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Topic: RE: virus: Lost in Translation (Read 2850 times) |
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Blunderov
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RE: virus: Lost in Translation
« on: 2004-03-20 03:47:28 » |
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[Blunderov] I am completely smitten with this movie! Comments? Best Regards
Lost in Translation Yoshio Sato/Focus Features Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray's sometimes tender, sometimes funny relationship is at the heart of "Lost in Translation." Starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson.
Directed by Sofia Coppola.
1 hour, 42 minutes (R)
Grade: A-
The verdict: Lose yourself in this extraordinary movie.
By ELEANOR RINGEL GILLESPIE The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sofia Coppola is definitely her famous father's daughter, but she definitely doesn't make her father's films. Francis Ford Coppola's movies tend toward the operatic -- big emotions, big characters, big stories. Hers have the quality of a tone poem -- fragile, understated, intimate.
Her astonishing second film, "Lost in Translation," is a wistfully romantic duet for two lost souls at sea in the neon pandemonium of Tokyo. Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is a major American movie star in town to pick up a cool $2 million for sitting in a leather chair, wearing a tuxedo, holding a glass of Suntory whiskey and uttering the immortal line, "For relaxing times, it's Suntory time."
These are not relaxing times for Bob. His career is still viable -- he gets recognized a lot and the fans' enthusiasm is genuine. Yet there's a sense that his work and his interest in it peaked several years ago. He has a family, but his 25-year-old marriage no longer holds his interest either. His wife, represented by an exasperated voice on the phone, is more concerned with redecorating her husband's study than she is in her husband. She FedEx's carpet samples to him with the affectionate note, "I like the burgundy. What do you think?"
Plus, Bob can't sleep.
So he spends time in the chicly dark rooftop bar in his sleekly impersonal hotel. That's where he meets Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson). She can't sleep either.
Charlotte is in Tokyo with her husband of two years, John (Giovanni Ribisi), a celebrity photographer who's getting a little too comfortable (for her) with the aimless chitchat and air-kiss energy of his subjects. She's no longer sure whom she married. Neither is Bob. He's at one end of that bewilderment and she's at the other, both sleepless yet sleepwalking through life.
They wake each other up.
What follows is a non-affair to remember, which maintains a delicate balance between friends, lovers and something ineffably greater than either. They are made for each other in a million ways, with sex being one of the lesser ones (though that tension is ever-present).
Their relationship -- sometimes tender, sometimes hilarious -- is the heart and soul of the movie. Still, many of the film's funniest scenes show them interacting with others. Murray's attempts to follow the directions barked at him in Japanese by a Suntory photographer is a comic masterpiece. He mimics various Rat Pack members, mining the subtle differences between Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and even Joey Bishop (whom his hosts have never heard of).
Meanwhile, Charlotte endures the weirdness of John's übershallow conversations with an essence-of-L.A. starlet (Anna Faris) who's overseas on a promotional tour for her new movie.
These close encounters with kiss-ups and idiots, plus the raucous cacophony of the city, are a jarring contrast to the whispered yet trenchant connection between Bob and Charlotte. The movie seems paced to Murray's famous deadpan, stronger on atmosphere and character than it is on story. Rather than moving in a straightforward manner, it's full of odd side trips: Bob at a strip club, saying thank you to a contortionist's inner thighs as he leaves (she's standing on her head); Charlotte soaking up the arcane and adrenalized artistry of a Tokyo games arcade.
This is Johansson's breakthrough role. She's been sensational in movies like "Ghost World" and "The Man Who Wasn't There," but here we discover her distinctiveness -- her still-evolving creamy beauty and her clear-eyed simplicity. There's a freshness in her uncluttered approach to acting.
Still, the movie belongs to Murray. Coppola wrote the role for him and spent five months talking him into doing it. The patented smart-aleck persona that made him a box-office megastar in movies like "Ghostbusters" and "Caddyshack" has acquired the patina of middle age. The supreme ironist now recognizes the innate irony of youthful cynicism. He can still do more with a raised eyebrow than anyone since Groucho Marx, but he's mellower and sometimes slightly poignant. He's gentle with Charlotte, even courtly. In a sense, he's an emblem of a generation of middle-aged anti-establishment hipsters, grown older and somehow, almost in spite of itself, wiser.
