Anonymous Rex (2004)

the audience applauded

Sorry, this movie sucks

Better Late Then Never

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

'Anonymous Rex' is a pale, PALE shadow of the cockeyed brilliance of the books. While the setup is rather ludicrous, the books had a lot of fun with the concept. The narration sounded like something out of the back corner of Bruce Campbell's mind, the characters were engaging, and the dialogue was actually funny. Here... They ruined it. Whoever made this movie RUINED IT! There's no humor, no excitement, no LIFE to this movie. It takes itself too seriously. That is a fatal flaw when you're dealing with something as completely insane as this. Terrible acting, script (whose bonehead idea was it to give Ernie a human daughter?), special effects, everything completely and utterly SUCKED. Avoid this movie at all costs.

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.

I've seen a lot of bad movies in my day. I mean a lot. Shrunken Heads. Dracula 2000. Blood Diner. I've rented Leprechaun in Da Hood. I saw Mr. Nanny in the theater when I was young. But this movie is an absolute abomination. It makes Crocodile 2 look like Citizen Kane. This is pure concentrated excrement.The movie is about dinosaurs, who have secretly evolved for the last 65 million years, who disguise themselves with hologram technology to blend in with human society. If that premise isn't idiotic enough, Daniel Baldwin apparently jumped at the opportunity to make some crack-addict's dream come true.But to its credit, it did provide good comic relief. I did watch most of it (I had to take a 20 minute break for my Anonymous Rex-induced headache to subside). It's like a car wreck on the highway -- you can't help but to slow down and see what's going on. Still gets 1/10 but really deserves a -4.

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.