When you are a young director whose last film received high acclaim all around the world and are haunted by a manifesto that declared a ‘vow of chastity’ in film making, the thought of making another film can be daunting. Since his great break through onto the international film scene back in 1998 with the film, Festen (the Celebration), Thomas Vinterberg had only done some work with made for television movies. The follow up to Festen was long anticipated and as the years went past, so too did the expectation of his audience. In a bold move to break his ‘vow’ and create a movie that is the complete antithesis of the Dogma Manifesto he wrote together with fellow Dane, Lars von Triers; his latest film, ‘It’s All About Love’ has the tendency to draw strong reactions from audiences. You will either love it or hate it. At least that’s the general reactions I’ve observed from audiences. As for myself, I loved it’

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The oil on canvas Girl with a Pearl Earring, painted circa 1665 by Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), now hangs in the Mauritshuis in The Hague, Netherlands, and is universally considered to be one of the great Dutch master’s defining works. However, some 340 years after its creation, it still remains somewhat of a mystery ‘ as does Vermeer enigmatic. The captivating young girl dressed in an exotic costume and looking over her shoulder has never been identified, leaving herself open to much interpretation by scholars and laymen alike. Based on Tracey Chevalier’s best-selling novel, Girl with a Pearl Earring (the cinematic debut of British director Peter Webber), is a fictional take on ‘the mystery behind the masterpiece’…

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Nominated for Best Foreign Film for the upcoming Oscars, Les Invasions Barbares is a moving Canadian/French co-production. The themes of the movie are rather heavy but treated with respect and a certain, yet appropriate, light-heartedness.

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Zatoichi was one of the opening films at the Rotterdam Film Festival this past year. It has probably gained more media attention than it really merits due to the samurai sword fighting trends we’ve seen coming out of Hollywood over the past year. Japanese entertainment living legend, Takeshi Kitano, wrote, directed and stars in this samurai tale of a blind masseur who uses his masterful sword fighting technique to defend the weak and avenge the innocent. Yes, we’ve all heard that plot line before, and for the most part, Zatoichi is your standard sword slash fest. But there’s one interesting twist to this film which actually makes it worth watching…

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Art House lovers may know director Alejandro González Iñárritu from his excellently raw Mexican debut Amores Perros. 21 Grams is his second attempt on American soil and has a promising cast including Naomi Watts, Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn. The first two are currently on the list of nominees for the upcoming Academy Awards. Well deserved if you ask me. 21 Grams is an experience you will remember long afterwards…

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A year ago to the day I posted a short, not-very-review-like article on this website about Sleepy Hollow. Who would’ve guessed that a year later we’d have nine editors and 10.000 visitors a month. There are now 197 movie reviews on file, as well as 36 other messages and 1329(!) comments.

Happy birthday to everyone involved in making this a great site!