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Prehistoric Planet (2022)
A Stroy You've Never Heard, On a Scale You've Never Witnessed...
Easily one of the best, if not THE best, dinosaur documentary so far. Not since Walking With... in the early 2000s has there been such a great educational series about prehistoric life.
Season 1 is an easy 9/10 and Season 2 is a 8/10 for me. Music is definitely one of my favorite soudtraacks ever, particularly the Main Theme, Deinocheirus, and Alamosaurus. PhP does a fantastic job at balancing the giant epic reptile scenes with the smaller, lesser appreciated sides of nature. It shows us that the big dinosaurs as well as the small spectacular critters are all important pieces of their ecosystems and deserve appreciation and respect.
While a lot of speculation was made, but it was almost all good speculation. The producers almost never deliberately made a scene inaccurate for the sake of entertainment. PhP mostly shows behaviors we either know of from the fossil record, or observed in modern animals of similar lineage or ecological niche.
- Coasts: This was my 3rd favorite episode. The opening with the T. Rex swimming was absolutely perfect and a very unique, but accurate, portrayal. I especially loved the baby Tyrannosaurus and the Bioluminescent Ammonites scene. The Alcione dodging Barbaridactylus and Phosphatodraco was epic and breathtaking, the Tuarangisaurus was spectacular, and the Mosasaur spa was fun and nicely done. All the segments in here are on my favorites list.
- Deserts: My favorite of all the episodes. The Barbaridactylus scene was very enjoyable to be honest - sure, involving speculation, but likely speculation. Raptor/Lizard/Tarbosaurus scene was intense, Dreadnoughtus brawl was epic, and the Watering Hole was breathtaking. Mononykus was beautifully and accurately portrayed and is one of my favorite designs in PhP. The Secernosaurus on gypsum dunes was so calm and amazing to watch, and is one of my favorite scenes.
- Freshwater: My 2nd favorite of the episodes. The Deinocheirus scratching a tree stole the show, with yet another of my favorite designs and a beautiful portrayal - just eating and pooping lol. The opening "Velociraptor" hunt was very well-shot, and the later scenes with Quetzal and T. Rex were some of the best portrayals of the 2 animals in all of paleo media. Beelzebufo ambushing Masiakasaurus seemed kinda overly dramatic, but still super great.
- Ice World: My least favorite of the first season, but that's not saying much! The Ornithomimus nest building was delightful and well done. Troödontid hunt in flame was pretty cool. I mostly enjoyed the Olorotitan migration. The Nanuqsaurus VS Pachyrhinosaurus was very intense and epic.
- Forests: This last one was pretty amazing and expertly ended the season. I love the aftermath of the fire, and how it showed natural fire can be beneficial and important to some life. The ending on Hateg Island was so epic, even though it semmed like nothing really happened to be honest. The Triceratops navigating the caves to find clay licks was speculative, but very likely as modern large herbivores use clay as an antidote to toxic forest plants. Carnotaurus had some unusual and speculative behavior, but was cool.
- Islands: My 4th favorite episode and the best of the 2nd season. Our time with Majungasaurus was brief, but the rest of Madagascar segment was super awesome, specifically the Simosuchus and Adalatherium. Imperobator VS Morrosaurus was epic. The Tethyshadros and Hatzegopteryx were the best parts, I'd say, with the latter being portrayed both terrifying and peaceful, which I love.
- Badlands: This one was decent. The Tarchia retreat was the best part, and I loved the ankylosaur's design. The Isisaurus hatchlings escaping the Deccan Traps was so cool, and the Rajasaurus attack was saddening but realistic, I guess. Velociraptor and Tarbosaurus hunting was mid, but decent. I definitely enjoyed the Corythoraptor and Kuru scene, and the Corythoraptor was another of my favorite designs in PhP.
