Just saw "Lost in Translation"

[Dookus]

Ugh.. Best Picture? Best Director?

Quentin Tarentino was robbed.

[tishaLA]

1. Hey! I love that film!

But I liked Kill Bill too.

[AngryYoungMan]

2. Peter Jackson Peter Jackson Peter Jackson

There has never in cinematic history been a movie remotely like "The Return of the King."

[Dookus]

3. I agree

if he doesn't win, it'll be a travesty.

But Sofia Coppola? I think she's only the third woman ever nominated as best Director, and I just don't see how Lost in Translation qualifies for that.

It was an OK little film, but jeebus! not THAT good.

[AngryYoungMan]

4. She's connected.

I mean, people don't realize what happened in Return of the King. The entire mile-wide area around Minas Tirith is a computer abstraction populated by dozens of layers of photography and 2- and 3-d digital paintings. It's like nothing anyone's ever done before. And that's just one of dozens and dozens of such environments in the movie. Plus the whole thing's digitally graded AND I'm not even getting into the triumphs in acting, writing, costumes, etc. AND the best symphonic score possibly ever AND Cate Blanchett's eyes.

[chascarrillo]

11. Critics see how LiT qualifies

# of mentions on 2003 top ten lists, compiled by Movie City News:

Lost in Translation: 139
Return of the King: 113
Mystic River: 102

[Dookus]

12. well that really doesn't tell me much

mentions on top ten lists doesn't tell me HOW they were rated on the lists. For example, LoTR could be #1 on most of them, and LiT #10. That wouldn't mean that LiT was thought better of by critics in general.

It would be hard to make the case that Lost in Translation was equal to Lord of the Rings in terms of directing.

[chascarrillo]

13. Yes, it does tell you how they were rated

Right there at the link above.

It wouldn't be hard at all to compare Lost in Translation with Lord of the Ring. The acting and editing in the latter is really sub-par.

[Mobius]

33. it was a cute movie

but rather dull. great cinimatography, but not best picture calibur. A coppola? come on.....

[Sandpiper]

5. If there was an award for watering down great literature

Return of the King would win hands down.

[AngryYoungMan]

6. I strongly disagree

It wasn't "watered down" at all. Each omission was translated into a cinematic equivalent. Have you read Tom Shippey's books and their thematic analysis of Tolkien? The entire theological and historical (and linguistic) armature of the book is right there in the film, translated into cinematic terms.

[Sandpiper]

7. Translated into cinematic terms

or in other words, watered down. :D

Seriously though, I'm glad you enjoyed the films. I've already had this discussion ad nauseum with other Tolkienites so there's no point in rehashing it.

[AngryYoungMan]

8. Right, 'cause it's all about you.

I wasn't privy to those conversations, and, if you had an additional conversation with me, I would eventually use my greater knowledge of the books to prove you wrong.

[Sandpiper]

9. Ok

:eyes:

[mobuto]

16. Agreed

There has never in cinematic history been a movie remotely like "The Return of the King."

And for that, we can be thankfull.

[DS1]

19. conversely

A movie like Return of the King has never been cinematicly possible.

[girl gone mad]

10. Yep.

I liked the idea of the film a lot better than the actual film. I like Scarlett Johansson, but she can't carry a picture and her character was unappealing.

Overrated.

I wish my dad was a famous director.

[onebigbadwulf]

14. The movie is the sux

the only person who deserves recognition is the director for cinematography. The script had no dialogue, the actors had no passion, and the story had no depth. The only thing that carried that movie was its visuals. Could have been produced by a 4 year old.

[Dookus]

15. yeah....

that about sums up my reaction to it, too.

[silverlib]

17. Thanks!

You just put my thoughts into words that make sense.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

18. I haven't seen it

but Japanophile friends of mine say that they were disappointed: the film did not make much use of the Japanese background, and what there was was mostly cliches.

I think that an interesting film could be made of an American actually going to LIVE in Japan, not just stay in an international hotel, where you can pretend you're in Generic World.

[Kellanved]

21. That was my impression as well

I'm not (that) familiar with Japan, but almost any cliché I "know" was covered.

On the other hand the movie was IMHO pretty balanced : the Americans (even the Germans in the Sauna) were portrayed very cliched as well.

[alarcojon]

24. Count me in there

and what about the really offensive portrayal of the Asian hooker near the beginning? And what about the extended karaoke Sofia Coppola subjected us to? etc. etc.

[priller]

20. If you love Tarantino

then, no, you probably won't like "Lost in Translation" since they're just about polar opposites. "Kill Bill" was highly stylized and surreal and brutal, LIT was quiet and naturalistic. And then ROTK was the grand epic. They were very different movies, both excellent in their own ways. Even Sophia herself, in a magazine interview (Esquire, I think), said that she felt there was no way to really compare the films as they're all so different from one another.

[GCP]

22. OMG, I just bought it on DVD and it sucks big time

My friend thought it was a great movie, so I went on her word and bought it. What a complete waste of $18.
WTF is all the praise about? It's one of the most boring films I've seen in a long time.

