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MisterJuggins
Reviews
Spookley the Square Pumpkin (2005)
Spooklee the Square Masterpiece
This is my favourite children's film since Thomas And The Magic Railroad. My three year old likes it too but not as much as me. The story of a pumpkin who is held back from success because of his shape, this is an absolute must-see! There are very few spooky cartoons that work for the under-5 age group (Scooby Doo, of course), and fewer still than manage to do something interesting with Hallowe'en, but Spooklee hits the mark. It manages to celebrate the festival without being in any way disturbing, but is not saccharine either. I only bought it because it was going cheap in a Woolworth's clear-out but even if I'd paid full whack I wouldn't have been disappointed.
A Bear's Tail (2005)
Comedy gold
I didn't watch Bo Selecta! so didn't have time to get tired of Leigh Francis before watching this show. It seems to have got negative reviews everywhere, but I think it's by far the funniest show on television. In some ways reminiscent of shows like Sean Hughes's 'Sean's Show' or Garry Shandling's 'It's The Garry Shandling Show', it pushes the conventions of television comedy to breaking point, while remaining hysterically funny. It is impossible to summarize this programme without seeming gratuitously obscene, so I won't bother highlighting the best moments, but if you have a childish sense of humour and enjoy truly anarchic television, this is for you.
The Bastard (1978)
Excellent TV Classic
Although this is a hokey mini-series, there is no denying the enormous power of this television show. It's like what Gangs of New York would be like if Scorsese was still talented and it starred Tom (Happy Days) Bosley and William Shatner instead of Daniel Day-Lewis. Kim Cattral is amazing in this film, so incredible that it makes all her later work seem utterly redundant. It's a historical epic, which begins in France then moves to London and Bristol, before heading to America. It's the first in a trilogy of 4-hour TV films that use one man's life story to explain, as Raymond Burr suggests in his voice-over, the origin of all Americans.
Little Treasure (1985)
A real let-down
Over the years I've heard many good things about Little Treasure and it was a real disappointment. Margot Kidder isn't bad (playing a character called 'Margot'!) but Ted Danson is awful. The film hinges on a bizarre triple-reference for the phrase 'little treasure' that is very misogynistic and not appropriate to go into here. Burt Lancaster is also dreadful, wittering on about a long-dead friend of his called Scobie and spending much of the first half of the film (before he thankfully dies) walking around with his rotting foot in a birdcage. If that sounds bizarre, it is! But not at all entertaining. I would miss this one.
Soup for One (1982)
Send-up of the early 80s singles scene
This early 80's comedy is far more sombre than you might expect. With definite shades of Woody Allen, it begins as a pretty funny send-up of the singles scene, but somewhat awkwardly changes into a film about social and parental conditioning, ending with a psychological twist that no rom-com today would risk. Most of the jokes are a bit labored, and there is a weird S/M subtext that (along with the low-budget TV station setting) evokes inappropriate memories of Videodrome. No lost classic, but a passable evening's entertainment, Soup For One is just about worth seeing, although the soundtrack (by Chic) is probably the best thing about the movie.