Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia

Synopsis: We follow in the footsteps of a Giganatosaurus and Argentinasaurus as they grow up in a desolate prehistoric world of predator and prey.
Viewed on: Dailymotion

I initially saw this in a theater at a science museum and it a a fun time especially because it was in 3D, not a fan most of the time but on that occasion is was well done. The narrator is Donald Sutherland and his voice lends a friendly yet regal delivery of the spoken science material. I especially loved the beginning when he narrates the timeline of our galaxy and how vast time on Earth really is. The visual guide showing me what he's talking really made me comprehend how far back deep time is. After that the next thing that will probably pop out for audiences is the cinematography. This film was shot for IMAX screens I presume so you can tell that a lot of shots were set up to be beautifully captured like waterfalls or the fossilized footprints in a quarry. Id say if you can watch this movie on big 4K TV you could really appreciate the the gorgeous cinematography of the Argentina badlands.

The story we follow is that of a Argentinasaurus and a Giganatosaurus. Technically the movie describes them later as a more distinct sub species but I'm just going to refer them as Argentinasaurus and Giganatosaurus. The Argentinasaurus story is kind of a "been there, done that" scenario. Typical sauropod story where the dinosaur must avoid being eaten and grow up fast enough to never be considered dinner again. The Giganatosaurus was more entertaining especially when they were hunting.

The animation effects were CG models superimposed on a real background so it is reminiscent of Walking with Dinosaurs if any readers is familiar with that series. The character models were for okay looking for a science feature, but still way better animated than the ones in March of the Dinosaurs. The real star of the show here are the grandiose wide shots of the natural background especially the ones with dinosaurs.

I wouldn't say that a typical dinosaur fan would learn all that much if that aren't familiar with the title dinosaurs already so be aware of that fact. The selling point here is the big screen replayability for anyone has a home theater at home. I'd say this dinosaur feature is worth a view if you haven't seen this one yet but for repeat viewings, watch on a high definition device and kickback with a brew.

My Score: Tyrannosaurs Recs

March of the Dinosaurs

Synopsis: This fully animated feature highlights the struggles certain dinosaurs go through during the winter months of northwest Canada and southwest USA.

Viewed on: Youtube

March of the dinosaurs was a nice surprise. I've seen trailers for this and it honestly didn't look too good and the animations were rough so I thought it was mostly aimed for kids. I was somewhat right, the fully computer generated feature was uncanny to watch after a while. The story takes place in northwest Canada (inside the Arctic Circle at the time) and mostly centers on two distinct characters. We have a young Edmontosaurus, Scar, and a young Troodon named Patch. Scar's story features him trekking a 1000-mile autumn migration with various hazards like thin ice and predators while Patch is shown having to stay and endure the Arctic winter.

Like I said, the animation is rough (think Beast Wars from the 90's) so stuff like shadows and fully detailed features on feathers and scales are hard to pin point. But I'll say this, if this animation is enough to stop you from enjoying the story then just skip it. But if you love dinosaurs and can overlook a glaring distraction like animation style then I'd say there's some fun to be had with this feature.

The story of Scar is riveting. So much so that now I'm interested in learning a little more about hadrosaurs which is a dinosaur genus Edmontosaurus are part of. As a young herbivorous dinosaur, his journey seemed more perilous at times. From his avoidance of predators like Albertosaurus to heartbreaking scenes of betrayal from one of own due to a brain tumor, I found myself moved many times due to my investment in this little dinosaur's journey.

Patch's story was almost as good but still fun to see his journey. The scenes with the Troodon sharing the screen with a Gorgosaurus are probably the most entertaining this part of the feature gets. The thing I really appreciate most from Patch's story was how close the movie tries to get to what the real creatures probably looked like. This movie is based on the latest dinosaur research so they incorporate feathers on the therapod dinosaurs which is something a lot of people might see for the first time. I really like how the animators were able to make the carnivorous dinosaurs relatable yet scary with plumage.

March of the Dinosaurs was a surprise for me. Go into this movie with zero expectations, a open mind and you will have a good time. Like I said before if the animation is not for you then skip it because it can admittedly be distracting. But if that doesn't deter you then I'd say this feature is a worth a watch. When a movie makes you appreciate a hadrosaur, arguably the cow of the dinosaur world, I'd say check it out.

