There is a classic, if not over used film school joke, that has to do with the subjects of student films. They usually involve people walking around staring at shit and looking all "deep".

I kinda got that feeling watching Lost in Translation. I so wanted to like this film, I've been dying to see it since I read about it last spring. Bill Murray is comic gold for me anytime, anywhere. Scarlett Johanssen is one of my favorite under 25 actresses. She was amazing in Ghost World. I could hardly believe it when I read she was 18. Her eyes have the soul of an 80 year old.

I think if LIT was done by Jill Filmaker starring her actor and actress friends this movie would be murdered. I was prepared for "a meandering film", but this sucker wanders around all over hell wasting film like it was McDonald's napkins. Before I get accused of "missing the point" I got the point. That even two people that speak the same language can misunderstand each other. A little bit of "how I spend my days alone in Japan" scenes are ok. But this really started to press my nerves.

The acting is fabulous, so I don't want to beat it up to much. You could sense the tension between Bob and Charlotte. You got a taste of how foreign the Asian Rim really is. And for us married or long term commited folks, you got a sense of how a marriage can just slip away if you don't take care of it everyday. Heady things.

I'm curious to hear some others take on this. I would recommend this to most people, but I wouldn't buy into the glowing reviews. Somebody's last name is preceding them....

(Edited by Peace Frog at 12:19 pm on Sep. 29, 2003)

i saw this last night..... and i agree with a lot of what you've said... if it weren't for the tension between bob and charlotte, i think it would've been kind of a waste. if they didn't act so well together, the movie would have fallen apart, and i don't really know if i would have liked it at all. i agree with the guy reviewing it in the rage about the lighting guy.... he said something like "the worst lighting director to still have a job today" and that if it weren't for the backdrop being japan, it would've been totally dark the whole time. i would recommend it too, it's not a BAD movie... i guess i just expected a little bit more. but, the acting was pretty amazing. it may have set out what it was meant to accomplish, i just expected to be blown away.

i want to see it so bad.....i just got the soundtrack today....there's a secret bonus track of bill murray singing "more than this" by roxy music......

Ditto, and now that I've seen it, I'm a little suprised by the nearly unanimous positive critical response to it. I really did enjoy watching Bill Murray and Scarlett Johanssen, but like featuresgirl said, that was the best part of the movie. It seemed to suffer from the same thing Virgin Suicides did: a shallow plot, despite interesting ideas, development of characters through vague visual montages rather than interactions with other humans, not really ever exploring characters' motivations or basis for behavior. And I keep reading about how it's supposed to be a "love letter to Tokyo", but to me it seemed like it mostly presented Japanese people in a one-dimensional and mocking way, and Japan seemed like a really cold and uncomfortable place. Despite all of this, I liked it well enough while I watched it, I just wasn't exactly inspired. The soundtrack has some great moments, although some of the rockier stuff seemed out of place.

sometimes i just feel like critics may feel like they are supposed to like something, instead of really liking it.. and so they say they do. i don't know. i just can't see why everyone is pretty much in love with the movie. don't get me wrong, it was good.... but not amazing. i like the soundtrack too, though.

Like every time Radiohead puts out a new album.

Hmm...I heard from a reliable film critic (my sister) that it was very enjoyable. I really want to see it, stilll.

Damn, dude.

i think a shallow plot makes a movie interesting.

the fact that she hardly showed either of their lives outside of their relationship made it more centered, controlled, private, and dramatic.

japan is like that.

I liked the film a lot and I don't always need a great intricate plot to make me interested in sticking through it till the end. I loved the main characters. And quite frankly while it might have portrayed Japan as a bit one-dimensional, everything in this film is actually true. There are the elevator greeters, there are television shows like the one he appeared on, and on and on...

And JC, why must you keep on about Radiohead dude? When will you realize you are in a minority when it comes to the band? The fact they get good reviews is because people actually like the music. Hard to believe, huh?

i would really like to see you two battle this out.

Radiohead's last really good album was OK Computer. Reviewers have been all over Thom Yorke's dick ever since.

(Edited by SeannWilliamScott at 11:42 am on Oct. 2, 2003)

Thank you.

There have defnitely been moments of brilliance since OK Computer. If you took the best songs off of Kid A and Amnesiac and made them one album, that album would have been a masterpiece. The newest one? Eh, it's okay. I'm not saying by any means that Radiohead sucks. They still do good work, and they still put on a hell of a live show. But the critics seem to consider every single little thing that they do to be genius. Like, they're almost in the same zone as Yo La Tengo - they can absolutely do no wrong. And their stuff is good, but not that good. Really, I think the perfect comparison is "The Emperor's New Clothes."

