Tough thriller, family comedy to light up big screen this weekend
A tough thriller (“The Hunted”), a family comedy (“Agent Cody Banks”), a horror remake (“Willard”), a complicated drama (“Spider”) and a controversial import (“Irreversible”) are the major titles arriving on this St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The new motion pictures (with release dates subject to change) scheduled to open today at a theater near you include:
– “Agent Cody Banks”: Frankie Muniz (TV’s “Malcolm in the Middle”) stars in this “Spy Kids”-like family comedy about a 15-year-old Seattle youth working as a CIA operative, dealing with his parents, starting to notice members of the opposite sex and saving the world. Hilary Duff (“Human Nature”) co-stars in the 100-minute picture, rated PG.
Norway filmmaker Harald Zwart (“One Night at McCool’s”) directed.
– “The Hunted”: A retired military instructor (Tommy Lee Jones of “The Fugitive”) is asked by the government to help track one of his former students (Benicio Del Toro of “The Usual Suspects”), a highly trained assassin who has become a renegade warrior.
Connie Nielsen, who starred in “Gladiator,” co-stars in the R-rated action thriller.
William Friedkin (“The Exorcist”) directed.
– “Irreversible”: Viewers will either be riveted or revolted by this graphically violent French import. Told in reverse, a la “Memento,” the unrated picture follows two misguided men (Vincent Cassel and Albert Dupontel) as they embark on an ill-advised and ill-fated vigilante quest to find a man who raped their friend (Monica Bellucci of “Tears of the Sun”) in an underground passageway.
Writer-director-editor Gaspar Noe (“I Stand Alone”) takes confrontation cinema to a new level as he shoots the grisly nine-minute rape scene in real time and never pulls his camera away from the hateful crime.
The grim 100-minute work has been applauded and booed at film festivals, where many audience members have walked out during an opening sequence in which a fire extinguisher becomes a blunt instrument of death and later during the painfully ugly sexual assault scene.
You’ve been warned.
– “The Lawless Heart”: After a young restaurateur dies, his three devastated best friends pledge to devote themselves to having rewarding personal lives with people who care about them.
That proves harder than expected during this R-rated Swedish import. Neil Hunter and Tom Hunsinger, who previously teamed on “Boyfriends,” co-directed the 100-minute ensemble comedy drama.
– “Spider”: During this R-rated character study, viewers see the world through the eyes of a schizophrenic man (Ralph Fiennes of “Red Dragon”) and become a part of his frighteningly unbalanced world.
Miranda Richardson (“The Hours”) and Gabriel Byrne (“The Usual Suspects”) co-star in the psychological drama, based on the novel by Patrick McGrath, who penned the screenplay.
Brilliant Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg (“Crash”) directed.
– “Willard”: A depressed sociopath (Crispin Glover of “Back to the Future”) gets even with those who torment him by turning them into food for his army of rats in this PG-13 remake of the 1971 creature-feature favorite.
R. Lee Ermey (“Full Metal Jacket”) and Laura Harring (“Mulholland Drive”) co-star.
Glen Morgan, a former writer for TV’s “The X-Files,” made his directing debut.
At the buck$ office
Comedy fans far outnumbered action seekers last weekend as “Bringing Down the House” easily topped “Tears of the Sun” at the box office.
“Bringing Down the House,” starring Steve Martin and Queen Latifah, grossed more than $31 million.
“Tears of the Sun” with Bruce Willis as a Navy SEAL leader, topped $17 million.
The top 10 films last weekend were:
1. “Bringing Down the House” ($31.7 million)
2. “Tears of the Sun” ($17.2 million)
3. “Old School” ($9.2 million)
4. “Chicago” ($6.9 million)
5. “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” ($6.8 million)
6. “Cradle 2 the Grave” ($6.6 million)
7. “Daredevil” ($5.2 million)
8. “The Jungle Book 2” ($4.2 million)
9. “Shanghai Knights” ($2.7 million)
10. “The Life of David Gale” ($2.1 million)
Coming Soon!
Major titles tentatively scheduled to open March 21 include: “Piglet’s Big Movie,” an animated family film from Walt Disney Pictures, and “Til Human Voices Wake Us,” starring Guy Pearce and Helena Bonham Carter in a haunting romantic tale from Australia.
(Lou Gaul is film critic for Calkins Media. He can be reached at lgaul@phillyBurbs.com.)