Despite two of my favourite films coming out this year Jurassic Park and The Lion King I couldn’t add them to the list as they were re-releases. Anyway here are my top 5 films of 2011 that I caught at the cinema. 

5. SCRE4M 

4. Country Strong  

3. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 

2. Super 8 

1. Rise of the Planet of the Apes 

The Thing (2011)

Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays Kate Lloyd, a paleontologist who is called to an Antarctic research base to study the remains of an alien, that was found metres away from a 100,000 year old wreckage of a space ship.   

So okay, I’m a massive fan of Carpenter’s The Thing, and to hear they were going to make a film about the Norwegian camp was surprising. I felt like it was a story that didn’t really need telling, I wanted the mystery and horror to be left to the imagination but alas here we are and I’m met with mixed feelings. 

Too keep it simple I’ll say it like this. 1. The score. So okay it wasn’t as bad as it could have been but it was very generic. It didn’t stand out like it’s 1982 sister film although whenever the Dum Dum did appear it was great to hear. (especially at the end.)

2. The cast were okay too. No one really stood out or made you care for them, all you really wanted to see was the alien nail these people. Well, Mary Elizabeth Winstead was good as the lead but she is no Kurt Russell.

3. The Thing itself seemed to be a completely different character too how we saw it in the ‘82 film. It was very fast and seemed to go against the rules set by Carpenter’s creature which was a major issue because of how this film was trying to marry itself to the 80’s classic. Don’t change the rules man! 

A side from those points it did have some great sequences including the filling test scene, the tense kitchen scene with split face and the ending that literally leads into the ‘82 film.

A box standard monster movie that feels nothing like it’s…sequel…I guess…pfft! Whatever. Isn’t it ironic how this film tries to imitate Carpenter’s version of the Who Goes There? story just like the Thing! Wheey! Oh two more things: this needed a lot more blood and shouldn’t have had the exact same name.  

P.S My short review of the 1982 masterpiece The Thing: 

http://allaboutfilm.tumblr.com/post/113318071/the-thing-1982-renowned-as-probably-the

The Adventures of Tin Tin: the Secret of the Unicorn (2011)

Tin Tin heads out on an outrageous adventure in search of the secrets hidden within a model ship called the Unicorn; joined by the whiskey drinking Captain Haddock and his faithful dog Snowey. 

This is Spielberg’s first full length 3D animation film. It is a rip roaring ride across the globe that pushes the bar higher for animation films. It looks beautiful! Spielberg is back breaking barriers with this adaption of the comic book and I can’t stress enough how phenomenal this looks. Five stars for the animation!

The plot is a little thin with twists that you can see coming from a mile off but the reason for that is because Spielberg is desperate to get you back into action. Sadly that is one of the downfalls with Tin Tin: THERES JUST TO MANY ACTION SEQUENCES! Now don’t get me wrong there are three major set pieces that are truly classic: the boat, the pirate battle and the motorbike chase. These were just amazing to watch, creating a theme park ride sensation.

Not up there with Spielberg’s classics unfortunately but if it wasn’t for a phew minor tweaks it could have been. If they are to make a sequel with Peter Jackson at the helm I’ll greet it with open arms. Oh and one more thing Snowey is possibly my favourite character.