Mooovie Mondayss: Lost in Translation

Look what I saw outside my balcony. Awesomeness. It almost looks like a pink comet came crashing down from above.

Mondays suck. So I came up with a tiny idea to ease my Monday pains, even if only for a moment. MOVIE MONDAYS. I thought I would write about one of my favorite movies on every Monday. I am a movie guy. I am incredibly visual and have mostly photographic memory. So it isn't very hard for me to become completely attached to a movie while it's playing, or even after I've finished watching it. I was thinking of majoring in film. Eh..

One of the movies that I really felt emotionally attached to was Lost In Translation. This movie inspired me. Well Sofia Coppola is an amazing director to begin with, so the fact that she also wrote the script showed me what beauty and poignancy she is capable of writing down on paper, and also translating it into film. Her preceding movie, The Virgin Suicides, is also directed beautifully and her trademarks (the sunlight passing through leaves and moving shots from inside a car) are very present in both movies. She also has a way of portraying such real emotion in the subtlest of human actions. Not only that, but she has VERY good taste in music, which is another reason why this movie and miss Coppola herself is so damn great. Although I did fall asleep watching Marie Antoinette, but I forgive you, Sofia.

Lost in Translation is set in Tokyo, Japan ( yet another reason why I love this movie oh so much) and involves two characters who are both not only "lost" in a foreign country, but also in their own lives. Scarlett Johansson is obviously a very attractive woman, but I don't think I've ever seen her more beautiful than she is in this movie. Bill Murray is perfect for the lead role, which is no surprise since Coppola wrote the script with him in mind for the role anyway. The two have good chemistry and their characters' relationship is quite odd and quirky, but you begin to understand that they both needed each other in a way.

Charlotte is lonely and depressed living with her husband John, who's always out doing work as a photographer( I also liked the movie just because it has a photographer named John) and Bob Harris is a washed up actor who now resorts to doing cheesy wine commercials for Japan. It's a very simple plot really; they meet, they connect, they form a bond unlike any other. There are some very profound scenes in this movie that can sway the viewer from being completely bored and uninterested into being an instant lover of the film. Don't get me wrong, this movie isn't all piled up with deep or artsy scenes, which is a good thing in my opinion. There are some incredibly hilarious scenes that almost( if not entirely) mock the Japanese culture. ( "Lip my stocking!" is a favorite of mine.) Sure there are people that view this as "racist." But so what? Nowadays anyone can point out anything and declare it to be "racist." There's also a brief nude scene which is basically just a shot of tits and ass on a stripper ( she does this really funky dance to a Peaches song, lulz!) which is why the movie is slapped with an "R" rating. Overall this type of movie will have people dropping words like "boring" or "pretentious" all over it, or people who appreciate slow-paced and thoughtful movies that enjoy seeing simple stories about human connection and emotion becoming a lifelong fan. I, fortunately, became the latter. This movie also has to have one of my favorite endings in any film I've ever seen.

Why I love this movie:

- Set in Tokyo

- Anna Faris is in it

- Photographer named John

- Amazing actors

- Lip my stocking

- Superb soundtrack

- Beautiful cinematography

- Great story

- About human connections and emotions

- The ending

I rank it either Top 2 or 1 in my all-time favorite films.

So if you're a movie fan and like good movies, please watch Lost in Translation so we can talk about it.

grade: 9/10

Trailer:

AUDIO:

This is the song that was played during "Charlie's" party. It's very danceable so I'm not surprised at the fact that it was also in the dance scene of another movie that I also love, Shallow Hal. "Phoenix" is a band from France and I personally think the lead singer's voice is awesome. Phoenix- Too Young.

This was already uploaded in an earlier entry I wrote, but I'll put the link up again anyways since the song is just that good. My Bloody Valentine's-Sometimes fit in perfectly with the melancholy theme of the movie. The heavy guitars and the soft vocals plus shots of the Tokyo city lights and Scarlett Johansson's slight smirk equals near perfection! Another favorite scene of mine.

Now hold on to your socks here kiddos. This song is funny as hell and very explicit. This particular track served as the song the topless strippers danced to in the movie. Great visuals!

Peaches- Fuck the Pain Away

Bye...