Back in the USA

OK, first of all -- great review of Eastern Promises, Nilay. I was actually holding off on seeing it until I got your recommendation. As a partial fan of Cronenberg's recent work (I love Existenz, appreciate History, and am ambivalent towards Crash and Dead Ringers), I wanted to see it, but I was unsure given some of the negative reviews. However, I will probably see it alone, since I don't want my girlfriend to have the opportunity to see Viggo's naked massacre.

Second, I know I promised a review of the Simpsons Movie, but I don't have the energy. I saw this movie as an unauthorized double feature after Shoot 'Em Up a couple of weeks ago, and my recollections are hazy now. But I'll say a couple things anyway: (1) Any random episode of the Simpsons is better than the movie; (2) I think the Simpsons is overrated anyway, but the script was awful -- Family Guy has more coherent plots. For example, Lake Springfield is polluted, so they clean it up, then Homer dumps pig shit in and the lake mutates a squirrel, prompting the EPA to put a glass bubble over Springfield, but the Simpsons can escape through a magic sink hole (???), then they go to Alaska (???) to start a new life; (3) Despite all this retardation, the movie was still enjoyable to watch, i.e., I didn't walk out. I almost walked out when they inexplicably moved to Alaska, though.

Third, I saw Death Proof, dubbed in German, in Vienna last week. This was the first time I've ever seen a movie in a foreign land, so I didn't know what to expect from the audience, especially for a Tarantino film. For the most part, they were muted, and there was no cheering at the end of the movie, like in the states. Other than that, I didn't notice anything especially different -- some members of the audience thought certain lines were hilarious (I don't know why, because it was dubbed, not subtitled, and I don't know German -- the dubbing was really well done, though).

Anyway, even though I had seen Grindhouse, several scenes were completely new to me since Tarantino had included some edited material for the stand-alone Death Proof. Most prominent among these was the lap dance that we don't get to see Butterfly give Stuntman Mike in Grindhouse (where it was cut for effect, the same way the sex scene in Planet Terror was a missing reel). Another scene was Stuntman Mike's initial stalking of the second group of girls (led by the incredible Tracie Thoms). Both extra scenes were somewhat enlightening, and in general, I would say that the film was still tight despite the expansion. I can't say more because I need to see it in English before I can decide whether all the new material was worthwhile.

I'm seeing the Darjeeling Limited tonight, and probably the Kingdom at some point after that, so I will try and post some reviews as soon as possible.