My Score: Tyrannosaurus Recs

Top 10 Biggest Beasts Ever

Synopsis: The documentary counts down the top ten biggest beasts in Earth's history from prominent animal groups.
Viewed on: Youtube

Here we have another program put out by National Geographic. They keep delivering the goods in terms of entertainment.and man did this one deliver. I'm a sucker for top ten lists, so this doc was a must watch for myself. The basic premise of the doc is that besides the obvious countdown element, the creatures involved would be the biggest icons of their species or animal family tree. The reason being is if we had just the biggest animals ever, they would all probably just be whales. Another disclaimer for the terms of the "biggest" beast, the contest will be determined by measuring length.

If you're looking for a doc that's thoroughly entertaining this is it. The animation effects were fantastic. They was a fair bit of them and varied. This doc being a top ten list allows itself to be stacked with multiple scientist interviews with showcasing of some fossils which is always great to see. There was even a scene where a scientist goes out to the field to show you where baby Megalodon teeth are found in Panama. Its also very refreshing to see the list go through giant animals of different species like mammals, insects, reptiles and so on which kept the program engaging enough to stay watching.

There is also much here in terms of education. Every creature on the top ten brings up an interesting question regarding how they got so big, ate, moved, or how they attacked prey. For example, with the Griffinfly, a prehistoric giant insect, the question of how it got so big was solved by researchers because they were able to determine that the Earth was much warmer back then and contained different amounts of oxygen. These scenes help teach fundamental aspects to why these creatures got so big.

Now focusing on the bad, there really isn't all that much to say. Some of the animation scenes, like the Titanoboa segment, are recycled from other docs which I didn't like but this top ten documentary was able to add additional educational content that those other docs didn't have so I'll let it slide. Besides that this is a long doc, and about an hour and half is a serious investment of watching for a popular science doc. As I love this subject matter, the running time didn't bother me but I can say that a few scenes seem to drag after a while and it could bore the average viewer.

I really couldn't go into much more detail in this review without spoiling the countdown. But as I already mentioned there's plenty of entertainment value is this program so check it out.

My Score: Tyrannosaurus Recs

Prehistoric Predators: Megalodon

Synopsis: National Geographic series takes a look into the life ans extinction of the Megalodon.
Viewed on: Youtube

Prehistoric Predators, another episode in the National Geographic series, goes into intriguing detail about the life history of the Megalodon, the giant prehistoric shark. I really like this episode. Its not too in your face with cheesy facts. I mean all we really know about this animal is its teeth so a lot of time is going to be utilized for its jaws and killing techniques. The animation effects were good, better than the Smilodon episode I think which is weird for episodes within the same series. Some scenes were a bit gory for a nature program but I have no complaints.

I do also like the fact that I might of learned a few new things. Stuff like how the jaws were proportionally incorrect with the wrong teeth in past replicas and also that great whites and Megalodons aren’t that closely related. I gotta look that last detail up to make sure it holds up but its an interesting idea.

This pop science doc was taken more seriously than I was expecting. The animations were well done and the science portions were entertaining enough to keep my attention like the scene where the Megalodon jaws bite into synthetic whale blubber. In my opinion this is one of or probably the best Megalodon documentary out there.

My score: Tyrannosaurus Recs

Bizarre Dinosaurs

Synopsis: A documentary on that focuses on the more peculiar dinosaur.
Viewed on: Youtube

I believe it was National Geographic that originally aired this but not for certain. There a few videos on Youtube but most were weird and didn't air the last 15 min for me. But I've watched it before so i'll try to review the rest from memory.

Anyways, this documentary was better than I thought it would be. Thought it was only going to highlight famous dinosaurs like T-Rex and Stegosaurus but touched on relatively unknown dinosaurs like Armagasaurus. It went by quick enough and the animations, though terrible, were varied at least.

Again, I did like how the program showcased more weird dinosaurs than I was expecting. Highlighting a Spinosaurus, Carnotaurus, of course Tyrannosaurus, Armagasaurus and some ceratopscians was a pleasure to see and learn about.

For straight entertainment value id say this is a skip. But just to sit back, maybe have a brew, and be open learning a new thing or two about oddball dinosaurs you didn't know existed is where Id say this documentary's strength is.

