Frank Lammers Movies

A steroid-fueled cattle farmer finds that his decision to do business with the Belgian cattle-hormone mafia could have potentially deadly consequences in this brooding Belgian crime drama that was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2012 Academy Awards. Jacky Vanmarsenille (Matthias Schoenaerts) makes the biggest mistake of his life when he goes into business with a nefarious meat trader with mob ties. After hearing that a federal agent was murdered while investigating the underworld meat trade and crossing paths with a woman he thought he would never see again, Jacky realizes that his only hope is to delve headlong back into his harrowing past. First-time feature filmmaker Michael R. Roskam directed from his own script. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Filmmaker Paul Verhoeven returned to the Netherlands after more than twenty years of success in Hollywood to direct this epic-scale war drama based on a true story. Rachel Steinn (Carice van Houten) is a beautiful Jewish woman living in German-occupied Holland during late 1944. Her family members - who have been falsely promised safe passage to Belgium (their names recorded in the 'black book' of the title) are instead robbed and slaughtered by the Germans on a premeditated basis; Rachel herself manages to escape by diving into the water and swimming away. She narrowly avoids capture, then joins the local resistance movement. With her hair dyed blonde, Rachel can easily pass for Aryan, and when the leader of the Dutch resistance movement learns his son has been captured by Axis forces, Rachel is asked to use her feminine charms to persuade a German commander to arrange for the boy's release. Rachel soon finds herself caught up in a dangerous double life as she becomes a sexual plaything for the Nazis while attempting to bring down their evil empire as a spy. Zwartboek was written by Verhoeven and Gerard Soeteman, who collaborated on the 1977 international success Soldier of Orange. Zwartboek received its world premier at the 2006 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Written and directed by Alex van Warmerdam, Grimm is an absurdist, decidedly black take on the Hansel and Gretel story. Set in modern day Holland, Grimm centers around siblings Marie (Halina Reijn) and Jacob (Jacob Derwig), who were sent to the forest under the pretext of gathering firewood while, unbeknownst to them, their impoverished family left for parts unknown. Before long, Marie and Jacob learn of their abandonment; all that is left from their parents is a brief note advising them to go to Spain and take up residence with their uncle. The first setback comes in the form of a smarmy farmer (Frank Lammers) who forces Jacob to have sex with his obese wife (Annet Malherbe). Shortly afterwards, Marie turns to prostitution, but Jacob intervenes before she goes too far. Eventually, the siblings find a moped and take off for Spain -- only to find out that their uncle has died. When a wealthy surgeon (Carmelo Gomez) falls for Marie, the broke siblings' prospects seem to be looking up once gain. Unfortunately for them, the ultimate consequence of Marie's quickie marriage is nothing either of them would have imagined. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi