Dinotopia (TV Miniseries)
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Movie Reviews of Dinotopia (TV Miniseries)
Movie Review: Dinotopia
Summary: 5 Stars
I ordered this as a gift for someone else. They loved it and so did I.Movie Review: surpub
Summary: 5 Stars
Ian this is a vary good film its fun and exiting from beginning to endMovie Review: Equality through Repression
Summary: 4 Stars
Dinotopia, a "lost" island out in the middle of nowhere where Dinosaurs and Humans live in "perfect" harmony, in an Utopian society. In order to live in this perfect harmony, the government body of Dinotopia has discovered (and enacted) a set of ancient laws that make everybody (dinos and humans alike) essentially equal. However, with this equality comes repression. Repression in that the government basically appoints each individual into a position (or job) in what are basically communes that they think would be best suited for that person to help benefit the overall Dinotopia community. So regardless of what one actually wants to do, the government says that you will do this (and like it) whether you want to do it or not. By forcing folks to do jobs they don't or are really suited for, it prevents them from excelling at what they're truely great at and more suited to do.This experiment is exactly why Utopian, ie. Communist and Socialist societies almost always fail. Forced placement runs contrary to human nature. Utopioan societies such as what Dinotopia tries to achieve also requires everyone to agree to this kind of system to work otherwise the system fails. You get just one person out of a hundred that disagrees with the system, the system breaks down and if you were in Stalinist Russia, you would "disappear". One other disturbing aspect to these Dinotopian laws were that they weren't meant for questioning. Accept them at all costs, freedom of speech is quelled. This aspect comes into play in the overall story.
But anyway, the film itself is visually stunning. State-of-the-art computer graphics bring live inaction between dinosaurs and humans for the first time. You thought Jurassic Park was something? Dinotopia blows the socks off of Jurassic Park. For the first time in film and CGI history, the CGI computers were used on-set right along the film cameras so that they could visually track low-res CGI models of the dinos through the shots of live action. This was required so that the inter-action between dino and human would look realistic. The only negatives I could see about the CGI, was perhaps the lack of shadow dileniation on the CGI dinos. There was some, but not enough to give it that totally realistic look. In other words the CGI was too clean. The film runs into the 4-hour mark and has probably the most visual effects shots in any non-animated film.
The only negatives about the film is probably the overall story. To me, it was a bit simplistic. The Utopian society was protected from the carnivores by a series of Sun Stones, crystals left over from the big asteroid. However these Stones were losing their strength thus jeopardizing the safety of the Waterfall City, Dinotopia's capital, from the carnivores. It came down to the "new comers" with the cojohones to break the strict Dinotopia rules to discover new Stones.
Movie Review: Parents! Great kid pleaser-From 5 years to 13. Maybe even YOU
Summary: 4 Stars
Most cynical parents will hit the parachute at the first sign of bad writing, but if you have the patience the "Dinotopia" series provided a terrific imaginative escape for the younger set. I rented this movie and had my finger poised on the pause button in case the action became out of hand. My daughter, 5 years old and dino-infatuated,had run the gamut on most age appropriate dinosaur fare. Obviously, not ready for the bloodier "Jurassic Park" series by Universal. Well, we made it through the whole long miniseries and the violence is very muted. No worse than anything seen or suggested in the original "Harry Potter" movie. Things that are good:
-Most of the action and situational stress gets resolved favorably and peacefully,
-The adversarial relationships with carnivores is just part of life. As one character says,"They are not worse than us, they just do what they do..."
-The overall message is brighter and utopian(unlike Potter or the later Star Wars movies)
-Unity and understanding with all creatures and planet is the overarching message
-The 2 main characters have character flaws that aren't necessarily bad, but need to be modified with love,understanding and education
-Well cast set of British Supporting Actors
-Overall easy watch but has some good depth if you pay attention
-Upbeat,in a Star Trek way
-CGI is great for TV. Looks better integrated than a Lucasfilm sometimes
The Bad:
-Lots of plot holes
-The 3 main characters don't have very convincing body language or lines
-British actors have bad teeth
Movie Review: Overall, an entertaining and enjoyable movie
Summary: 4 Stars
I first borrowed the "Dinotopia" DVD from the library, and it was much longer than I thought it would be. It starts off a bit sudden - the scene where a father and his two sons, Karl and David, are plane-wrecked in the middle of the sea happens in less than 2 minutes. The father supposedly drowns, and the two boys arrive at Dinotopia. They don't show much emotion towards the fact that their father may be dead. The first time they see a real, live dinosaur, all the expression they can muster is, "Wow, a dinosaur." The two meet a nice girl living in Dinotopia named Marion, who lives by the Dinotopian law of peace and unity. Later on, a mad professor tries to kill a saurian (dinosaur), and the dim-witted mayor charges Karl and David instead for a minor crime. There are large gaps and holes to the story, such as why the sunstones underground have not failed while the ones on top have, and how David and Karl's father survived in that cave the whole entire time. The question is not answered how they will be able to get home, but it is suggested that they would stay forever in Dinotopia, forever leaving behind their past life.
Though lacking main points and a clear storyline, the visual effects are amazing at times. For example, Zippo Stenosaurus, the librarian dinosaur, is realistic and is a memorable character. The scenery and background are all stunning, much like the ones in "Star Wars." Though the acting is not the best, it gets better towards the end. Overall, I enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would, and I highly recommend it to children and adults.