This is a great performance, worthy not only of an Oscar nomination but, at this point in the year, of the prize itself.
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rhinoceros
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My point is ...
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RE: virus: Lost in Translation
« Reply #1 on: 2004-03-20 08:01:23 » |
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[Blunderov] I am completely smitten with this movie! Comments? Best Regards
Lost in Translation <snip>
[rhinoceros] Alas, these things do not belong to reality, so let me pretend that I only got a giggle out of "lock and loll" and "lip my stockings."
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DrSebby
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RE: virus: Lost in Translation
« Reply #2 on: 2004-03-20 09:35:34 » |
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....it was a pretty film in many ways, but having lived in tokyo for 2 yrs, i cannot understate how painfully boring the two characters were in their exploration of all that is tokyo. two people so uninspired to experience the vastness of the tokyo cultural landscape sort of made it hard for me to endow them with any sort of character depth. as a result, i found them quite pitiful and hard to lead me to any land of mystery. but if you havent been there, perhaps it would be a nice visiit. my opinion of tokyo: it makes NY look like what it is, and it makes all other cultural meccas look painfully unnecessary.
DrSebby. "Courage...and shuffle the cards".
----Original Message Follows---- From: "Blunderov" <squooker@mweb.co.za> Reply-To: virus@lucifer.com To: <virus@lucifer.com> Subject: RE: virus: Lost in Translation Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 10:47:28 +0200
[Blunderov] I am completely smitten with this movie! Comments? Best Regards
Lost in Translation
Yoshio Sato/Focus Features Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray's sometimes tender, sometimes funny relationship is at the heart of "Lost in Translation."
Starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson.
Directed by Sofia Coppola.
1 hour, 42 minutes (R)
Grade: A-
The verdict: Lose yourself in this extraordinary movie.
By ELEANOR RINGEL GILLESPIE The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sofia Coppola is definitely her famous father's daughter, but she definitely doesn't make her father's films. Francis Ford Coppola's movies tend toward the operatic -- big emotions, big characters, big stories. Hers have the quality of a tone poem -- fragile, understated, intimate.
Her astonishing second film, "Lost in Translation," is a wistfully romantic duet for two lost souls at sea in the neon pandemonium of Tokyo. Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is a major American movie star in town to pick up a cool $2 million for sitting in a leather chair, wearing a tuxedo, holding a glass of Suntory whiskey and uttering the immortal line, "For relaxing times, it's Suntory time."
These are not relaxing times for Bob. His career is still viable -- he gets recognized a lot and the fans' enthusiasm is genuine. Yet there's a sense that his work and his interest in it peaked several years ago. He has a family, but his 25-year-old marriage no longer holds his interest either. His wife, represented by an exasperated voice on the phone, is more concerned with redecorating her husband's study than she is in her husband. She FedEx's carpet samples to him with the affectionate note, "I like the burgundy. What do you think?"
Plus, Bob can't sleep.
So he spends time in the chicly dark rooftop bar in his sleekly impersonal hotel. That's where he meets Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson). She can't sleep either.
Charlotte is in Tokyo with her husband of two years, John (Giovanni Ribisi), a celebrity photographer who's getting a little too comfortable (for her) with the aimless chitchat and air-kiss energy of his subjects. She's no longer sure whom she married. Neither is Bob. He's at one end of that bewilderment and she's at the other, both sleepless yet sleepwalking through life.
They wake each other up.
What follows is a non-affair to remember, which maintains a delicate balance between friends, lovers and something ineffably greater than either. They are made for each other in a million ways, with sex being one of the lesser ones (though that tension is ever-present).
Their relationship -- sometimes tender, sometimes hilarious -- is the heart and soul of the movie. Still, many of the film's funniest scenes show them interacting with others. Murray's attempts to follow the directions barked at him in Japanese by a Suntory photographer is a comic masterpiece. He mimics various Rat Pack members, mining the subtle differences between Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and even Joey Bishop (whom his hosts have never heard of).
Meanwhile, Charlotte endures the weirdness of John's übershallow conversations with an essence-of-L.A. starlet (Anna Faris) who's overseas on a promotional tour for her new movie.