My score: Meh...sozoic

Monsters Resurrected: Bear Dog

Synopsis: This documentary miniseries explores the life history of  Amphicyon, the bear-dog.
Viewed on: Youtube

Monsters Resurrected was a cheesy pop science doc series that followed a formula of showing of the predatory features of the animals and showed the animals in a modern day setting chasing people. For what purpose was the budget spent doing the modern day scenes except for dramatic yet probably unintentionally cheesy reasons.

Anyways getting to the review. The Amphicyon or also known as bear-dog, is an unusually built animal with features from both canines and bears. Quite interesting animals, despite the name they aren't actually closely related to bears or dogs. They were an apex predator like we have never seen before. Although smaller in stature to its immediate competition, bear-dogs could stand on their own and possibly worked together to challenge bigger predators. The scenes where it was challenged by a Daeodon, an giant ugly carnivorous pig were cool to see but I also recognize that's just good TV; not that its unlikely the fights ever happened.

In terms of entertainment, this doc isn't the best in the series, nor is it that good in keeping your undivided attention. The editing is tedious, and you can really feel the stretch for time the producers made this episode with multiple reused animation shots and redundant unnecessary information like Amphicyon being part, bear, dog and even lion; it's called bear-dog we get it already its a weird.

It was nice seeing a full scale replica next to a person because it sold the intimidating size of the animal. It was fun to watch these scientist get in a good mood just to mention these animals so there is some good educational value here in predatory science. The scientists really do go into detail about how these animals lived and get really into the predatory characteristics which is fun to watch and listen too. I feel this episode hits a low bar, in terms editing, but in the delivery of the message, which is bear-dogs were scary, they accomplished their goal.

My score: Meh...sozoic

Prehistoric Predators: Smilodon

Synopsis: Covers the size, diet, survival tactics and more about the Sabertooh cats, Smilodon.
Viewed on: Youtube

I believe National Geographic were the ones that put out this series called Prehistoric Predators. It covers the life of the big prehistoric predators in fun interesting detail. I won't get into the series or any series as a whole as I like to believe every episode should stand on its own but altogether it is a above average series.

So the first episode of the series I will watch will be on Smilodon. Arguably the Ice Age's fiercest and most famous predator, Smilodon, aka, the Sabertooth cat was a ferocious creature with daggers for fangs on the jaws for suffocating and slicing into its prey's jugular. Besides the killing attributes of the beast, the doc explores other aspects like social life and fossilization of the animal. Though in certain points of the program there is a lot of information being thrown around and it can be daunting to absorb it all.

The entertainment part was okay at best. The animations of the animals were mediocre and rough. Also footage gets recycled from time to time.

With all that said, the information  can also be delivered dry but the information is interesting and we get to see some science performed like how experiments with bite force anatomy is performed.

My score: Meh...sozoic

T-Rex: A Dinosaur in Hollywood

Synopsis: The pop culture history of the Tyrannosaurus Rex in film.
Viewed on: Youtube

I was quite excited to see this one, as I’m a film buff and love learning about the history of dinosaurs in film especially Tyrannosaurus.  Dinosaurs in motion pictures holds a very special place in my heart so any history on the subject matter is well invited. Unfortunately this was a total let down.

First off, they treat the T-Rex like an actual movie star. Just to clarify, the Rex character is a stand in for all the T-Rex’s in film history. I think they were going for a True Hollywood Story type of direction and tone in this documentary, but it doesn't work because all the scandals are ridiculous. The scandal they refer too specifically over and over again is T-Rex's little arms. The program keeps coming back to that story bit because its the only thing embarrassing about T-Rex. They also show a computer animated T-Rex trying to have a Hollywood comeback with workout montages and such and its comical. I see what the documentary attempts to do in terms of entertainment but it just didn't work. Having a King Kong and a 1950's alien talking talk about their personal relationships with T-Rex was funny to see but the jokes and animation were just too easy and come off as cringe.

Towards the climax we have a casting meeting with a Steven Spielberg look alike and going to award ceremonies for the famous dinosaur.. Its a little unbearable to watch sometimes. They treat Jurassic Park as T-Rex's comeback movie but don't go into much detail about any of the movie making process behind the film. Did like how the ending stated T-Rex might of had feathers to show the evolution of how the public now views a Tyrannosaurus.
The education was not that great either. Any dinosaur movie fan will more or less know at least some old black white films with T-Rex in it, to its debut in Jurassic Park. If the documentary's filmmakers hadn't spent so much time with the True Hollywood storytelling, maybe the doc could of spent time talking about the actual films T-Rex starred in and maybe the history behind those pictures. I kinda feel this one is more for the kids because a quick google or Youtube search will show you the earlier Hollywood movie scenes or reviews worth watching. Sadly, I expected better.

