Weekly Blu Ray Review: The Thing, John Carpenter's The Thing, Planet of the Apes and The Adjustment Bureau

This week (beginning 2/7/12) I took a look at two classic films, and one prequel, none of which are bad on blu ray, it has been a good week. Take a look! Also for the first time this weekly post had pictures!

The Thing (2011)
The prequel to John Carpenter's classic science fiction horror, like most I was skeptical before going to see this prequel but I was pleasantly surprised, they did a really good job with it, even if there was a small plot hole that I found. As for blu ray quality, everything is great, except the special features, we a few deleted and extended scenes and some commentaries, nothing special, so that kind of lets it down a bit. I can't really complain, I got both this one and the original 'The Thing' in a boxset at HMV for £12, bargain! Due to the lack of special features, I am going to the 'The Thing' an 7.5/10, still worth having in your collection.



John Carpenter's The Thing (1982)
The classic, masterpiece of cinema, to me it is one of John Carpenter's best films. It doesn't rely on jump scares, unlike it's 2011 prequel, this film creates an eerie atmosphere in order to generate real fear in the audience. As for blu ray quality, it is brilliant, apart from the landscape looking a bit blurry in the opening sequence it's perfect. It comes with a load of special features, including commentaries, interviews, videos about the special effects, it's great value for money. A solid 9.5/10.






Planet of the Apes (1968)
One of my favourite films of all time, you have no idea how excited I was when they announced 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' for 2014. I can't wait to do a build up post for that one. As for this blu ray, it's pretty much perfect, it all looks and sounds good, and the special features are quite extensive, including a small documentary on the author of the book and what his inspirations were for the story and how it the movies story ended up being so different. I also quite liked how they've added in an animated ape character called the lawgiver who introduces the ape civilization and records before we get to the menu, then you have the option of either playing the film normally, or with another lawgiver introduction. It's definitely a 10/10 for this film.

The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

This film was supposed to be 'The Bourne Ultimatum' meets 'Inception', it didn't quite turn out like that, but I still really liked it. It wasn't perfect by a long shot, but it was original, and that is a rare thing these days. As for blu ray quality, it looks and sounds perfect, but comes with hardly any special features, just some deleted scenes, a commentary and a small piece of the interlinking doors throughout New York City. It's a shame really, because the film is worth watching. I'm going to give it a 7.5/10.