Lost in stereotypes-- Somethings are best left unsaid.

Rating: Null/10 (20 June 2006)

I couldn't believe this movie is supposed to be new thing and ran close to bagging Oscars. May be, this is a sign of how bad Hollywood is nowadays. Every character in the movie is a stereotype. Grumpy man going through a midlife crisis,a lost girl figuring out who she's supposed to be, dumb blonde actress filled with stupidity, overworking insensitive husband, Lounge singer looking for her next target. Well the treatment is not all that unique either. Most character is played for a laugh rather than examining or bring out the alienation of the main characters. Bill Murray character does nothing(not even try) to shed his alienation other just sulking. And he plays that everything is stupid, idiotic and un-American in Japan(I'm no kidding). He definitely got on my nerves. Scarlet does balance the movie with some good acting but it is too little to fill the humongous void of substance in the movie. Oh, the Japanese characters? I don't even want to talk about it. They are the ultimate stereotypes of Japanese people and even the Buddhist temple is just another exotic stereotype catered to American audience. Also some of the scenes and especially the ending seems heavily inspired by Wong Kar Wai's "In the mood of love" and LIT definitely does not do any justice to the Hong Kong Masterpiece. I liked Sofia Coppola's "The Virgin suicides" and I'm lost how she ventured into this LIT crap. She's good filmmaker I hope she bounce back from the low and gives us a good movie. But I wouldn't recommend this movie.