstances have created a personal solitude he internally perpetuates. Charlotte is also registered at the hotel but is with her husband John played by Giovanni Ribisi a photographer who brought her with him while he does a photo shoot. John is working and Charlotte attempts to occupy herself without success and these two seemingly bored, restless and transplanted people find each other. The gist of the movie is in their getting to know each other. Both are in similar emotional relationship ruts but as cliche as the May September romance seems to be the ending is not as predictable as you might think. Bill Murray's performance is amazing because he is so surprisingly capable of engaging a viewer with subtlety and nuance. Scarlett Johansson is also well directed here. Charlotte is also a character of real depth and believeability and Johansson who is still so young strikes me as versatile and surely destined for starring roles in future films. Sofia Coppola creates an environment of character interest not seen in many films and I loved how real and quirky and sincere the dialogues are. To me "Lost In Translation" is a magnificent movie.
Rating:
Summary: Boring, Not Romantic
Review: It seems almost common that if a comedian plays a serious dramatic role in a movie, there's talk about Oscars--as if we want to reward a funny man who can act. There was Robin Williams, John Belushi, Steve Martin, Jack Nicholson, Jim Carrey, etc., and now Bill Murray. All of these actors have done fine jobs of acting in decent movies, but neither the actors nor the movies deserve Oscar or Golden Globe nominations. In "Lost in Translation," Bill Murray plays the part of Bob, an arrogant, bored, alcoholic has-been American actor doing some advertising work in Japan. For the two million dollars he's getting paid for a few days work, you would think he could be a little nicer and a little happier. Conveniently, we only hear Bob's wife on the phone, and she sounds arrogant and bored herself. Living in a mansion in Beverly Hills must be pretty rough. Even when Bob is not drinking, which is every night, he appears to be in a stupor. Bob meets a young American married woman, Charlotte. She is also bored and is married to a boring photographer husband who is always gone. Bob and Charlotte "find" each other and have some boring conversations and do some boring things--like go to karaoke bars and get drunk on sake. Japan and the Japanese people are presented in only the most stereotypical and superficial ways. And just when I think I have discovered the movie's one redeeming feature--no sex--even that is taken away from me, but in an unexpected and senseless way. How can anyone feel excited about this movie?
Rating:
Summary: Worse than Freddy Got Fingered
Review: First off, I'm a huge fan of Bill Murray.... Murray is one of the most iconic figures of this thirtysomething's generation. Buying into the critical hype, I was ready to cheer on an all- time fave. And Murray is good here... but the pacing was horrible! I was ready to engage with culture-clash, the "imagine it" story of Murray's real live back in the U.S.A., the cinematography, etc. But this film was soooo boring it was offensive! Like other reviewers here, I literally got a headache. If this is "life," it is depressing and meaningless!!! And not in a cathartic or reflective way. Nothing can recommend this dvd... which has a beer ad (Japanese beer - get it? Wanna join the mind numbing lifestyle represented here?) Okay, I'm getting ridiculous, but this was truly a painful experience. Then we looked at the extras for some insight as to why to like this film or care... and it just got worse. Kudos for Murray for getting such long deserved acclaim. I just hope I can mentally purge this film experience so it doesn't taint my future viewings of Stripes and Caddyshack. I'm now reaching for orange juice and asperin and a mental sorbet... my copy of Freddy Got Fingered, relatively fun and meaningful.
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