- Swamps: The Beelzebufo attempting mating call was kinda dorky, but I liked it either way. Although the Pachycephalosaurus weren't in a swamp, their portrayal was fine. The opening with the pterosaur hatchlings and Shamosuchus was intense and well done. The T. Rex hunt was accurate (finally) and well executed. Austroraptor fishing was probably my least favorite scene in PhP, with the unenlagiinid being a tiny bit ugly and lifeless. It was still better than 90% of other scenes from paleo media, though.
- Oceans: Xiphactinus and Hesperornis back from Sea Monsters! I enjoyed the Phosphorosaurus and Ammonite scenes the most. All the different bizarre Ammonjtes were so cool to see. The Mosasaurus hunting Tuarangisaurus was great, too.
- North America: The Alamosaurus is breathtaking and calm at first but in comes the T. Rex and Quetzalcoatlus and a fight ensues. This fight was fairly accurate, but a little too "awesomebro" for my taste. I enjoyed it anyway. Pectinodon and Styginetta ducks at the salty lake was my favorite part, with both being portrayed beautifully. Triceratops rut was pretty enjoyable, surprisingly. The final Nanuqsaurus hunt I enjoyed more than the one in Ice Worlds, but I'm sure if it was the best closing segment. I still felt satisfied and amazed, however.
The style of the documentary makes it seem like I am THERE, 66 million years ago, and this style works perfectly. While Walking With Dinosaurs was amazing, no other paleo doc has truly captured its subjects in the feel of a modern day nature documentary.
The Uncovered segments could've been longer and more detailed, but I personally know enough about the topic that it doesn't bother me.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
One of the best Middle Earth films
This film is certainly the best Hobbit movie and one of the best Middle Earth films. It is enjoyable to the point where I'd watch it again and again.
Gandalf and Radagast are great characters. Ian McKellen certainly matched his performance in The Lord of the Rings series. The dwarves are also quite enjoyable, despite the fact that only a few (Thorin, Kili, and Balin) really get to play important roles in the story. Martin Freeman delivered well as Bilbo Baggins, who is probably my favorite hobbit (from the films).
When it comes to scenes, the riddle contest is one of the best for sure. Gollum/Sméagol was just as fun as in Lord of the Rings. I'm a little down about the absence of the "15 birds" song, but I guess it would be weird to have Azog singing. But still, they could've had goblins come along to sing it. The meeting at Bag End, Rivendell, the 3 Trolls, and Goblin Town were also amazing scenes that kept me on the edge of my seat.
Unfortunately, this film gets a bad rap for straying too far from the the original book. As a big fan of Tolkien's works (especially the Hobbit book), I must say that I don't think so. Peter Jackson's The Hobbit seldom takes away from the book, but rather adds on to it. Many of the additions (such as Radagast and Azog's return) are quite fun and contributs to the awesome movie this is. In order to fit The Hobbit into 3 films, it is understandable that many scenes must be added. Some may think that stretching The Hobbit into 3 films is an act of greed by the producers, but personally I'm happy that I get to watch more of this incredible story. 7 hours is better than 2 hours in my opinion for this story.
Jurassic Fight Club (2008)
Effort was made, but in the WRONG place
The budget for this appalling show seems to be higher than some, but all that effort was out into the wrong place. Instead of make Fight Club a factual and educational documentary, the creators turned it into some awesome bro epic dino blood brawl.
The many inaccuracies include (but are not limited to):
- The Dromaeosaurs (raptors) are portrayed as pack hunting and featherless. There is extensive fossil evidence that this is untrue.
- Tyrannosaurus is said to have a toxic bite like a Kamodo dragon, because it's teeth were serrated. However, many other carnivores have serrated teeth and no toxins. It is absurd speculation to believe T-Rex had toxins in its teeth like a Kamodo dragon (infact, it has been found that Kamodo dragons have VENOM, not just bacteria).
The portrayal of the animals is just dreadful. Dinosaurs/prehistoric animals were NOT bloodthirsty and didn't have some "endless thirst to kill". Many of the animals make absolutely rediculous decisions that they'd have to be rabid to do in real life.
Overall, this show should be a fictional show, not a documentary. The dinosaurs in JFC are just monsters, not animals like in reality.