These close encounters with kiss-ups and idiots, plus the raucous cacophony of the city, are a jarring contrast to the whispered yet trenchant connection between Bob and Charlotte. The movie seems paced to Murray's famous deadpan, stronger on atmosphere and character than it is on story. Rather than moving in a straightforward manner, it's full of odd side trips: Bob at a strip club, saying thank you to a contortionist's inner thighs as he leaves (she's standing on her head); Charlotte soaking up the arcane and adrenalized artistry of a Tokyo games arcade.
This is Johansson's breakthrough role. She's been sensational in movies like "Ghost World" and "The Man Who Wasn't There," but here we discover her distinctiveness -- her still-evolving creamy beauty and her clear-eyed simplicity. There's a freshness in her uncluttered approach to acting.
Still, the movie belongs to Murray. Coppola wrote the role for him and spent five months talking him into doing it. The patented smart-aleck persona that made him a box-office megastar in movies like "Ghostbusters" and "Caddyshack" has acquired the patina of middle age. The supreme ironist now recognizes the innate irony of youthful cynicism. He can still do more with a raised eyebrow than anyone since Groucho Marx, but he's mellower and sometimes slightly poignant. He's gentle with Charlotte, even courtly. In a sense, he's an emblem of a generation of middle-aged anti-establishment hipsters, grown older and somehow, almost in spite of itself, wiser.
This is a great performance, worthy not only of an Oscar nomination but, at this point in the year, of the prize itself.
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"courage and shuffle the cards..."
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Blunderov
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"We think in generalities, we live in details"
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RE: virus: Lost in Translation
« Reply #3 on: 2004-03-20 15:50:08 » |
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Dr Sebby Sent: 20 March 2004 04:36 PM ....it was a pretty film in many ways, but having lived in tokyo for 2 yrs, i cannot understate how painfully boring the two characters were in their exploration of all that is tokyo. two people so uninspired to experience the vastness of the tokyo cultural landscape sort of made it hard for me to endow them with any sort of character depth. as a result, i found them quite pitiful and hard to lead me to any land of mystery. but if you havent been there, perhaps it would be a nice visiit. my opinion of tokyo: it makes NY look like what it is, and it makes all other cultural meccas look painfully unnecessary.
[Blunderov] While I take your point, it seems to me the two characters, Charlotte and Bob, were trapped in circumstances that that made them feel strangers to their own lives and Tokyo made this painfully clear to both of them.
I envy you your two years there.
Best Regards
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DrSebby
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RE: virus: Lost in Translation
« Reply #4 on: 2004-03-21 03:57:37 » |
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...and yet they did little besides comply with their supposed fates. both characters would prefer to sit in the hotel bar and look out the window and wonder why and how life was passing them by. it was akin a story of two frightened and useless americans devoting their efforts to concentrated whining and self-pity and then each others sad story instead of actually living life and doing shit.
DrSebby. "Courage...and shuffle the cards".
----Original Message Follows---- From: "Blunderov" <squooker@mweb.co.za> Reply-To: virus@lucifer.com To: <virus@lucifer.com> Subject: RE: virus: Lost in Translation Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 22:50:08 +0200
Dr Sebby Sent: 20 March 2004 04:36 PM
....it was a pretty film in many ways, but having lived in tokyo for 2 yrs, i cannot understate how painfully boring the two characters were in their exploration of all that is tokyo. two people so uninspired to experience the vastness of the tokyo cultural landscape sort of made it hard for me to endow them with any sort of character depth. as a result, i found them quite pitiful and hard to lead me to any land of mystery. but if you havent been there, perhaps it would be a nice visiit. my opinion of tokyo: it makes NY look like what it is, and it makes all other cultural meccas look painfully unnecessary.
[Blunderov] While I take your point, it seems to me the two characters, Charlotte and Bob, were trapped in circumstances that that made them feel strangers to their own lives and Tokyo made this painfully clear to both of them.
I envy you your two years there.
Best Regards
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"courage and shuffle the cards..."
