Reviews

The other day I stumbled across a VHS in the charity shop of 'Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny' from this series; 1st time seeing this production since the early-mid 90's I guess ! If 'Peter and Benjamin' was the 1st in this series, they made (8?) other programmes of Beatrix Potter tales.

I forgot just how classy and refined this series was. It was beautifully animated; true and accurate to the style of Beatrix Potter's illustrations, with no caricatured/digital plasticity.

I particularly liked the live-action segments at the start and end of the cartoons, portraying Beatrix Potter- played by the highly cute Niamh Cusack - at her farmhouse home, inspired by her beloved pets to write the stories of the animals.

The music featured during the end credits of the early programmes from 1992 is also worth mentioning; a tender, refined folky number, sung by Miriam Stockley of Adiemus fame.

All in all, I will have to give this production a full 10/10 for its beauty, perfection and nostalgic element, the latter evoking the good ole' early 90's we all remembered and loved !

I saw every episode of this back in 1993 when it premiered on the BBC,and it's fascinating watching it 25 years later as a 35- year- old!

These were the days when the media (and children alike) still appreciated period authenticity on TV; no modernisation or trendiness (save the future scene!).

Based on the classic Children's Book 'Five Children And It',it tells the story of 4 children in 1910's England who stay with their (dowdy spinster) Aunt Marchmont while their younger sibling/s have Scarlet Fever. They meet the Sand Fairy, or 'Psammead' (who's easy to mistake for a Jim Henson Puppet!) who makes all their wishes come true. That's ALL their wishes,even the ones they make as a mere figure of speech: "I wish I was invisible"; Aunt Marchmont's wish to be a child again,etc!

For the sake of this being a period but early-90's production, a favourite episode is the one where they wish to go (80 years?) into the future. They visit their house - now upgraded with refrigeration and electrical appliances - where a supposed great- granddaughter has a junior acid-house party; plenty of sloppy clothes and curtains to boost!

An considerable cast were adopted. Anna Massey plays the Aunt; think the French woman in Darling Buds Of May. The young actors who played the children were perhaps infinite unknowns; Laura Clarke and Toby Ufindell-Phillips each appear to have acted in only 1 other production. I suppose it displays the BBC's genuine pursuit of scouting fresh new talent from an basic, non-prestigious outlet.

I was also interested to find out that this production was quite big in the USA (where it was directly titled 'Return Of The Sand fairy); I'm glad they're fond of BBC TV over there!

All in all, I'll give it 9/10 for being genuine, authentic, upfront, funny, and a simply delightful production from an time when UK TV was at its climax of class,entertainment and overall quality.

If you come from a dirty city centre like I do (Central Norwich, UK in my case !) you'll love this !

Quite an dark,sinister plot. Gary Oldman has to protect a Russian hit woman as a cop, but kill her as a member of a mob. Naturally the sleazy,erotic style of the film involves him 2-timing his wife, not only with the hit woman but also with Juliette Lewis (a waitress).

Plenty of dirty urban landscapes/structures for all you other city rats! Plenty of scantily dressed girls in sexually uncompromising situations ! Plenty of violence, especially dismemberment! Yes, this is the ultimate dirty,violent + generally nihilistic metropolitan film !

Although I vaguely remember this from the 90s,I saw this show properly for the first time the other day (bought Series 1 DVD). Essentially it depicts the lives of 2 divorcees trying to start a new romance together, despite constant distractions from his ex-wife + her teenage children.

Although the humour is feeble, obsolete even,the show is nonetheless quite substantial simply for 2 reasons:-

1) The actors - 2point4 Children's Belinda Lang plays the ex-wife, and the (back then) really cute Julia Sawalha,of Absolutely Fabulous and Press Gang fame,plays the teenage daughter.

2) The archetypal early 90s British setting; the show is a nostalgic trip into the modest mums, baggy/black-clad teens and horrendous suburban wallpapers of the day!

Second rate by all means; while the BBC had all the essential comedy classics, perhaps ITV intended to spare a weekly slot for such mediocrity. That said, I will give it 6/10 simply for the established actors and the kitsch-yet-classy early 90s cultural setting.