My score: Extinct

Raising the Dinosaur Giant

Synopsis: Exploring the discovery and history of the biggest dinosaur ever unearthed.
Viewed on: Netflix

This BBC nature documentary follows in the style the previous docs I already described, although there are some refreshing differences. I do love the fact that we spend quite some time at the dig site and we really have a grasp of what paleontologists go through on these excavations. Especially when digging up a giant titanosaur. The doc is also riveting because we have the legendary Sir David Attenborough not only narrating but is seen in person throughout the show.

The highlight here is showcasing the gargantuan size of quite possibly the biggest dinosaur and land animal of all time. The creature is not given a name yet (weirdly for a science program) since the doc was probably made during the research phase but all we know is that it is a titanosaur, the biggest group of sauropod dinosaurs. The highlights are the showcasing of the big fossils and there are a lot scenes showing people side by side for scale and the anticipation to seeing all of the fossils coming together is quite thrilling.

The science presentation is well done although explained rather uneventful compared to other programs. Honestly the size is the only interesting part for me here and the director veers off for too long to talk about diet, digestion, etc. Predatory dinosaurs we have the monster angle, showing their claws and teeth and theorizing what they ate. With herbivores, they ate certain types of plants and that doesn't really hold my interest for too long. I wanted to know why it got so big and the everyday challenges it presents which they went over lightly. Most viewers don't care about the diet of these titanosaurs, so why do they go over it for like 15 minutes, they are plant eaters, its plants! Give me the mumbo jumbo about its girth or even pondering what its name could be.

Besides all that the computer effects of the living dinosaurs are entertaining but very few and far between. Even the sculpting of the fossil replica would of been a nice tidbit to see. When all is said and done the final reveal of the complete skeleton is awe inspiring. A true titan of eons past! Worth a watch but definitely could have been better.

My Score: Tyrannosaurus Recs

Titanoboa: Monster Snake

Synopsis: Titanoboa is a giant prehistoric snake discovered is South America and is compared to its modern day relatives to learn about this ancient predator.
Viewed on: Youtube

The documentary is well made with a dash of cheese to market it as one of the entertaining programs of television. It begins with the backstory of the area in which the fossils were discovered, a coal mining location in Cerrejón, Colombia. Due to the operations of the mines, levels of sediment is revealed and many fossils are found, giant turtles, crocodiles, and of course Titanoboa.

The lead scientists in this doc actually do a great explaining all the different elements that goes into the approximation and guess work of Titanoboa's size. The scene in which a mathematician is brought in to calculate the size of the snake based on several vertebrae I found that very fascinating, and something unique we don't see often in these nature docs.

Also of course we have scenes using modern day constrictors (the giant snakes of today) because they are good analogous specimens to compare to Titanoboa. On top of what I mentioned, we also have a sculptor (maybe the same as Super Croc's sculptor?) at the end of the doc creating it for a tour. Can't help but compare it to the Super Croc doc but the material is enough for it to stand on it's own. Even the sculpt at the end was unique enough to capture the "fear factor" as one of the scientists put it. A quick google search will reveal what I'm talking about. Anyways it was a good feature, although a lot scenes leaned on cheese and bad line delivery, I still say its worth your time.

My Score: Tyrannosaurus Recs 

Super Croc

Synopsis: Dr. Paul Sereno discovers Sarcosuchus imperator, a giant prehistoric crocodilian ancestor. With the help of Dr. Brady Barr, they try to uncover the secrets of Super Croc and its ancient world.
Viewed on: Youtube

I've seen this as a child, rewatched it recently and its still a great documentary. So much so that other docs that I have and will review try to emulate it (or have the same editor I guess). First off the narrator is freaking Sam Niell! Dr. Alan Grant of Jurassic Park fame. They don't really use as many celebrities anymore for pop science docs these days so that was a real treat. The pace of the program is fantastic, the science is interesting and engaging, and the crocodilian scenes are thoroughly entertaining.

