I should of known better than to trust critics. "Lost in Translation" is by far the worst movie I've ever seen. Halfway through I was half-tempted to just stop watching, but I (foolishly) thought the movie would start sometime.

The acting is great, although there really isn't much substance to work with. The cinematography is wonderful, but for what purpose?

I would really like to see the screenplay for this movie. What is it like?

"Bill Murray walks onto golf course. He practices his swing, then takes a shot." There goes 3 minutes of the movie to a completely pointless scene.

And where was the message in the movie? I'm reminded of a quote from "Adaptation," which unlike this pestering piece of crap actually WENT somewhere after a while:
At a seminar, Charlie Kaufman has asked McKee for advice on his new screenplay in which 'nothing much happens'.

Robert McKee: Nothing happens in the world? Are you out of your fucking mind? People are murdered every day. There's genocide, war, corruption. Every fucking day, somewhere in the world, somebody sacrifices his life to save someone else. Every fucking day, someone, somewhere makes a conscious decision to destroy someone else. People find love, people lose it. For Christ's sake, a child watches her mother beaten to death on the steps of a church. Someone goes hungry. Somebody else betrays his best friend for a woman. If you can't find that stuff in life, then you, my friend, don't know crap about life. And why the FUCK are you wasting my two precious hours with your movie? I don't have any use for it. I don't have any bloody use for it.


I feel that Sofia tried too much to steal from her father's styles, which some would criticize to be slow. But unlike her, Francis Ford Coppola actually wrapped things up. The last 10 minutes of the Godfather had resolution after resolution; there was no such resolution in "Lost in Translation."

Is the kiss supposed to be a conclusion to a 2 hour movie? What bullcrap is this?

I've watched movies and said they were bad, but this is utterly horrible. At least Judge Dredd was entertaining; this movie has NO humor (the "Japanese cannot speak English and have a wacky culture" joke gets old after the 10th time our characters run into a Japanese person), it has no message, and it sure as hell has no plot.
Currently listening to: Brad Mehldau's Paranoid Android
Posted by roy on February 10, 2004 at 11:12 PM in Ramblings | 9 Comments

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bill (guest)

Comment posted on October 4th, 2009 at 12:40 AM
just came back from Japan and wanted to see this movie, which I walked out on when it first came out ... i was able to watch the whole thing this time just to see the cinematography of familiar spots in Tokyo, but the movie is offensive ... and Sofia is clueless... funny how she tries to parody stupid American showbiz types, while exposing herself to be exactly that. and bill murray's character is the ugly american on steroids... Japan is a fascinating place and the relationship between America and Japan is deep and complex... but it was just a prop for sofia who has no interest or knowledge of anything much... it should have been shot in vegas where it belongs... if the flick had just come and gone i'd write it off as an expensive project for a bored offspring of hollywood. ... but it won an oscar for best screenplay... if i were a real screenwriter in hollywood i'd want to find a new profession after that horrendous award. and the critics raving?? lots of payola there, to be sure.

carl (guest)

Comment posted on September 9th, 2009 at 05:16 PM
this isthe worstmovie ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hahahahah japanese people are sooooo freakin funny..... very little talking in the movie... i hope it dies a slow and painful death...... crap on this film

Clyde Kojima (guest)

Comment posted on February 23rd, 2009 at 09:46 AM
I've finally gotten around to watching this movie and I must say after the hordes of rave reviews and critical acclaim...I 100% agree with your conclusion. I kept wanting this movie to break the shallow surface and was let-down each and every time. It's like watching a movie about 2 people going out to eat or sing or dance and that's it!!! I get that in REAL life I don't want to pay good money to watch others do it...overall this movie wasn't TERRIBLE, I think it's just terrible when held up to all the acclaim and hype it recieved. I just watched "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" which is a movie that LIVES up to everything said about it. And that movie runs many many circles around this one.
Comment posted on February 12th, 2004 at 03:06 AM
"I feel that Sofia tried too much to steal from her father's styles"

WTF???
How is this movie even close to The Godfather? Have you seen any other Francis Ford Coppola movies?

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? (guest)

Comment posted on February 10th, 2004 at 11:23 PM
I am the law !
Comment posted on February 10th, 2004 at 11:17 PM
does every movie have to have hidden messages and go somewhere?

i thought lost in translation took the viewer an a fun trip.
its gobbed full of INTRIGUE
Comment posted on February 10th, 2004 at 11:35 PM
A fun trip through what? 2 hours of no plot?

I'm not asking for a hidden message. I'm asking for a plot. There is no plot here.
Comment posted on February 11th, 2004 at 08:27 PM
here's the plot
Comment posted on February 11th, 2004 at 10:17 PM
That explains nothing. I'm not saying that nothing happens; stuff happens, so the plot exists as an entity. I'm attacking the fact that the plot really isn't cohesive and doesn't drive a story of any type anywhere.