Greta Garbo, left and Carice van Houten, right Amsterdam, NL —Let me begin by confessing my fascination for beautiful elegant European women.  They know how just to dress, walk, talk, flirt and dazzle my imagination.   I was first exposed to them when I was drafted into the Army and sent to Germany long ago.  They still ring my bell today more than ever. Legendary Swedish film siren Greta Garbo was the epitome of glamour, grace and sexy hot.  She was a natural for films that are still shown today.  A few years ago I discovered a woman with all of Garbo’s attributes when I saw Paul Verhoeven’s terrific film Black Book .  The female lead was Dutch actress,  Carice van Houten .  In Black Book she sang, danced, swam, and acted in four languages in the World War Two thriller.  I instantly fell in love with van Houten’s talent.  I also know that van Houten is destined to begin gathering Academy Awards as she ha...

Amsterdam, NL —Okay, I’m obsessed!  I love the arts, theater and of course, music.   There are those artists that entertain us all.   God given talent and the ability to face the world and perform seems to be handed to a chosen few.  Carice van Houten is at the very top of my list of terrific performers. Yes, people are born with talent but without hard work and serious dedication it may all be wasted.  Carice has incredible acting chops, best described by film director Paul Verhoeven .   Vehoeven said, “Carice is beautiful like Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct), but she can act!”  This was not really a slight to Stone’s ability but his recognition that Carice has a rare and special magic.   I certainly don’t discount Verhoeven’s ability to get all that an actor can possibly give in a performance. To give a great performance an actor must forget the cameras, audience and simply put aside their ego.  They must actu...

Los Angeles, CA —We are at a crossroads today in America. Do we take the path of Barack Obama to Marxism or stay on the course to freedom? I can’t understand why so much of our population is in denial about Obama’s Marxist infatuation. Obama is a Marxist, his friends are Marxist and everything he stands for is also Marxist. The direction he’s pushing us is most definitely Marxist. In the late 1950's Cuba’s corrupt government was overthrown by Fidel Castro who was even worse than the deposed leader, Fulgencio Batista . Castro went into the socialist purge mode killing thousands that did not agree with Communism. The repression of every kind of thought including music was there to stay. A young trumpet player and disciple of American jazz great, Dizzy Gillespie wanted more than that Socialist utopia would give him. The young musician wanted freedom to play the music he longed to play. Defectors from Cuba face more than imprisonment if they flee. Their friends and families ...

Los Angeles, CA —I first wrote about this great 2006 film only last August in a review. I caught the film by accident on the Encore Network one night. What a treat it was! If there is a God of all film directors I’d have to call him, Paul Verhoven (Basic Instinct, Robo Cop,Total Recall and Independence Day). His other films are pretty good to say the least but he hit a Grand-slam Homerun with Black Book . I have a serious problem. I can’t stop watching this film, over and over. If you’ve not heard of this film that perhaps because it’s filmed in Dutch, German and only a bit of English. Don’t worry it’s subtitled in your language. The acting is so superb you will become part of it. This film is based on a true story of a sexy and beautiful Jewish cabaret singer, played by Carice Van Houten , hiding out in Holland for the duration of the war and Nazi occupation. Van Houten’s character, Rachel Stein aka, Ellis de Vries is drafted into the Dutch Underground and spends the last year of the...

Los Angeles, CA —Ever since my TV news photographer pal, Gilbert Zermeno AKA “Z” turned me on to the Flip HD Camera the possibilities are seemingly unlimited. As a private investigator and investigative news producer surreptitious photography has been a necessity. Equipment, its quality or lack thereof along with cost has always been obstacles to being able to document the evidence or show what’s going on. If only legendary film making pioneer D.W. Griffith could have had a Flip HD camera, and a laptop he would have been able to do so much more when he made his movie magic so long ago. The Flip is being relentlessly copied by other respected corporations and the competition is at fever pitch. Having expensive quality equipment can be like a boat anchor around your neck. Everywhere you go commercial property managers and government buildings use trespass laws to preclude access and filming. They assume that your video will somehow become a PR liability for them. Of course they could...

Who is that handsome lad in front of the Biograph Theater? Click to enlarge the picture. Los Angeles, CA —This is a film I had to see. It culminates in Chicago with the ambush and killing of John Dillinger on a warm summer evening. Dillinger was one of the more ruthless of the motor bandits that engaged in takeover robberies of banks during the Great Depression. Make no mistake, innocent people were killed and cops were murdered in the line of duty. Despite it all, Dillinger became a folk hero and icon because he went after what was perceived as the evil and greedy bankers. J. Edgar Hoover built the FBI based on smoke, mirrors and some of the slickest public relations moves ever. He wisely used the intelligence his bureau gathered to extort funding for the FBI and his own professional longevity. Our sleazy politicians were and are always ripe for extortion. Anyone wiretapping them can own them. Melvin Purvis was the real hero of the War on the Motor Bandits. When Purvis’ profile bec...

Katie is my pick to play the real life Chicago hero policewoman in my feature film, COME FRIDAY .