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Blunderov
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"We think in generalities, we live in details"
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RE: virus: Lost in Translation
« Reply #5 on: 2004-03-21 05:19:03 » |
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Dr Sebby Sent: 21 March 2004 10:58 AM ...and yet they did little besides comply with their supposed fates. both characters would prefer to sit in the hotel bar and look out the window and wonder why and how life was passing them by. it was akin a story of two
frightened and useless americans devoting their efforts to concentrated whining and self-pity and then each others sad story instead of actually
living life and doing shit.
[Blunderov] Perhaps this is the moral of the story? In any case, I thought it was a very well crafted movie and very funny too. Best regards
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Walter Watts
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Just when I thought I was out-they pull me back in
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Re: virus: Lost in Translation
« Reply #6 on: 2004-03-26 06:26:45 » |
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My wife and I decided to quit going to movies and spending $25 a pop on admission and popcorn and drinks about two years ago.
We're now reaping the financial rewards by watching them on our cable company's "In Demand" section. They're $3.95 and we don't have to buy $1.65/gallon gasoline to get to the movie OR Blockbuster(or take them back on time--just Tivo them).
The popcorn and drinks at home are damn near free.
Anyhoo, what this is getting to is a reply to rhino's post about "Lost in Translation". Just saw it. Loved it.
Walter <Rhino--check out this URL in response to "lock and loll" and "lip my stockings." >
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?SID=mail&articleID=0008A2EF-23D7-1D2A-97CA809EC588EEDF
rhinoceros wrote:
> [Blunderov] I am completely smitten with this movie! Comments? > Best Regards > > Lost in Translation > <snip> > > [rhinoceros] > Alas, these things do not belong to reality, so let me pretend that I only got a giggle out of "lock and loll" and "lip my stockings." > > ---- > This message was posted by rhinoceros to the Virus 2004 board on Church of Virus BBS. > <http://virus.lucifer.com/bbs/index.php?board=61;action=display;threadid=30060> > --- > To unsubscribe from the Virus list go to <http://www.lucifer.com/cgi-bin/virus-l>
--
Walter Watts Tulsa Network Solutions, Inc.
"Pursue the small utopias... nature, music, friendship, love" --Kupferberg--
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Walter Watts Tulsa Network Solutions, Inc.
No one gets to see the Wizard! Not nobody! Not no how!
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JD
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RE: virus: Lost in Translation
« Reply #7 on: 2004-03-26 09:32:22 » |
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I have loved Scarlett Johansson ever since I saw her in The Man Who Wasn't There. My buddy gave me the DIVx of the movie before it was released here and I sort of regret watching it on my laptop, as those lovely Tokyo cityscapes are probably most effective in a cinema.
Incidentally, if anyone does want the DIVx you can get the bit torrent from here: http://isohunt.com/download.php?mode=bt&id=2145064
By the way Walter, your webcam persists with a picture of a human hand. Can I see a picture of your paw some?*
Regards
Jonathan
* Jonathan takes the award for spinning out Sebby's joke way way to far. Note to self: Let dead gags rest in peace.
-----Original Message----- From: owner-virus@lucifer.com [mailto:owner-virus@lucifer.com] On Behalf Of Walter Watts Sent: 26 March 2004 11:27 To: virus@lucifer.com Subject: Re: virus: Lost in Translation
My wife and I decided to quit going to movies and spending $25 a pop on admission and popcorn and drinks about two years ago.
We're now reaping the financial rewards by watching them on our cable company's "In Demand" section. They're $3.95 and we don't have to buy $1.65/gallon gasoline to get to the movie OR Blockbuster(or take them back on time--just Tivo them).
The popcorn and drinks at home are damn near free.
Anyhoo, what this is getting to is a reply to rhino's post about "Lost in Translation". Just saw it. Loved it.
Walter
SNIP
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Lise Carlstrom
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Re: virus: Lost in Translation
« Reply #8 on: 2004-03-26 18:04:32 » |
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--- Walter Watts <wlwatts@cox.net> wrote: > Anyhoo, what this is getting to is a reply to > rhino's post about "Lost in Translation". Just saw > it. Loved it.
Rented it last night. Not terrifically impressed. Watching two people be aimless, disconnected, lonely, and bored in the middle of Tokyo was not as entertaining as going to the local sushi restaurant with my friends. Cheaper though. That toy train setup with the sushi going by is diabolical...
