This week, WTF is doing a double take:  merely three days ago, I caught Michelle Rodriguez supporting Danny Trejo’s ex-federale-turned-political-assassin-turned-hyper-exploitation-style-revenge-ass-kicker in Robert Rodriguez’s Machete (review coming soon). Today, I learn that Rodriguez has signed on to support yet another ex-badass-in-Texas who is out to avenge his murdered family in Paul Schrader’s The Jesuit, which is also set to star Willem Dafoe, Paz Vega and Manolo Cardona. You might remember Paul Schrader as the man who directed American Gigolo and penned Robert De Niro classics Raging Bull and Taxi Driver, but now he’s filling both screenwriter AND director roles. With The Jesuit backed by Latino production house Maya Entertainment, I’ll bet you five Hail-Machete’s that there will be more Texas-Mexican flavour packed into The Jesuit than a ten-foot tall taco. With Maya intent on a March 2011 release, that leaves very little time to get down to serious business.

The synopsis certainly sounds unflattering enough:

“In The Jesuit, a man comes out of prison in South Texas: “Neto” wants only a new life, far removed from his violent past.  Just when it seems he might regain his wife and ten-year old son, she is brutally murdered and the boy kidnapped. Neto must abandon his dream of happiness in an explosive return to methods that made him the most feared man in Texas, and earned him the nickname…the Jesuit.”

In the name of all things Cinematic and Holy, it sure sounds to me like Schrader is set to be making a movie that is more-or-less a dramatic take on Machete. Let me say that again…A DRAMATIC MACHETE. Or, it could end up more like this.

Bloggers are on fire making jokes about possible “fatally unhygienic holy water” that we can only imagine to be The Jesuit’s version of, well, Machete’s machete. We can only pray that Schrader’s experience with hard-assed drama will get this film over the line to produce a good flick. Not only for his sake as writer/director, but because Michelle Rodriguez could certainly do without another Bloodrayne. Or another DUI, but that’ a different story entirely…

So this week, loyal WTFians, answer this:

Is “The Jesuit” and Michelle Rodirquez a good mix? Does the world really need a dramatic Machete?

I reckon it’s time for some Tequila…