Failed TV pilot about an alternate present day reality where a dinosaur society secretly co-exists with humans using futuristic cloaking technology. Two dinosaur private detectives investiga... Read allFailed TV pilot about an alternate present day reality where a dinosaur society secretly co-exists with humans using futuristic cloaking technology. Two dinosaur private detectives investigate a murder connected to a strange dinosaur cult.Failed TV pilot about an alternate present day reality where a dinosaur society secretly co-exists with humans using futuristic cloaking technology. Two dinosaur private detectives investigate a murder connected to a strange dinosaur cult.
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Having not read any of the novels, I don't feel that I can supply a fully-informed critique; however I can provide a critique of the piece as a piece of filmed entertainment.
I'm usually disappointed by most SciFi fare, but I checked this one out on the basis of the reviews that the novels had gotten.
I was less than impressed by the script. For months I had heard what a funny and entertaining piece of work the books were, but that value failed to manifest on the screen. The initial discouragement of 'a modern-day dinosaur-detective, pursuing his career disguised as a human in a rubber costume' failed to be salvaged from the execution of the screenplay. While the 'rubber-suit idea had been updated, the script and the actors' performances didn't seem to be in on the joke - the voice-overs were dire, and the story wasn't funny or humorous, just contrived.
In the end, this film was no better than the average broken-genre absurdity that the SciFi Channel has been broadcasting over the past several years: It was just a bland disappointment manufactured by a network that either doesn't understand genre television or has bent so far over to broaden their audience that they've alienated their original constituents with 'family fun' like this feature.
I'm usually disappointed by most SciFi fare, but I checked this one out on the basis of the reviews that the novels had gotten.
I was less than impressed by the script. For months I had heard what a funny and entertaining piece of work the books were, but that value failed to manifest on the screen. The initial discouragement of 'a modern-day dinosaur-detective, pursuing his career disguised as a human in a rubber costume' failed to be salvaged from the execution of the screenplay. While the 'rubber-suit idea had been updated, the script and the actors' performances didn't seem to be in on the joke - the voice-overs were dire, and the story wasn't funny or humorous, just contrived.
In the end, this film was no better than the average broken-genre absurdity that the SciFi Channel has been broadcasting over the past several years: It was just a bland disappointment manufactured by a network that either doesn't understand genre television or has bent so far over to broaden their audience that they've alienated their original constituents with 'family fun' like this feature.
Dinosaurs didn't die out. They live among us, in disguise. And some of them are private detectives. That's the premise of Anonymous Rex, written by Joe Menosky and based on the book by Eric Garcia. The show successfully blends fantasy with hard boiled detective drama, moving at a brisk pace from start to finish. I think it works best because of the matter-of-fact tone of it all. The show takes itself seriously enough without becoming a spoof of the PI genre. This a detective show that just happens to include dinosaurs in holographic costumes. With such a fantastic premise, suspension of disbelief takes a little work. But the show pulls it off thanks to some very crisp writing, nifty direction, and excellent performances from the cast. Every actor is spot-on for their character, with some nice performances turned in by Faye Dunaway and Isaac Hayes as members of a dinosaur council. While the two hour movie stands alone, it also sets up what would be a terrific weekly series. Dino For Hire? Sounds like a stretch. But it works, and works surprisingly well.
It's a made-for-TV movie so don't expect too much, but I'd have to say that this was a fairly enjoyable way to pass time. The effects are pretty decent and the plot was quite a hook, if somewhat predictable.
The acting here is pretty decent. (Speaking of acting, I couldn't help but notice the striking resemblance between Stephanie Nicole Lemelin and Kirsten Storms.) Sam Trammell was a little wooden, but he's decent overall. Daniel Baldwin, doing his last name justice, did an admirable job with the character he was given, but even here, there's no spark. There's not a single standout performance to be found in this entire flick, but no one was truly horrible, either. As a whole, an above average performance by the entire cast.
The plot, based on a book I've yet read, is pretty interesting, though expository information was in short supply. The premise here is that dinosaurs survived and flourish among humans by subjugating their 'true nature' to human customs. The 'villains' are a group of cult-like dinosaurs who seek to destroy this peaceful coexistence; their argument being that one shouldn't have to subjugate one's own nature in order to live and that their lives are basically lies. I put villains in quotes because there exist an underlying message that the movie attempted to pose, though it obviously wasn't successful because I obviously didn't get enough of the message to be able to articulate it into words.
Overall, an admirable 6/10 stars worthy of watching, above average but mostly forgettable.
The acting here is pretty decent. (Speaking of acting, I couldn't help but notice the striking resemblance between Stephanie Nicole Lemelin and Kirsten Storms.) Sam Trammell was a little wooden, but he's decent overall. Daniel Baldwin, doing his last name justice, did an admirable job with the character he was given, but even here, there's no spark. There's not a single standout performance to be found in this entire flick, but no one was truly horrible, either. As a whole, an above average performance by the entire cast.
The plot, based on a book I've yet read, is pretty interesting, though expository information was in short supply. The premise here is that dinosaurs survived and flourish among humans by subjugating their 'true nature' to human customs. The 'villains' are a group of cult-like dinosaurs who seek to destroy this peaceful coexistence; their argument being that one shouldn't have to subjugate one's own nature in order to live and that their lives are basically lies. I put villains in quotes because there exist an underlying message that the movie attempted to pose, though it obviously wasn't successful because I obviously didn't get enough of the message to be able to articulate it into words.
Overall, an admirable 6/10 stars worthy of watching, above average but mostly forgettable.
I expected this to be one of those B-movies made with a big heart and the glint in the eye; silly but enjoyable. However, I think this is above B-level. It's actually a decent sci-fi action.
The story - dinosaurs surviving and hiding among humans (especially since they were killed off as dragons in medieval times), and now getting quite tired of always having to pretend to be something they're not - is rather interesting. The special effects aren't state of the art, but they're not bad.
It's not great, but it's good, enjoyable and made with humour. All in all, very watchable!
The story - dinosaurs surviving and hiding among humans (especially since they were killed off as dragons in medieval times), and now getting quite tired of always having to pretend to be something they're not - is rather interesting. The special effects aren't state of the art, but they're not bad.
It's not great, but it's good, enjoyable and made with humour. All in all, very watchable!
While watching this film, I kept having flashbacks to a vampire series which played a few years ago, Forever Knight. The similarities were many:
(1) Protagonist PI versus Police Detective (2) Nightclub as meeting place for Dinosaurs / Vampires (3) Protagpmost lives in loft (4) Hiding secret identities (Dinosaur / Vampire) (5) Human let in on secret ("Daughter" / Girlfriend) (6) Secret Society of Violent Elders (Council / Enforcers)
etc.
They both also looked like they were filmed in Toronto, though for Anonymous Rex I have no validation.
(1) Protagonist PI versus Police Detective (2) Nightclub as meeting place for Dinosaurs / Vampires (3) Protagpmost lives in loft (4) Hiding secret identities (Dinosaur / Vampire) (5) Human let in on secret ("Daughter" / Girlfriend) (6) Secret Society of Violent Elders (Council / Enforcers)
etc.
They both also looked like they were filmed in Toronto, though for Anonymous Rex I have no validation.
Did you know
- TriviaWas meant to be a pilot for a proposed television series, but it was panned by critics and fans of the cult novel alike.
- GoofsAs her pheromones are wearing off in Raal's limo, Gabe's hair is briefly seen pulled over to one side before she moves it into that position.
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- Ящер
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- Runtime
- 1h 29m(89 min)
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- 1.78 : 1
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