Collie's Bestiary

There have been incredibly mixed reviews concerning the movie Sucker Punch. I can kind of understand why people hated it — I have one friend who told me he enjoyed the movie overall, but had he known about one particular scene he would not have gone, since it squicked him. I, however, rather enjoyed it, [...]

The weather is absolutely gorgeous today! I am so pleased to have sunshine and warmth now, instead of constantly gray and rainy days. Consequently, here are some more quietly happy random thoughts… of no particular seriousness or order. :) ———- My hair is growing longer! When I let it down, the longest ends now brush [...]

One of my housemates is in a world mythology class. I was quite interested to hear this, since I love mythology, and I thought this might be an opportunity for me to increase the number of interests we have in common. I was rather shocked, therefore, to hear some of the on-line questions and discussions [...]

Advertising & Emotional Manipulation An interesting sidenote: studies have shown people look at advertising for only seconds at most, unless the ad somehow catches their interest. If the ad can do that, you look at it longer, and are more likely to remember the brand name. This means advertisers must pack a great deal of [...]

Women and War in History Historically speaking, this is nonsense. Women have been warriors throughout the ages, both in cultures which honored them, and in those which tried to suppress them. If the subject interests you (and I always encourage research), please read through the Women Warriors section on the fascinating web site GenderGap. There's [...]

Originally posted March 2004 Credits:Thanks to Bob and George for thoughtful reasoning and feedback. src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/rcm/120×240.gif" >width="120" height="240" border="0" usemap="#boxmap-p8" alt="Shop >at Amazon.com">Please be warned there are spoilers in this review. I noticed in the paper today how many Oscars were won by Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies, which were based on J. R. [...]

Originally posted February 2006 Please be warned there are spoilers in this review. I went to The Corpse Bride expecting something fantastical and whimsical, much like Burton's earlier The Nightmare Before Christmas (TNBC). In a way it's a shame this movie did not come before TNBC, as it isn't exactly bad… it just isn't very [...]

directed by John McTiernan 1 August 2006 movie review by Collie Collier Credits: For Dave, who brought it over — you know me too well! ;) This is apparently a movie with a very mixed reputation. I came to it unsure as to whether it would be any good, since I'd heard both that it [...]