MOVIE: A Bug’s Life (1998)

by benmweilertNo Comments
A Bug's LifeYear: 1998Rating: GLength: 95 minutes / 1.58 hours It’s interesting how Pixar pulled ideas from some much more serious movies for their first few films. While Toy Story (1995) has a vibe straight from The Defiant Ones (1958), A Bug’s Life (1998) more directly aligned with Seven Samurai (1954). And while the visuals of A Bug’s Life haven’t held up nearly as well over the years, the plot truly rings truer today than it did at the end of the last millennium. After all, what if we’re all suffering because a select few people are taking all our hard-earned efforts for themselves? The decision to animate bugs with stiff exoskeletons was likely because of the technical limitations of the time (similar to why Pixar chose toys for Toy Story). But with the natural scenery for this setting, you could see the need to innovate here and there to produce something that looked good. And for 1998, it looked good. A...
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BOOK: Wolves of the Calla (2003)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Wolves of the Calla Year: 2003 Author: Stephen King Length: 1,563 minutes / 26.05 hours There comes a point when you've consumed enough stories that you notice similarities. Sure, there are common tropes applied to plots that make them seem similar, but what I'm talking about is when you're reading a book and immediately, you're like, "This is exactly like [FILL IN THE BLANK]." For me, the fifth book in the Dark Tower series, Wolves of the Calla, laid out its premise, and I instantly thought, "This is exactly like Seven Samurai (1954)." Fortunately, there was more to this book than this classic tale of villagers defending themselves with the help of skilled warriors. I will give credit to Stephen King for taking a well-known plot and adding enough sub-plots to distract from the fact that this book is the Dark Tower equivalent of The Magnificent Seven (1960). This is probably because these sub-plots are the driving force behind the main story arc of the...
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