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.
Leslie Carlson
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In case you didn't know, the dinosaurs didn't become extinct, they developed holographic disguises and now live among us. These disguises don't work very well, and in the two hours of the movie we see quite a few of the dinosaurs running around in public looking like bargain basement CGI versions of the Sleestaks from Land of the Lost, but apparently this has worked to keep their existence a secret for thousands of years. They also get stoned on common household spices. They each have their own scent, which only other dinosaurs can smell. As you might expect, these scents include things like flowers, crabs, and even peaches and creme. They are ruled by various secret councils who sit around and play some sort of dinosaur dominoes in the back of Chinese take out restaurants.
So, you buyin' all that? Okay, then here's the plot.
The story focuses on Vincent Rubio (Trammell) and his partner Ernie Watson (Baldwin), a pair of detectives who uncover a secret dino society which wants to go to war with the humans. Ernie's daughter (the peaches and creme girl) gets kidnapped, and in the movie's most climactic scene Baldwin's head changes into a miniature stegosaurus and he charges the bad guy (imagine an out of shape grandpa playing make believe with the grandkids) and impales him. It actually would have looked more realistic if they would have gone to K-Mart and bought a dinosaur Halloween costume (surely they're on clearance this time of the year?).
The movie takes its ridiculous premise and winks (a lot) and chuckles at it, while at the same time trying to pull off a detective drama. I guess it sort of works on some level, if you're extremely bored and there's nothing else on TV and you you spent all day watching paint dry or something. It also takes dullness to new and unprecedented lows, of course as soon as you see the name "Baldwin" in the credits you know that's a given. The only "excitement" is when either of the female leads show up and you at least get to see an interesting character on screen for a minute or so. Some movies provide us with interesting characters throughout; It would probably be a good idea to watch one of those instead. Maybe you could check out an old episode of the Sci-Fi Channel's Invisible Man series, which was basically the same thing as this except its attempts at humor were successful. And its characters were exciting, and its CGI wasn't comedic, and its plots were interesting, and... Okay, maybe not a good comparison.
So, you buyin' all that? Okay, then here's the plot.
The story focuses on Vincent Rubio (Trammell) and his partner Ernie Watson (Baldwin), a pair of detectives who uncover a secret dino society which wants to go to war with the humans. Ernie's daughter (the peaches and creme girl) gets kidnapped, and in the movie's most climactic scene Baldwin's head changes into a miniature stegosaurus and he charges the bad guy (imagine an out of shape grandpa playing make believe with the grandkids) and impales him. It actually would have looked more realistic if they would have gone to K-Mart and bought a dinosaur Halloween costume (surely they're on clearance this time of the year?).
The movie takes its ridiculous premise and winks (a lot) and chuckles at it, while at the same time trying to pull off a detective drama. I guess it sort of works on some level, if you're extremely bored and there's nothing else on TV and you you spent all day watching paint dry or something. It also takes dullness to new and unprecedented lows, of course as soon as you see the name "Baldwin" in the credits you know that's a given. The only "excitement" is when either of the female leads show up and you at least get to see an interesting character on screen for a minute or so. Some movies provide us with interesting characters throughout; It would probably be a good idea to watch one of those instead. Maybe you could check out an old episode of the Sci-Fi Channel's Invisible Man series, which was basically the same thing as this except its attempts at humor were successful. And its characters were exciting, and its CGI wasn't comedic, and its plots were interesting, and... Okay, maybe not a good comparison.
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!
Anonymous Rex is about smart dinosaurs living among humans in holographic costumes. They've been living with us for millions of years and are the dragons of legend. The story is about two PIs that track down a rogue dino organization called the voice of progress who is trying to change the world so dinos rule again. The dinos got high on various herbs, even the carnivorous ones. Some of the rogue cult vaporizes tarragon in a club to try and get the dinos to go on a rampage killing humans and exposing themselves so the dinos will need to come out and fight to protect themselves from the scared and angry humans. The directing was good along with the camera work and dialog. Acting was passable and helped keep the story moving. Subplot, one of the dinos daughters was a real human that wanted to be a dino.
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.
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.
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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