--Eva, who thinks Groundhog Day is a far more profound movie, as well as being funnier
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Casey admin
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Revere the skeptic.
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RE: virus: Lost in Translation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
« Reply #9 on: 2004-03-27 09:41:47 » |
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I enjoyed "Lost in Translation" very much. The main focus of the movie finds the viewer watching two very different people, in very different places in their respective lives, finding one another and beginning a wonderful, if short-lived, relationship in a country that is foreign to them, as well. Throughout the movie the viewer is offered fresh, crisp scenery brought to us by well-done cinematography. Many of the scenes throughout brought wonder and amazement to my eyes. I saw glimpses of Tokyo that I haven't seen before. The character development was excellent. Watching Bill Murray languishing in the middle of a business trip, only to have Ms. Johannsen's coax the energy out of him was, to put it simply, a spectacle to behold. It's not a typical scenario, by any means. Not often enough does this happen in real life, nor is it done with such perfection as it is in this movie. Sofia Coppola has done a wonderful job of bringing together two very good actors and letting them work their magic. It's well-worth the visit to the cinema, or your local video store for renting.
As a side note: I recently saw "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and enjoyed it, too!
I'd recommend all of you to see this movie, based on a Charlie Kaufman screenplay (the same fellow who wrote the screenplay for "Being John Malkovich"). This movie is not your typical silly humorous flick highlighting Jim Carrey's wild antics; rather, it's in line with his thought provoking role he had in "Truman". To put in it simpler terms, he takes this role and runs with it. Carrey is perfect in his delivery and very refreshing compared to some of his over-the-top roles he's taken up in the past. In this movie he is a regular fellow whose life is just what it seems - plain, simple, and very normal. The supporting cast is excellent. Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood, Mike Ruffalo and Tom Wilkinson add to the movie in ways that make this a top-shelf production. I highly recommend anyone who has seen and enjoyed "Being John Malkovich" to see this movie; even if you didn't enjoy "Being John Malkovich" you will enjoy this. But, be forewarned, this movie may reduce you to tears; it's that evocative. Enjoy!
http://www.eternalsunshine.com/
Kind regards, Casey
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Rhysenn
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RE: virus: Lost in Translation
« Reply #10 on: 2004-03-27 10:13:41 » |
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I haven't seen Lost in Translation, but i did see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind. I wouldn't say it was utterly phenomenal, but it was a really good movie, and touching at times, and I would consider buying it when it comes out on video. Kate Winslet's character in some parts seemed sort of a cliche character, but some of the aspects to her character, such as the hair dyeing and working at a book store, made her seem much more realistic than similar characters in other movies.
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Casey admin
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Revere the skeptic.
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RE: virus: Lost in Translation
« Reply #11 on: 2004-03-27 10:50:38 » |
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Quote from: Rhysenn on 2004-03-27 10:13:41 I haven't seen Lost in Translation, but i did see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind. I wouldn't say it was utterly phenomenal, but it was a really good movie, and touching at times, and I would consider buying it when it comes out on video. Kate Winslet's character in some parts seemed sort of a cliche character, but some of the aspects to her character, such as the hair dyeing and working at a book store, made her seem much more realistic than similar characters in other movies.
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I know I just hyped "Lost in Translation", but if you do see the movie go in with a clear and open mind to it. Forget the hype. Forget the Oscars. Forget all of what you've read about it. I saw it the weekend of it's release without a clue about the movie. And, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think, in part, because I didn't hear "the hype". So, be that as it may, forget all we've said about the movie and judge it according to you're own unique perspective.
Fond regards, Casey
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Mermaid
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RE: virus: Lost in Translation
« Reply #13 on: 2004-03-27 11:49:43 » |
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I simply walked out somewhere during the middle of the movie...
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Blunderov
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RE: virus: Lost in Translation
« Reply #14 on: 2004-03-27 12:55:13 » |
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Mermaid Sent: 27 March 2004 06:50 PM
I simply walked out somewhere during the middle of the movie...
[Blunderov] Well, the response has been quite varied, somewhat to my surprise. But then any serious attempt at art has to be a bit edgy I suspect. Better to have some hate it and some love it than to have everyone say it was just OK?
Best Regards
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