The Movie: Lost In translation was nominated for four Oscars, winning one for best screenplay. It was definitely much hyped in the time just before the Academy Awards show, and while many tout it as one of the greatest movies ever made, I think I'll just have to settle for calling it a pretty great one. I didn't get to see it in the theaters, but my friend Ben brought his copy over and a bunch of us watched it here.

This film does a great job of subtly conveying complex emotions through the screen. But at the same time, it's just something that a lot of people just won't "get", especially if they're looking some big action to go with the big hype. But yes, I gotta say, it's extremely well written, and both Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson pull off amazing performances as two Americans lost (in more ways than one) in Tokyo.

And yes, this movie makes me want to go to Japan and just watch TV all day. Really bad.

The DVD: The anamorphic transfer on this DVD is fantastic, with shadow detail, a nice, sharp image, and bold swaths of neon just oozing with color and just about the graininess you'd expect from a 1.85:1 format film. I didn't actually sample the DTS audio because I didn't even know it was available until after the movie was over, but the Dolby Digital mix was crisp and clear, with a nice, lively sound.

Special features include deleted scenes, "Matthew's Best Hit TV", a music video, and a couple of featurettes. Nothing too crazy, but at least you get something, right? The one really annoying thing about this DVD is the poor design of the case. This is totally nitpicking, but if you ever buy this movie, you'll see exactly what I'm talking about!