[gulfcoastliberal]

29. Agreed

Bought it at Target thinking from all the hype it was Bill Murray's greatest work or something. Ha ha yeah right. Maybe I'll sell it on Ebay. My girlfriend didn't like it, either.

[Burma Jones]

23. Well, I liked "Lost in Translation"

Not as much as LOTR, Kill Bill, Master and Commander or Mystic River, But more than Seabiscuit.

Remember, the Oscars are Bullshit, I mean Rocky beat Taxi Driver....

[Susang]

25. Quite a lot of hostility over a movie, don't you think?

Particularly over something I think we all could probably agree is as artistically meaningless as an academy award?

To all you folks who didn't get Lost In Translation, I just don't know what to tell you. I got it and thought it profound. To everyone who thought that it was cliched, well, I lived in hotels in SE Asia for long periods of time and it mirrored my experiences amazingly. When you are that out of your element and so unhappy, you don't leave your hotel room that much. Coppola was being truthful, the damn thing was semi-autobiographical after all! Not everyone, when faced with a foreign city, embraces the challenges it affords. A lot of us hide in our rooms, scared shitless and stare out the window.

So, no matter what you may think about the truthfullness or reality of Lost in Translation, it was an accurate depiction of aspects of my life in Seoul, South Korea. Does that mean I think it deserves an Oscar? Who cares? I only watch the damn show for the clothes anyway.

[BlueJazz]

26. I agree. I absolutely loved the film.

The strings attached to the 2 main characters were played like a symphony. I like the ending when he whispered in her ear...not for anyone else to see but just them...

[Dookus]

I'm not sure where you're reading "hostility" into my post....

I'm not saying Coppola should be beaten with sticks. I just thought the movie was something of a bore - not terribly well-written, not terribly well-acted, not terribly interesting.

I never stated that the premise was unbelievable - I have no problem believing that the characters were lonely or unhappy. I just couldn't give much of a shit about them.

[Nazgul35]

35. amen....

It seems that if alot of shit isn't getting blown up every five seconds and we don't have that freeze action move the cameras vantage point before the ass kicking continues movie.....people don't know what to do with themselves...

Don't get me wrong....violence serves a purpose when it is used to convey just how bad things are (i.e the first 40 minutes of Saving Private Ryan...), but so much is just gratuitus face paced special effects...nothing more....and too many movies rest solely on this...

Remember...we are the ADD nation!

I also like LOTR but thought that the last was the weakest of the movies, as it pandered to the action sequences more than the story line.

[Dookus]

40. LOL...

the presumption that I didn't like LiT because it lacked sufficient explosions is both insulting and laughable.

Sometimes a bore is just a bore.

[ludwigb]

38. Understated, mysterious, beautiful...

Tough call between LIT and ROTK for best picture--I think I'd go with ROTK based on the strengh of the trilogy.

Bill Murray was fantastic. The script and dialougue was, for me, intensely real. However, I agree with others above the cinematography and the score were probably what made the film.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

27. I liked LiT...

I respect how Sofia Coppola flouted traditional movies by keeping Murray and Johannsen's relationship plutonic. If they would have thrown in only one ounce more romance, it would have killed the whole picture. I think sex as a resolution to a love story has been played out. Folks have become so conditioned to the two main characters hooking up, that it becomes dissatisfying when there's no boots knocking.

Also, Sofia Coppola is a babe. :P

That said, RToK was a far better film in that it opened up new cinematic ground. Not just special effects, but keeping eager viewers waiting three years for the climax of the story must speak for something. But as always, the critics see it a little differently.

[nostamj]

28. just returned it.

utter bore.

have NO idea what the fuss is about.

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[LizW]

31. Saw LiT last night

It was okay, but only because I love Bill Murray. Scarlett Johanson is interesting to watch, and I didn't find the ending unsatisfying. I think I would have been a little grossed out if they had hooked up.

Mainly I kept wondering if Cameron Diaz was pissed off about that charicature of the stupid blonde starlet who was so obviously supposed to be her.

[Paragon]

32. No, Tarantino wasn't even nominated

...and rightly so. Honestly, get over that hack already.

[Dookus]

34. Thanks for the thoughtful reply

I thought Kill Bill was the best movie I saw last year. You're free to disagree, but there's no need to get nasty.

[Rooktoven]

36. Yes. Best Picture.

Bill Murray in the role of a lifetime.

[Dookus]

41. I thought

he was infinitely better in Rushmore.

[Mobius]

37. OK I was being nice before. I actually thought it was highly over rated

Suck, is a strong word. But aside from the great camera work and a couple funny scenes, it really was kinda bad. It didn't go anywhere. Take "Love Liza" for instance. THAT was a great movie that drove itself. LIT was just kinda there. A token award to a female. And I'm a female. Just because she's a Coppola, does not mean it was a good movie.

[jpgray]

39. Yes, Lost in Translation is Indie tripe at its most rank

Yay, we can make fun of Japanese accents and culture! Good thing no one has thought of it before! Cue the bar scene and experience the post-modernist ennui, the "we're two unique honest souls" connection! Ah the untalented hack daughter of a major Hollywood figure! Isn't the cinema biz grand?

:)