(Edited by jamiecarroll at 12:55 pm on Oct. 2, 2003)

Jesus Christ not the Emperor's New clothes comparison! I think you've used that too many times now, JC!

Their last three albums have not been given all-time high ratings. Rolling Stone has stuck with 3 stars out of 5 for the last three (or at least Kid A and Amnesiac), and I'd say that's pretty consistent with the others. So according to the critics the last brilliant record they put out was OK Computer and every review of every Radiohead CD since has pretty much spelled out this fact. I find the last three to be good to very good records. Yeah, combining Kid A and Amensiac might have been a good idea, but they didn't do it. Instead they stand as two good records.

And damn all of you, especially you JC! and your Emperor's clothes, for taking this thread off topic.

(And I'm of course writing all of this with tongue planted somewhere near my cheek.)

Man. Just today, I was in line at the record store and saw a Blender magazine with Thom Yorke on the cover. It said something like, "Thom Yorke: Radiohead's Mad Genius." Genius was in huge print.

(Edited by jamiecarroll at 4:48 pm on Oct. 2, 2003)

Well, Ive always thought, and you guys can coin me on this, that Radiohead is the Pink Floyd of our generation.

They have created thier own niche in rock "mind altering" music. And so many bands now try and emulate that sound. But you know right away when a radiohead song is being played. And if youve ever tripped on anything while listening to Radiohead or Floyd, whenever u hear that song again, you'll still feel stoned.

Stepping out on a limb, OK computer is comparable to Dark Side of the moon, Wish you were here : Creep

yes, genious i say,...... genious

(Edited by GrungeSlobTearPants at 4:20 pm on Oct. 2, 2003)

So anywho... LIP MY STOCKINGS!!!!

Ahem...

Would you say it's also genius ?

Sorry. Had to do it.

its that too! Man.......i was soo trying to be serious, but now, its just a typo post....i suck

(Edited by GrungeSlobTearPants at 11:35 am on Oct. 3, 2003)

IWantElvis and I were talking one day about the most pretentious rock star in the world. We came down to two options: Michael Stipe and Thom Yorke. My vote goes to Yorke, but that's obvious. I still love radiohead though. this is just a minor complaint, and the fact that "hail to the thief" did not live up to my expectations (only 3 or 4 quality songs on a radiohead album?!?!). it was definitely my biggest disappointment of the year.

You guys aren't real Radiohead fans unless you buy my tickets and go see them in Atlanta. It's not too late!

Hahahaha

If you're trying to sell, go with Ebay.......i made much money on my coldplay tickets.

It's a little late for that. Show is in 4 days.

Not really, nows the time you'll get very large bids.......you'll just have to meet up with the buyer somewhere and trade that way rather than mail.

(Edited by GrungeSlobTearPants at 2:29 pm on Oct. 3, 2003)

It sure as hell didn't work for my St. Louis Radiohead tickets. (I consider that a good thing, though, as it prompted me to just bite the bullet, find some other friends to go, and take the plunge.) I'll be damned if we don't at least get what we paid for my tickets in return. Keith and I should be rewarded for being on the ball and buying tickets the second they went on sale, not penalized. Huhhuh, I typed "penal".

No, it won't work in this case because the show is not sold out. Go to eBay and look up tickets for this show. The highest bids are below face value.

Keith, maybe I'll change my mind at the last second and go. But only if I can go with you and Carl.

That would be beyond cool.

Well you can go with either me or Carl, but we are going separately because I am coming back Monday night and he is staying over. But I'd love to go up with you. At this point my car is going to be filled with me, maybe Erika, and maybe BrianW. I'm not exactly sure, but either way, I'll have room for you.

I find it humorous that you judge genius while still sporting that avatar. Maybe you just need to bite the bullet and reconcile yourself to the fact that radiohead is not all about the bends anymore as you would wish them to.

As for LIT, awesome movie. I felt like it was an excellent character study with beautiful cinematography. The movie was witty without being overly witty (see Pulp Fiction). It's a far better picture than The Virgin Suicides with an excellent soundtrack from one of a very few promising female directors in the country.

Maybe this only seemed illogical to me, and it is a trivial thing related to the rest of the movie, but it bothered me that Charlotte had just graduated from Yale in the spring, yet had been married to her husband for two years and for those two years had been living in Los Angeles. Yale is not in Los Angeles.

I thought Lost in Translation was pretty overrated. Sofia Coppola's movies feel so cold to me, and maybe that's the point but it doesn't do it for me.

