Rating: 
Summary: Watch this movie and you'll be a better actor
Review: This is a very tricky movie. It's a movie with a wonderful look and feel--if you've ever been to or lived in NYC it will make you nostalgic. You don't get that trite, perfect New York, you get the real, vital New York.
I wrote that this movie is "tricky". What I mean is that it isn't the way that you expect it to be, and that's one of the things that make it wonderful. You don't see many of the twists coming, but when they do happen they seem so right. Everything works--it doesn't seem contrived.
The work of Adrien Brody is magnificent. I don't know why he isn't doing more work like this. It is wholly new, yet reminiscent of the work of those great actors in the 70s--young DeNero, Pacino, Cann, etc.--when they were experimental and fresh. You never know what he'll do, yet nothing is false. Of special note is his physicality. In the hands of a less magnetic actor, some of Brody's physical choices would seem showy or overly theatrical, but he makes it work. He expresses so much about his character in the way he walks, and lights a cigarette, and holds a gun. There's so much to be learned from his performance for any aspiring actor about committing to your character and making thoughtful, bold choices.
John Seda too is wonderful. He plays a multifaceted, warm person who's also very realistic. Mr. Seda is underused generally (you might remember him from "Homicide" on t.v.) and underrrated, although I had no idea before this movie what he could do.
Also, the German actor playing Jeff is interesting and scary. Perfectly cast.
It's always great to see Pam Grier in anything.
The only slight weakness is the Claire character. I felt like she was almost too tentitive in her approach to this important role. This is just me talking, but I thought that her reasons for her behavior were not expressed as well as they could be. She goes from perfect to rough looking hooker in 10 seconds, but even so she could have made it more clear why she was the way she was. I mean, we know from the rest of the movie why, but it should have come from her. I wanted more of a reaction in her face and manner.
Lastly, the soundtract is perfection, and should be for sale.
Rating: 
Summary: almost good but not quite
Review: This is another one of those annoying movies where the men fornicate with everything that moves and the women who love these schmucks are depicted as shrill and clingy for being upset about it. But when the man gets totally unhinged by evidence of the woman's infidelity this is somehow powerful and emotional. I really wish that Hollywood would stop perpetuating this insulting double standard.Adrian Brody was somehow compelling as the tritely written "criminal with the soul of a poet". There were a few moving scenes that made the movie worth watching ("I hate you".."I know") and some some of the other love scenes were touching and realistic as well. Pam Grier was great, as were a number of the other minor roles. Overall, a disappointment but with a few transcendent scenes.
Rating:
Summary: A real gem ..........
Review: This is my second Adrian Brody film (the first "Oxygen") and I'm now a big fan! There was not a single dull moment in the entire film,I enjoyed everything from the plot, humour,romance and characters. Jack (Adrian Brody) and Claire (Charlotte Ayanna) have such a believable chemistry together that you wonder if there romance continued off-screen.
I love the combination of the complicated mysterious inner character that Jack has, combined with the cool, humourous exterior that Claire falls for.
This part was made for Brody and he carries it off like a dream!
Just want the soundtrack now! Please let me know Amazon when you stock it!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Movie
Review: This movie is based on a Japanese novel: do any of you DVD buffs know the author & title? Want to order from Amazon.com ALSO in same vein... Lost in Translation pays homage to a Japanese film director: do any of you DVD buffs know this director & film titles? Want to order from Amazon.com Thanks so much!
Rating:
Summary: Love the Hard Way
Review: This movie is based on a Japanese novel: do any of you DVD buffs know the author & title? Want to order from Amazon.com ALSO in same vein... Lost in Translation pays homage to a Japanese film director: do any of you DVD buffs know this director & film titles? Want to order from Amazon.com Thanks so much!
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: This was an amazing movie, I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: slow direct-to-video indie
Review: Without Adrien Brody's timely Oscar win, this slow moving indie would not have seen the light of day. Brody is badly miscast as a NYC lowlife, a professional criminal who stages hotel robberies of dimwitted Asian tourists while wearing police getup. He meets and falls in love with a brilliant young college student, Claire and start an affair...first she falls for him, he cheats on her to drive her away. Then she begins a frightening dissent into prostitution and suicide, while Jack (Brody) reveals that he really is in love with her. This probably makes it sound better than it is. The script is confusing -- is Claire a college freshman or a graduate student in Genetics? This is kinda important, because we evaluate her character and her actions differently if she is a 18 yr old virgin (which is hinted at) or a more mature 22 yr old. The actress, Charlotte Ayanna, is very attractive; she resembles Kimberly Williams (Father of the Bride), but she is way, way out of her depth once the role calls for her to descend into mental illness and self destruction. There is no hint given why the breakup of this rather shallow, short term love affair would have her turning tricks (without condoms) on street corners or cutting her wrists (which is why we really need to know if she is a teenager or in her 20s). Why is it inside of her that is so needy and immature? We never find out. Adrien Brody, who is talented and handsome in an unusual way -- very thin, expressive face and huge puppy dog eyes -- is just completely the wrong physical type for the part of a sleazy down and out loser. I wonder what casting genius thought of this? He's so slight and frail looking when he puts on a police uniform, you think of a kid dressing up for Halloween -- it's imposible to believe even Japanese tourists take him seriously. Some actors are handicapped by having a "look" that limits their parts, and Mr. Brody's "look" screams aristocratic Jewish intellectual. It's even more confusing when Jack is revealed to be a wannabe writer, who collects first edition books and reads Melville (apparently not any comtemporary writers, though). This is the kind of unbelievable detail that just sinks his characterization. So is his amazing turnaround in prison, where he gives up crime for writing and *SPOILER ALERT* gets back together with Claire, the least plausible detail in the film. Why would she take this apalling cad back into her life? And how did she recover from mental illness, a suicide attempt, lengthy stay in psychiatric hospital, and still manage to return to college, graduate and get a job in a medical lab...all in two years? Never mind. The filmmaker just wanted to tack on a happy ending! But it's jarring and inappropriate. Like most not-very-good low budget films, the main problem isn't the lack of big stars, loud music, computer graphics, car chases etc, but a BAD SCRIPT. The film actually has a nice gritty, unglamorized look to it, and the love scenes -- filmed in an arty, non-linear way -- are appealing. But the story is less convincing than some sci fi thriller with giant aliens. If you adored Adrien Brody in "The Pianist", you might want to catch this just to see him in contemporary clothing, but otherwise, it's a waste and very boring...a movie that probably would have never been released if he had been passed voter for that Oscar.
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