Arts & Entertainment

Del Toro in hunt for hit in new flick

By Geronimo Rodriguez
The Daily Cougar

Only time will tell if Benicio Del Toro has taken the bait and followed the money trail to the gaits of movie hell. Itid be sad if Del Toro lowers his ranking and joins the likes of John Travolta and Nicholas Cage, but it happens.

Andrew Cooper/Paramount Pictures

Actually, weill find out this weekend whether the Academy Award winner will bask in Hollywoodis pit of plot-deprived scripts or he will brand the screen with his chilling acting presence.

Del Toro teams up with fellow Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones in The Hunted.

It follows Aaron (Del Toro), a U.S.-trained assassin who goes AWOL and heads for the woods to sharpen his skills on deer hunters. To catch him, authorities call on L.T. Bonham (Jones), the guy who taught Aaron how to butcher humans.

Written by Peter and David Griffiths, the brothers who collided to bring us the wretched Collateral Damage, The Huntedis script just might rely on weak one-liners and a predictable ending. Furthermore, William Friedkin, who hasnit had a hit since 1973is The Exorcist, might need a Hail Mary or two to ignite the familiar plot.

Let us hope acting will prevail and that keeping up with The Hunted is worth it.

Another film opening this weekend reintroduces audiences to moviemaking so bad that it happens to actually entertain.

Willard, a remake of the 1971 film, stars Crispin "McFly" Glover and a slew of rats. Just like the earlier film, which was followed up by 1972is Ben, Willard follows a loser who gets rodents to do his dirty work. Aside from Glover, R. Lee Emery and Laura Elena Harring also star in the film.

Gilbert Ralston penned the book Ratmanis Notebooks that spawned the cheesy cult films.

Irreversible is perhaps the most dramatic film opening this weekend. With that said, itis no surprise that the French film will be limited to Landmark Theatres.

Directed by Gaspar Noe, the film has been praised for both its directing and story line. Adding to the appeal, it stars Italyis stunning Monica Bellucci, whose beauty has melted audiences of Tears of the Sun, Malena and Under Suspicion. But thatis about all sheis offered. Given the material of Irreversible, Bellucci might actually have to act.

Bellucci plays Alex, a woman who is raped and beaten into a coma. As she tries to heal the scars, her ex-husband (Vincent Cassel) takes on the role of the vigilante.

Agent Cody Banks, starring Frankie Muniz, also opens.

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