Movie Reviews - Lost in Translation and Paycheck

Lost in Translation:
Mini-review: Cute, funny movie.

I have to admit that it's a little daunting to describe this movie. I could tell you that so much of it is spent illustrating the cultural differences/problems that Bill Murray has as an American in Japan. I could tell you that a lot of it is just Bill hamming it up to the cameras. The rest of it focuses on the relationship that Murray and Scarlett Johannson forge while wondering where they're at with their own spouses.

But that seems a little sparse. In reality it's both the above description, and the sum of its parts. I just didn't feel like the story tied it all together quite well enough for me to be happy with how it all ended up.

Murray is an American actor who's come to Japan to shoot a commercial for whiskey. Johansson is the wife of a scatter-brained photographer (played well by Giovani Ribisi) who's along for the ride while her husband works. Both spend a lot of time being insomniacs in the hotel bar, meet, and have fun-time escapades on the streets of Tokyo.

As an aside, is it just me, or is Bill Murray the only comedian from the 80s who's managed to tackle some decent acting roles and extend his career? Akroyd, Martin, Chase, Murphy... all are kisses of death to movies these days. Just a thought. Feel free to debate it with me over in the Forum.

There are some great scenes in here, particularly one where the romantic tension is building, and the two are lying on a hotel bed, watching TV. Johannson asks if it (marriage) gets any easier. It's a great scene that undercuts the romantic tension by casting her almost as Murray's protoge, while at the same time not lessening the tension. (Johannson is adorable, by the way. Just wanted to work that in somewhere.)

At the time I was dissapointed that the movie's ending didn't resolve more... but as I think about it more, I feel better about the ending. It doesn't cast either of the characters in a wholly negative light as adulterers, and perhaps suggests that the small relationships in life can be powerful too.

I can live with that. Let's call it a one-point-five Trent.

Paycheck:
Mini-review: Good sci-fi, especially given the director.

Let's get one thing out in the open right off the bat. I'm not a fan of John Woo's recent work, specifically Mission:Impossible 2, with its interminable slow-motion fight scenes. Couldn't stand it. Yawned heavily. Was expecting similar treatment from this movie.

That said, Paycheck was a pleasant surprise, mostly for the creative story. Ben Affleck is an engineer. He spends his time ripping off other companies' inventions, and then having his memory erased of the fact, presumably so that he cannot be sued for it. Isn't science wonderful? In any case, he naturally makes a lot of money in exchange for losing a couple months off his life, and as such lives well.

Things change when he signs on for his biggest Paycheck ever - in exchange for a project that lasts three years. He finishes the work, has his memory erased... and when he wakes up, finds out that he purposely gave up all the money in exchange for an envelope with 21 trinkets that he managed to mail to himself before the memory wipe. The rest of the movie is an action-orgy while he tries to figure out what happened from his own clues.

It's a great premise, and while the dialogue isn't the greatest, and the action scenes were predictably Woo-ful, I was still entertained beyond what I had expected. So let's call this one a win, of sorts. If you're a sci-fi fan, you can do a lot worse than watching this movie.

Oh, and Uma Thurman is in it, too. I promise. Here's a picture:

Anyway, yeah. By way of comparisson, this one's 2.5 of the grinning Trents.

I'm out. Have fun at the movies!

1/30/04