We get a nice intro to the finding of the fossils which is kind of skimmed over. Although how much time can we really lend to digging bones in the deserts of Africa. Just would of liked more context to the environment in which Sarcosuchus inhabited. Probably the biggest and only complaint I have in this whole doc. I also really appreciate all the footage of the different crocodilian species in which bite forces and skull sizes are taken for scientific purposes relating to Super Croc. Really good stuff, especially when highlighting the publicly unknown gharial.

In the final phase of the doc we get to the sculpting of the life size replica. I will add that this doc was probably the first to implement that to documentary storytelling which other modern day docs probably take inspiration from. The pose of the sculpt is mentioned for a moment and it really got me thinking that these elements are really vital to capturing the imagination and awe of the public. The S shaped curve and powerful open jaws are important to selling the power and characteristics of this animal. I remember seeing the sculpt as a 5th grader and it hit me hard while it was traveling on the road to multiple museums. Its a powerful sight to behold. All in all check this program out!

My Score: Tyrannosaurus Recs

Bigger than T-Rex

 
Synopsis: Deconstructing and resurrecting through the miracle of science the largest known predatory dinosaur.
Viewed on: Youtube

The documentary follows the multi-dimensional story of Spinosaurus aegypticus. This dinosaur may capture the public's attention for just being bigger than T-Rex or being arguably the biggest predatory dinosaur in history, but there are so many other elements to this dinosaur's story this documentary explores. From the vague fossil laws in Morocco, the place of the dinosaurs discovery, to the destruction of the first specimen in World War 2, even the human history behind the fossil's discovery is fascinating.

I do appreciate that this documentary makes the information digestible to us non science aficionados. The editing in this doc is smooth and flows nicely with each scene building upon the next in a fashion that won't lose or bore the viewer. The animated dinosaur scenes are well made for a documentary and those clips are not repeated over and over again to stretch for time like some docs do. There has been a trend lately in recent times where the climax of the film ends with life size skeleton or life like model is created and this doc is no different. The final shots really try to hit home how big this creature is but I can't say there was a splendid wide shot that I can remember unfortunately. Either way, Bigger than T-Rex is a solid recommendation.

My Score: Tyrannosaurus Recs

Review Format & Disclaimer

For reviews there will be three tiers for the scores that I will award. I will try not to be too brutal since most pop science docs are made for TV. Also theories and hypotheses are at best educated guesses so they should be taken as such, not hundred percent factual.

Tyrannosaurus Recs -> A solid recommendation. Science was interesting and entertaining.
Meh...sozoic -> Doesn't have much educational value but is entertaining or vice versa.
Extinct -> What were they thinking? Not worth your time.

*DISCLAIMER: Take these reviews with a grain of salt. I believe all filmmaking, even if its science television is subjective. A lot of stuff appeals to everyone and a lot doesn't, but when it comes to science docs I'm biased sometimes. Most of the time that I'm watching these shows I'm sitting back and relaxing at home. I'm trying to learn something new but sometimes I just want to be entertained. So if I don't like something, it's probably not be because I disagree with the science or don't understand it, it's just mundane. Maybe I just found the topic boring as some students in a science classroom can relate. Also I know dated documentaries present old ideas and facts that don't hold up. I really don't want to back pedal on my reviews when current science disproves what I'm watching so take those reviews as more of an entertainment viewing. Same thing goes with current docs, some theories are conflicting and the internet will tell you different things all the time like what dinosaurs had feathers or not for example. So I'm just going to judge a documentary for what it is when it was released and hope I learn something and that there's also some entertainment value. Thanks for hearing my out!

Welcome to Cretaceous Kingdom!

Thank you so much for visiting my blog. So a little about myself, I'm just your typical millennial that happens to be a huge dinosaur enthusiast. I've always loved everything to do with these incredible creatures since I was a child and that passion has carried over with me to my adult years. From movies to museums I love taking an interest in ancient life topics in any form it may take. I even spend my time volunteering at a paleontology museum. Since I was a film student in college I want to start out by reviewing and adding my own input and insight into the many documentaries out there. I will see where else my ideas might take me in the future. So in this space I hope to help get the word out on some interesting prehistoric docs you can easily find on YouTube or Netflix. Happy discovering!