response 1 of 225:

Sep 25 02:57 UTC 2003

This fall is starting positively, with a terrific new movie just out 
that I saw last weekend--

LOST IN TRANSLATION--  Bill Murray stars as basically himself, a middle 
aged movie star on the backside of his career who finds himself having 
to go to Japan and do a liquor commercial to pay his bills.  Murray is 
tired and depressed, and trying to hide out in the bar of his downtown 
Tokyo hotel and drink away the time, when he meets a much younger girl 
who is dissatisfied with her life and unsure what her goals are in 
life.  The girl is played by Scarlet Johannson, a promising young 
actress who you might remember as one of the girls in the great 
movie 'Ghost World'  Murray and this girl, with very little in common 
except the time and place they are in, start to hang out together and 
connect in a very moving, tender way.  This movie is about two people 
who feel lost and alone in the world, who connect with each other 
emotionally for a short time.

This is IMO a wonderful movie, the best so far this year.  "Lost in 
Translation" was written and directed by Sofia Coppola, Francis Ford 
Coppola's daughter, who is developing into a first rate director 
herself (her first directorial effort was the terrific, "Virgin 
Suicides")  Bill Murray is great in this movie, playing a character who 
is tired and beaten. and lost and confused by life but has a good 
heart.  You can tell, as Coppola has said, that she wrote the part 
specifically for him.  Johannson, who was wonderful in Ghost World, 
plays well opposite Murray and shows a lot of depth.

This movie is also a good film to see if you've never been to Tokyo, 
and wonder what its like.  I've been there a couple of times, and this 
movie, filmed entirely on location there, really captures the feel of 
the place.  A funny and moving movie.  Highly recommended!

response 3 of 225:

Sep 27 10:55 UTC 2003

"Lost in Translation" is a little gem.  The movies is about two people,
both a bit lost and confused, who during a few days together find
something valuable, in each other.  It's subtle, and kind, and real.  I
guess the director, Sofia Coppola, stalked Bill Murray and wouldn't make
the movie unless he played the lead character.  She knew. 

I love this movie.

response 5 of 225:

Sep 27 17:11 UTC 2003

        I had to treat myself to the DVD issue of Disney's Sleeping 
Beauty.  The audio commentary is highly produced and provides a
wonderul insight to the movie.  That audio track also introduces
and plays the lyric version of songs heard in the movie, as opposed
to doing so on another feature on the DVD.
        I also get to send in for the $5 refund for owning the
video tape.

response 7 of 225:

Sep 28 13:17 UTC 2003

Saw the first half of "The Good Thief" last night, then stopped watching.
Plot was standard, and atmosphere quite good, but acting horrible.

response 9 of 225:

Oct 10 15:09 UTC 2003

I'm of two minds regarding seeing "Kill Bill".  Liked Tarentino's
previous work, but on the other hand looked at a couple of reviews.

response 11 of 225:

Oct 10 22:19 UTC 2003

Julie wants to see "Kill Bill".  The trailer's been out on the movie 
screen for a while now.

response 13 of 225:

Oct 11 04:19 UTC 2003

MYSTIC RIVER-- This is the terrific new film by Clint Eastwood.  The 
story is about three boyhood friends in, who are forever linked by a 
tragic event in their childhood, and who reach middle age and find 
themselves again linked by another tragic event.  The events are linked 
like bookends to a part of their lives.  The three friends are played 
by Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon.  Penn's character has grown 
up to be a mob connected ex-con, Bacon's character has grown up to be a 
cop, and Robbins' character has grown up to be a regular working class 
guy.  

I won't give away what happens, but suffice to say this is a movie 
about friendship and loyalties, not just among the friends but among 
their wives and the people around them.  The questions become how well 
do they really know each other, and has what happened in the past ever 
really gone away?

This is a wonderfully directed movie by Eastwood, both suspensful and 
moving, and has some great acting.  Sean Penn and Tim Robbins do IMO 
the best work of their careers and deserve oscar nominations, as does 
Marcia Gay Harden (who plays Robbins wife and who was also great in the 
movie "Pollack"), and Eastwood for directing.  This is like a suspense 
thriller but it is really less a "whodunit" then a psychological drama, 
exploring the minds and motivations of people who were once close 
friends and think they know each other, but come to realize maybe they 
don't, and end up wondering if they really can escape the past.  This 
is one of Eastwood's best movies.

response 15 of 225:

Oct 12 13:22 UTC 2003

We went to see "Lost in Translation" last night.  It was certainly well done
and interesting.  It's about two people who are lost, certainly.  Who don't
know what to do.  I think maybe the point is, everyone wants to know what to
do, but the signals we get from the outside world amount to something we
only vaguely understand.  Sometimes we try to imitate other people, because
that's the easiest thing to do.  But most of the time we don't have a clue.

Dunno.  I'm still thinking about it.  What did other people think?

response 17 of 225:

Oct 13 01:14 UTC 2003

I liked it a lot.  Bill Murray was surprisingly good.  It also makes 
Tokyo look really pretty.

response 19 of 225:

Oct 13 14:15 UTC 2003

Rentals this weekend:

"Formula 51"  I rented it because I love Robert Carlyle.  Now I wish Robert
Carlyle would make better movies.  Seeing Samuel L. Jackson in a kilt is
rather cool, as is the scene where he beats the shit out of some English punks
with a driver.

"Bullitproof Monk"  Loved it!  But then, I'm a sucker for Seann William Scott
and Chow Yun Fat.  Loved the fight scenes, am totally into the hong kong wire
effect, laughed a lot.

"The Italian Job"  This just reinforces the fact that in a perfect world, I
would have unlimited access to Jason Statham in whatever capacity I wished.
Fun fun movie, nice to see Edward NOrton as a bad guy, laughed over Mos Def
and Seth Green and drooled over Jason Statham.  And the urge to buy a Mini
Cooper and have the engine enhanced and the frame work reinforced is very
strong.

response 21 of 225:

Oct 13 17:12 UTC 2003

What about Donnie Darko?

response 23 of 225:

Oct 14 00:47 UTC 2003

DVD recommendation..."The Adventures of Indiana Jones"-- got this over the
weekend, it is a box set containing the three Indiana Jones movies (Raiders
of the Ark, Temple of Doom, the Last Crusade), and a fourth disk with like
three hours of extras.  The movies have been digitally re-mastered with
surround sound, and look and sound great, with the added documentary and
commentary by steven spielberg, george lucas and harrison ford.  These movies
took their sweet time coming out on DVD.  When I first got a DVD player, 
"Raiders of the Lost Ark" was one of the movies I most wanted to have on
DVD.  These are always going to be fun movies to have on hand on a rainy
day.