When people of my age (mid 30's) are asked about classic Australian Kids' TV, most of them will instantly state 'Round The Twist'. Personally,I will say in one word;2 syllables;7 letters;you've got it;

PUGWALL!!

Created in the late80s/early 90s and based on the Penguin books, Pugwall tells the tale of Peter Unwin George Wall;PUGWALL. He and his friends form a pop group against their parents' conservative expectations of them.

Blending humour with band performances - in casting they probably chose young musicians over established actors - this show was highly classy and original. Constantly hassled by ginger sister 'Marmaloid',ambitious father 'Herohead' and control-freak mother Supes' - surreal interpretations of Pugwall's home-life would regularly spring to the screen - Pugwall has to attempt to make a hit record whilst persuaded to lead a normal teenage life!

The show was quite insightful in regards to its account of a group of musicians, both teenage AND independent, breaking through all the obstacles and hardships of the 'Rock'n'Roll' industry,driven by their determination to become successful.

Set in an archetypal early 90s kitsch-but-classy (Melbourne) suburbia - title actor Jason Torrens now has a recording studio in the city - the show is highly evocative of that golden age of TV comedy when the world, despite Thatcherism, was still respectable,relatively sane and had a lot of talent amongst the young and old. I give this show 10/10 for its originality, insight, humour and overall class!

The 1990s; The persistence of the nuclear family, The end on Thatcherism, the media-domination of Princess Di and the emergence of the digital age. Yes it's ALL present here in this witty, realistic comedy about the average British family struggling to maintain that status !

Essentially about carnage-obsessed son David, dysfunctional teenage daughter Jenny, semi-juvenile Dad Ben(hence the .4!) and straight- laced Mum and family boss Bill, not to forget UK comedy's mandatory slut-next-door Rona, the 1990s family household was portrayed pretty much EXACTLY as it was in real life, with little exaggeration!

Facing all the contemporary family issues of unemployment (hence the extremely realistic jobcentre interview!), teenage relations, 'controversial' youth culture (that's revolting! My son a metalhead!), NHS faults (We lost him...No no,I mean we literally lost him!) and inadequate banking (I'm your Pers-On-Al Bank-Er),the show gave the British public a good chance to laugh off all the everyday chaos of contemporary society !

Family-friendly yet with plenty of innuendo - "I'm waiting for him to pot the pink"; "Aren't We All!" - a universal audience could enjoy the hilarity of flatulent dogs, Bimbo housewives, Star Trek funerals and (unexplicitly portrayed) strip dancers. Not to forget the gloriously kitsch sing-songs at the end of the Christmas episodes !

All in all, this light-hearted perspective of the complexities of everyday life was witty and entertaining, yet insightful and loosely thought-provoking; if only they'd known back in 1994 that 15 years later 'Electronic Mail' would be mandatory! I give it 9/10 for being ALMOST PERFECT!

After Black Adder, Fry + Laurie did Jeeves And Wooster, Rowan Atkinson did Mr. Bean, and what did Tony Robinson do next ? Not much, only a highly classy, highly original and simply phenomenal TV comedy that parodied not only The Robin Hood legend but contemporary society as we knew it in the early 90s !

Officially for children, I've met countless people who watched this back in the day as adults; the appeal was far more universal ! Too un-PC by today's standards, the merry men was composed of the most unlikely tribe imaginable; female leader, a dwarf, a Rasta man, a stupid fat bloke called Rabies and a highly camp, wimpy Robin Hood! The humour essentially evolved around anachronisms - "This is a royal wedding, not an Oxfam shop"; "You're singing is bad enough to win the Eurovision Song Contest !", as well as the more fitting lines like "I'm not raising money for the royal arsenal; I hate football !" The songs certainly gave the show another fun edge, especially the 'Father Bloopy' song that sent up Christmas !

I don't think today's children would understand this programme. For a start it would be considered too un-PC for airing today, and the kids would think the modern references are to make it seem cool, not ironic !

