The WP’s Weekly Web Gems: The Politics of Film

I went to see Cars 2 over the weekend.  It is terrible.  I don’t understand how Pixar, who up until this point had never  made a bad film, did such a shoddy job with this film.  The best part of Cars 2 was the preview for their next  film,  Brave, which will hit theaters next summer.  You  can watch the trailer at the link. [The Movie Blog]

The film world lost a key member last week  when Peter Falk died.  Falk was probably most  famous for playing Columbo on television, but he earned back to back Best Supporting Actor nominees, and was also  in two of my favorite films: The Princess Bride and It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World. [Film Junk]

Clint Eastwood has been slated  to (re-)re-make A Star Is Born with Beyonce Knowles starring.  The original remake (OXYMORON ALERT) starred Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.  Which may be an even more random pairing than Beyonce and DiCaprio. [Guardian]

As a kid, I loved the Lois Lowry book The Giver. A film adaptation is apparently in the works with Jeff Bridges playing the old guy who feels everybody’s pain.  I am excited about this.  [/Film]

One time I asked my room mate what his favorite movie was.  He thought for a second and replied “Quintin Tarantino.”  I echo that sentiment–all of his films are amazing and I love everything he has ever directed.  His next picture is entitled Django Unchained and is set  during slavery in Mississippi.  It’s the story of an escaped slave who meets with a German dentist-turned-bounty hunter  and tries to rescue his wife.  How Tarantino-esque!  Christoph Waltz, who shined bright as Hans Landa in Tarantino’s last picture Inglourious Basterds will play the bounty hunter, and news has been released saying Jamie Foxx  will play the escaped slave.   I am excited about this, too. [Deadline]

Joel Courtney has received rave reviews for his work as  the kid from Super 8. He has now been tapped to play Tom Sawyer in an upcoming adaptation of the Mark Twain classic.   Since our last viewing of these stories involved Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Brad Renfro, I am also excited about this.  [Movie Line]