I got to watch an hour of it on my break Saturday. It was an extremely pleasant surprise to find out that Wynnsong is not only showing the film, but also giving out free postcards with all of the tickets. I really enjoyed the first hour and thought that parts of it were hilarious. I'll see the second half...eventually...

Or it could end up like "Wet Hot American Summer" where I never see the second half...

I watched that for the first time recently. It was an entertaining movie, but not one of the best ever or anything. It was fun to watch.

For the record, I wasn't "judging genius," but merely pointing to an example of how the contemporary music press is constantly stroking him and his band.

Also for the record, buddy, I'll judge genius any time, any place, and with any avatar I want.

I fully realize that Radiohead is "not all about the bends anymore." That doesn't mean I have to like it.

Jonny Greenwood is a genius.

Amen. I'm sure this was brought on by what we witnessed last night. The man is just flat out awesome to watch and thank god we had a large screen just above our heads to witness him. Best moment of the Radiohead concert was the close up on the big screen of Jonny on "Creep" playing those notes just before the chorus kicks in.

I agree. It's pretty funny, but the best part is that Paul Rudd is in it...

SUPER SECRET PIZZA PARTY!

Yeah, but he's more than qualified to judge hott while sporting that avatar.

After seeing Radiohead for the second time this year last night, I have to wholeheartedly disagree with your vote. Thom has finally gotten over the whole tortured artist thing and is a true showman once again (or for the first time in his life?). He was really giddy and announced that tomorrow (today) was his birthday after referring to "Morning Bell" as the "birthday song". I can not remember a time when I laughed harder at a show than during "You and Who's Army?" last night. Thom was dancing like a madman (good thing stopforme wasn't there), esp. during Myxomatosis and The Gloaming. Speaking of which, those songs in particular are about 10X better performed live. For all the naysayers of the new album I would urge you to try and see it performed live. I'm hoping a proper DVD will be released soon.

I still haven't seen LIT, but I have yet to hear a really bad review. Most people I've talked to really really love it. I'm not too motivated to see it on the big screen, however, especially with TTCM and Wonderland coming out in the next few weeks.

I agree. He does seem to have ditched the sad bastard act. He seems really unpretentious these days.

I agree. When I saw Radiohead earlier this summer, I was fully expecting to be underwhelmed by the Hail to the Thief material. But for whatever reason, a lot of those songs are much much better live.

(Edited by jamiecarroll at 1:31 pm on Oct. 7, 2003)

A Radiohead review from Filter magazine.

Here's my favorite part:

"I promised myself I wouldn’t write some clichéd over the top 'Radiohead are Gods' article, but that was before the show. If I wrote anything else I’d be lying."

Throwing in my two cents:

Lost in Translation was wonderful for me because for whatever reason I didn't expect a plot-driven thing and I didn't get it. I just saw these fully-realized characters coasting on ice for a few hours, occasionally careening off of one another and it was really what I was in the mood for. The performances blew me away, and Scarlett Johansen is now officially my favorite actress of the under 30 generation. She's got such depth.

Radiohead is still great, and haven't lost it. Hail to the Thief is my favorite album, and has held that slot long enough for me to feel that it's official. Which isn't to say that I appreciate any of the old stuff less, nor that I'm falling victim to any hype because I don't read any music journalism. Months of listening have borne out the fact that I dig 2+2=5, Sit Down, Stand Up, Backdrifts, There There, and A Wolf at the Door a Hell of a lot.

Just got back from "The Triplets of Belleville" at the Chicago International Film Festival. This is an animation and it rocks. No dialogue, but you're kept rivetted the whole time. Highly recommended. Watch the trailer on apple.com/trailers to catch a glimpse.

Cubs lost and that sucks.

Will

(Edited by Wiyum at 12:57 am on Oct. 8, 2003)

Speaking of, he just finished a soundtrack to a film called Bodysong. It'll be released Oct. 27th.

i'm just telling you what I heard.

Cool. I'll have to try to find that. I hope it's better than that other genius guitar player's pair of solo albums.

HA! That was great.

I saw the movie last night, and I enjoyed it very much. I really cannot think of any complaints.

i thought it moved a little slow and rambled on a bit, but not in a way that devalued the movie at all. so, as bill murray would say, i leally riked it.

Loved the movie. Bill Murray was great. His version of "more than this" in the movie was wonderful. He is a genius.

Yup, genius of a film. I really really loved it. I thought it was hilarious and just an all around good film. Now, I just have to obtain one of my workplace's Bill Murray window-clings...