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Prehistoric Park (DVD)
by tirial
Prehistoric Park is a six-episode mini-series by the makers of "Walking with Dinosaurs". Impossible Productions is well known for its award-winning science series, and this is of their usual high quality.
Starring Nigel Marvin, the well-known naturalist, the series is about an effort to create a park full of ... dinosaurs by using time travel to recover them from the past before they became extinct. It is a docu-drama, dealing with recovering the animals and then the day-to-day problems of running the park. Looking after the animals, from medical conditions, socialisation and behavioural issues, to problems caused by diet and environment changes, brings the viewer close to them, and we learn along with Suzanne, the vet, and Bob, the head keeper, what issues and differences these creatures bring with them.
The details of time travel are glossed over, but then this series is purely about the animals. Although the science can't be confirmed (e.g. we don't know much about dinosaur socialisation), it is very well-researched and the contents are based on what scientists know or can extrapolate. The attention to detail also shows in the cast choice: Most of the cast actually do these jobs in real life. Aside from Nigel who is a well-known television naturalist, Suzanne is a vet, the elephant handlers actually are and so on. This means that the procedures you are shown as as accurate as they can be made.
The special effects are top-rate, but so is the writing and story. Although there are some moments where it is beginning to date, the series is so gripping that this is barely noticeable. The creatures are the real stars of the show. Each of the creatures has a distinct personality, ranging from Martha the Woolly Mammoth, Theo the Triceratops and even the giant centipede. The effects (a mix of animatronic and CGI) are good enough that you will believe they really are present.
Each episode is based around a specific time period, starting with the end of the dinosaurs, and covering the ice age, early dinosaurs and more. In each case, Nigel has to go back and recover the animals, exploring the environment, and then manage to lure them through the gate to the future - or run through while they chase him... Being animals, they don't always co-operate and sometimes he finds a few extras coming along, which the park isn't always equipped to cope with. The risks of the periods aren't just the animals, of course: timing jumps by known geologic events leaves them dealing with volcanic action, meteors, predators and more.
While it is aimed at younger viewers, the series can be enjoyed by the whole family. Prehistoric Park is rated PG, reasonable since although this is family viewing, some scenes may scare younger viewers. There were certainly a few that made me jump!
This is a two disc pack, containing the six episodes, and a number of special features. Each episode lasts about an hour, for a total DVD running time is 288 minutes. The features include Animal facts, storyboards, and gallery, but the best is the "Making of" program included. It discusses ideas they dropped, how the special effects were created, and the cast recruited. It also shows how some of the trickier effects were achieved when real animals, including elephants, had to interact with them.
In all this is absolutely outstanding family viewing, suitable for dinosaur and animal lovers of all ages, and definitely worth buying.
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Super Size Me (DVD)
by Seven17
This fast food & obesity documentary is one of the best and most informative i have ever seen. You see stuff on ITV and the BBC but nothing compares to this. Why? Because this involves a real life experiment, whereby the presenter eats everything off the mcdonalds menu. 3 times a day. For a whole month. And supersizes when asked. And ... does no walking. And records his results of changes to his body.
The documentary does have some very interesting facts and rather than just eating food it does provide a helpful insight into what nutritionists, politicians, directors, doctors, nurses and members of the public think about fast food. There are regular interviews with these people and there are several helpful facts scattered throughout the film like the fattest states of America, what % of Americans are obese, and how many calories you should eat per day.
The documentary really got me thinking about my diet, it made me think about the food that i eat, particularly at McDonalds. It highlighted the fact that McDonalds does not do enough to help people eat healthily. Even the salad's are fattening just as much as big macs!
There are a few things i didn't like about this though and that was the fact that he didn't talk about fast food on a more global scale. All the facts and figures were for America. Rather than just do it for America or even any countries specifically there should be more global facts about obesity, McDonalds in other countries etc.
There are plenty of hard hitting examples and experiments in this that i found disturbing, but also as a form of a wake up call. For example over the course of the month the presenter eats 10 1kg bags of sugar. these are then displayed out on a table and shown along with the amount of fat and salt he was eating.
There was also a lot of research into this rather than just testing the calorie count on a day to day basis. There were tests to see where you could find out calorie facts at McDonalds by asking for the calorie fact sheet, and most didn't have one.
Overall a very informative documentary that i really enjoyed watching. Even if it doesn't change your attitude towards food and you still eat at McDonalds (like me) it will at least make you think about what disgusting filth you are putting in your mouth.
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Royal Marines: Mission Afghanistan (DVD)
by Seven17
I have always taken an interest in war films, any afghan or middle eastern war films to be precise. I have seen documentaries, fiction & non fiction movies, blockbuster films, real life raw footage from helmet cams, pretty much any way you can get footage from the afghan war. In this documentary, there is a mixture of raw footage ... from the soldiers and a lot of interviews and opinions from the soldiers. This isn't non stop shooting and IED explosions, although some of it is very graphic.
The series tells the story of the lives of soldiers situated at checkpoint Toki in afghanistan. A large group of soldiers who have basically set up a fortified camp in a field. The locals are always suspected terrorists as far as they are concerned and they use ICOMM's (Interceptive communications) to tap mobile phones and listen to Taliban chatter. They cannot shoot unless they have this information. Since there are no special effects or acting in this, its all raw, i cant really comment on anything like that.
There are some eye opener things that really shock you. The Taliban have a complete disregard for life and don't care. It doesn't matter if its their life or others. The british army have the same feeling towards them they couldn't care less if they shoot those scumbags, and rightly so. I feel that their opinions and anger towards the Taliban is captured well in this documentary with the constant swearing, hatred, and non stop shooting and attacking of Taliban insurgents.
There are scenes of booby trapping a dead Taliban body to ensure the soldiers cant get DNA samples, thus crating a body bomb. This is not shown graphically on camera but they simply (Not for the squeamish>>>) remove end trails and fill the body with explosives. (<<<) They are also cowards and send children out into the war zone before they go out to see if they get shot. How sick is that?! This documentary captured the risks the soldiers take, and the disgusting and horrible things the Taliban do on a daily basis while getting the soldiers opinions and anger in interviews as well. A perfect balance.
This is an eye opening documentary that isn't just interviews or reconstructed footage. It's a few interviews in the middle of a firefight, whilst capturing raw footage of the soldiers in action. A truly emotional documentary and therefore, one which i will award 5 stars.
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