Ranking alongside Excalibur as the 2 worst films ever made, yes, this film is just SOOOOOOO unspeakably tacky that it must have taken some proper elite talent and select creativity to realise, conceptualize and conceive !

So essentially this is a very second-hand Sword + Sorcery Fantasy film that otherwise took very little imagination and cultural class to conjure up and put together. That said, when an entity is just so cheesy, naff, unoriginal and generally over-the-top, it thus must have taken some real class and innovation with which to adopt such a cutting edge status !

Not too complex a plot ; Villain falls in love, love interest prefers Villain's Hero brother, Villain kills love interest out of madness and jealousy, Hero plots revenge on Villain.

Plenty of fantastical creatures ; a 'Giant' that is an inch or 2 taller than yourself, a 'Dwarf' that's an inch or 2 smaller, an elf that looks like The Beatles in leather overalls, and a witch with a cyclops blindfold. And I thought my old school plays were full-on DIY !!

The most hilarious element of cheese is the funky electronic score ; yes that will haunt you for years after you never see this film again ! Oh, and the sword with a opening/closing clenched bronze fist at the bottom ! Not to forget the terrible acting and unashamedly American accents ; "VOLTAN! YOU WILL DIE BY THE SWORD!"

All-in-all, I will give this film 10/10, a rating well deserved due to it's eliter-than-elite ability to offend it's audience with the most nihilistic cultural and theatrical offal the (other)world has ever observed !

OK, forget any story line, philosophical agenda, moral messages, and all the other pretentious malarkey that 'justifies' Torture Porn !

Just accept this as another bloody (literally !) amusing Torture Porn film with plenty of dismemberment of private parts and scooping out of 'edible' brains ! Oh, and don't believe any 'animal torture' stories surrounding this film ; unless you're a fascist vegetarian hippie dork you don't have any reason to be offended !

Rather amusing and ironic music score too ; the extreme contrast between cannibal barbarianism and funky 70s music !

I'll give it a 10/10 for it's simplicity, mindless gore, and thus blatant humour !

You've probably heard lots of bias statements surrounding Serbian Film ; extreme violence and exploitation, no plot to justify, trying to offend to the max, etc. In reality, this film has been targeted by certain authorities and groups as being an unjustified, immoral, and plain disgusting piece of creativity that should be avoided at all costs. But all the negative reviews and feedback seem quite a double standard when put into perspective within the film industry.

So why do people resent Serbian film ? :-

• Extreme graphic violence? Is this really anything new in the modern age ? Likewise is it a problem? - Lack of plot? Sure, I too think the Serbian government metaphor is ridiculous and barely obvious. BUT, lets not forget this sort of porn is made in real life and films like this raise social awareness. - Child Rape ? Sure, I'm British and in that respect we're the most guilty nation on the planet, what with the scandal surrounding some of our famous celebrities and any uneasiness I may have felt when 1st seeing this film may be a national cultural issue ! I think it's easy to use child-rape as a scapegoat ; sure, perhaps it is THE most unforgivable evil act imaginable, but that doesn't mean to say it's immoral to portray it theatrically whilst other extreme acts of violence should be considered good by comparison and unashamedly theatrically portrayed to an infinite degree.

To be honest, other 'Torture Porn' films are distinctly more controversial. 'The 120 Days Of Sodom' is far more questionable. I mean, a whole film about child rape and faeces-eating with no actual story line or consequence whatsoever; I rest my case. What about French film 'B***e-Moi'? A rape scene with real sex. (acted by porn stars, obviously!) Even mainstream, Hollywood-type films like 'A Time to Kill' evolve around child rape/murder. Sure, the crime of child abuse wasn't absolutely necessary to the story, but it does go on in society, so why not portray it, as something real?

I understand 'Serbian Film' did perhaps touch SOME new ground and that certain types of scenes will come across as disturbing simply because they haven't been seen before ; give it a decade or 2, and they'll seem second nature, mild-by-comparison even ! Like I say, don't use this film as a scapegoat and accept that there's far worse things you could watch, NOT TO PUT TOO FAR A POINT ON IT !!