Why Carice Van Houten Should be Your Favorite Actress

Carice Van Houten

Amsterdam, NL—One evening nearly three years ago I discovered Carice Van Houten. I was looking for something to watch on cable TV and flipping my remote control. The Encore Channel was just beginning what became my favorite film of all times, Black Book.

I watched this film that involves three languages, Dutch, German and English with English subtitles. I speak German but unfortunately no Dutch. The film recounted actual historical events in Nazi occupied Holland during the war.

The Dutch Underground forces fought the Nazi’s courageously through sabotage and their protection of Jews from forced deportation, to what we now know were extermination camps.

Carice Van Houten played a Jewish cabaret singer, Rachael Stein who was hiding from the Nazis. She has an austere life with a Dutch family that tried to convert her to their Christian faith. She was waiting out the war that was turning against Hitler’s forces.

Stein finds herself homeless and vulnerable and as luck would have it actively working within the Dutch Underground. The film is a thriller in every aspect. The cast and crew are as good as it gets and the writing and direction by Paul Verhoeven, (Basic Instinct, Robo-Cop and Showgirls) truly made a film masterpiece.

The period costumes, vehicles and props all were amazing. The terrific Black Book musical soundtrack is on my IPhone, IPad and MacBook.

The bulk of this film was made at Filmstudio Babelsberg near Berlin because a generous German government film grant made for nearly half of the project’s budget.

Van Houten displayed incredible talent and range of abilities in Black Book. In the film she swims, sings, dances, speaks three languages and plays every possible emotion. Van Houten’s character was that of an unlikely but magnificent hero. Don’t dare let me forget to mention, Van Houten may be the sexiest woman ever to grace the silver screen!

As an actress Van Houten is truly fearless in that she does whatever it takes to thrill her audience and make her character credible.

Van Houten played Nina Von Stauffenberg in Valkyrie with Tom Cruise in her American film debut. That part was too small for anyone to notice Van Houten’s significant talent and charms.

Van Houten’s Los Angeles agent is the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and they have apparently been sleeping rather than utilizing the gifts of this superstar. We have to wake them up so they can begin to appreciate their hidden box office moneymaker.

Van Houten has a minimal but delightful accent that might be preventing Hollywood from embracing her. Have they forgotten two legendary actresses with much more pronounced accents like Greta Garbo or Marlene Dietrich?

Van Houten can be seen today in a small but meaty role in HBO’s Game of Thrones series filmed in the UK. She has been in films far beneath her abilities like Repo Men and Intruders.

The time to bring Van Houten into American theaters with a strong role is long overdue. Van Houten is exactly what the Best Actress prize of the Academy Awards is all about. I’d love nothing more than to see another Verhoeven film made for an American audience with this gifted leading lady.

By all means order your copy of Black Book on Blu-Ray from Amazon.com, you'll be glad you did!

Watch the trailer below!

A 40 Caliber Nightmare Is Caught On Tape.

So you’re confident that that .40 caliber S&W service round will keep you safe. Maybe you’ll have second thoughts after you see this video. One hot summer night in 1994 Tempe and Mesa Arizona police were involved in a pursuit with this suspect who ran into a stranger’s apartment to hide after being shot TWICE in the chest. He was shirtless and you can see the blood pumping out of those two wounds. What’s really frightening is just how agile this fellow is as he struts to the ambulance. If he was not handcuffed and had a knife or a gun, ask yourself if he could still hurt you, your partner or a hostage? If your jurisdiction demands that officers carry either the 9MM or the .40 Caliber S&W it’s time to show this video to your bosses and lobby to have the .45 ACP round authorized. The switch may well reduce the screaming by self-appointed community activists about how many rounds police had to use on a suspect. The really talented and courageous video journalist, Karen Ke...

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Gun vs. Knife

So you think because you carry and know how to use a gun that you will be able to protect yourself from a knife or cutting instrument attack with ease? For those people that think guns are more dangerous than knives, think again. More than 60% of all people shot with firearms even multiple times survive the attack. Cutting and stabbing victims don’t do nearly as well. Bullet wounds self-seal because of the elastic nature of human tissue. Knife cuts lay open and bleed profusely as the veins and arteries are opened wide. Then there are those laughably ignorant people (too many are politicians) who want cops or civilians confronted by knife wielding criminals to either shoot the knife out of someone’s hand or just shoot to wound. You’re about to see that such an effort will get you killed. Watch this video and you will see the knife can easily beat a gun in any contest.

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