The Thing (2011)

Released: 2011
Sci-fi, Horror
Director: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Running Time: 103 minutes
Rated: R

The breakdown:  This is a prequel to the 1982 version, (not a remake) even though they share the same title.

So I had missed this one in theaters, but caught it on cable the other night, as I had heard it was pretty good.  For some reason, it got really bad reviews, but I thought it was a really good movie.  My only guess is that some people or reviewers expected this to be remake and gave it bad marks for not being like the 1982 version (which it's not supposed to be since it is a prequel.)

A Norwegian team of scientists and a few Americans team up in the Antarctic for a remarkable discovery.  They have found an entire alien spaceship with one alien specimen outside the craft frozen in the ice.  They take the alien stuck inside a large block of ice back to their campsite to eventually transport it back home.  The lead scientist wants to take a small tissue sample and in doing so, cracks a small bit of ice.  This is enough for the alien to start thawing out a little and cracking even more ice.  Eventually, it breaks out and is a threat to every living thing on this planet.
The humans try to team up, but since this alien can assume any living being it wants, mistrust and paranoia run rampant.

I won't tell you too much because it's really worth seeing this and if you haven't, the 1982 film right after.

4 and 1/2 out of 5 for a solid movie with lots of scares and great special effects. SEE IT!!!