No-Work Weekend

Greg has returned and we opted for a No-Work Weekend. The weather was cold and I'm still recovering so we spent the whole weekend vegging and watching movies.

Two new-to-me movies was 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. I freely admit, we had these films for ages but I refused to watch them unless it was daylight and Greg planned to be around for a while. 

I'm chicken, okay. I don't like scary movies, unlike my best friend who watches them one after another. (I have very weird friends.) It turns out neither was that scary, so I feel safe being able to sleep at night.

28 Days Later was actually pretty good. The 'rage' virus escapes in Great Britain and infects people within 20 seconds of ingesting saliva or blood, turning them into raging, fast moving zombies. 

Like the TV series, The Walking Dead, the hero wakes up after an accident and finds himself alone in a hospital. Eventually, he finds allies and they explain that the entire country has been infected. They are alone and on their own.

It was a gripping movie that kept me invested the entire time, despite zombie attacks. My only major quibble was towards the middle of the movie when the survivors locate a group of soldiers who offer them sanctuary, only to discover the soldiers were horny for the only two women.

Come on! It's only been 28 days. Do you really expect us to believe that sex is the only thing on their minds when their country is nearly decimated of its population?

But I am willing to forgive this major hiccup because the rest of the movie was well done. As Greg and I were watching the movie, we were awestruck that the survivors were defending themselves with clubs, since Britain bans guns. Think what you like about the gun laws in the US, but I would never want to be so vulnerable.

Around here, if the zombies don't get you, the coyotes and feral hogs will. 

As good as 28 Days Later was, I can't recommend 28 Weeks Later. It was full of plot holes. I got bored and left the movies several times to make snacks. 

(Slight SPOILER ahead)

In this film, an American-led NATO force goes in and tries to help Great Britain back on its feet, transporting the survivors to a safe zone. Only two kids idiots defy their father and the rules because they want to retrieve some things from their old house. They reach their home and find their mother they thought was dead. It turns out she has immunity from the virus, but is still a carrier. 

Well, all hell breaks loose as soon as she infects her husband and in turn thousands of other people. There were so many things that were improbable or ludicrous that I just gave up on the movie.

Did you watch any good movies this weekend? And a show of hands--am I the only chicken in the house, or do you like scary movies?

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Comments

Jennifer Shirk said…
I am SO NOT a scary movie watcher. I will watch the original Halloween around Halloween, but that's it. My hairdresser goes to see every scary movie made--even the obvious cheesy ones. She loves them!
Maria Zannini said…
Jennifer: It totally blows me away when my friend tells me of the latest movie she's watched. The girl needs therapy. :)
Dru said…
I love horror movies. I grew up on them and had regular Saturday nights at the movies with all the lights turned off.
Maria Zannini said…
Aw, Dru! I should've known since you read mysteries.

Don't you ever have trouble sleeping? LOL!
Mike Keyton said…
I once watched 'The Shining' when alone in the house. It was some years ago. I had to put on all the lights on in the house, switching them off one by one enroute to my bed when with one final flick I switched off the bedroom light and scurried into bed. Yup. The curse of an over-active imagination.

Ref films watched over the weekend - Tricky. We have a Skybox almost full with recorded but unwatched TV. It takes me all my time to catch up on that, before deleting huge swathes of the stuff in frustration.
Joanne said…
This weekend we watched The Time Travelers Wife. It was pretty good, but it seems to me that the story is mis-named. It's so much more about the Time Traveler himself, and not really about the wife at all. So the title is misleading.
Linda Leszczuk said…
Not big on scary movies - at least not the horror/thriller type. I used to love Hitchcock movies and they could scare the bejeebees out of me.

I did see a great movie last weekend - RED. This is a recent one, still at the cheap theaters, but it's coming out on DVD later this month (according to Netflix). It stars Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren as retired spies forced back into action when someone starts trying to kill them. Basically it was a fun time watching a bunch of old pros (as actors and spies) doing what they do best.

Glad you and Greg had a good weekend.
Maria Zannini said…
Mike: I can't watch The Shining. Gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.

Joanne: I wasn't sure if I should try that movie. I was told it wasn't as good as the book since it left out some crucial moments that were necessary to understand the MC.

Linda: I loved RED! It definitely speaks to our generation. John Malkovich was hysterical.
Angela said…
So jealous you got to see a movie.
Maria Zannini said…
Angela: Even workaholics deserve a day off once in a while. Besides, still being sick, every time I tried to do the least little thing, it wore me out. I am still a weakling.
Cathy in AK said…
My almost 14 yo daughter loves scary movies, especially zombies. She even had a zombie-themed Christmas last year (including a zombie rubber duck). I used to watch scary movies, but when they are more gross than scary, I pass.

Have you seen "Zombieland"? "Shaun of the Dead"? Those are two of my favorite zombie movies. Quite funny.

This weekend, because it was too cold to do much outside, I watched "Despicable Me" and "Salt." Enjoyed both of them.
Anonymous said…
Hmmm, saw 28 days later, didn't see 28 weeks later...

Zombie movies freak me out, LOL!
Ellie Garratt said…
Ooo...I love scary movies (but not the sick kind, like Hostel) and have seen both 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. 28 Days is definitely the better of the two.

I haven't seen The Walking Dead yet; I'm waiting for it to come out on DVD :(

We didn't see a movie at the weekend, but we've started watching season one of Caprica, the Battlestar Galactica spin-off. So far we've been surprised at how good it is, considering all the reviews said it was nothing like BSG.
Maria Zannini said…
Cathy: I didn't care for Zombieland. Too many scary clowns. eek!

lbdiamond: Me too. But I have a husband who forces me to watch them with him. I have to admit, I did like 28 Days Later and The Walking Dead.

Ellie: I don't have cable so I have to rely on the husband to either tape it for me from his place or give me the rundown of the story. After his reviews I can trim down my watching significantly. :)
Krista D. Ball said…
I don't like movies that are meant to scare me, enlighten me, or educate me. Or, depress me.

I want to either laugh or watch things be blown up. Bonus points for both (ie Zombieland, Tropic Thunder)
Debora Dennis said…
Zombieland is the closest I come to watching a zombie movie - anything without that little touch of humor gives me nightmares for weeks. Glad you enjoyed it though! :)
Sondrae Bennett said…
I *love* zombie movies (it's a secret obsession of mine), even the bad ones. I liked both movies but 28 days was FAR superior
Angelina Rain said…
I’m a chicken so I don’t watch scary movies or read scary books. A couple of months ago, I was reading a book in which there was a ghost. That book scared me so much that I couldn’t sleep that night.
Maria Zannini said…
Krista: Too many things went boom in Zombieland--and then there were the clowns.

Debora: I did rather like the Bill Murray gag. :)

Sondrae: You sound like my husband. Loves them. He really had to force me to see 28 Days Later, but I'm glad he did.

Angelina: Maybe other writers can gird themselves better than us, but I find my imagination feeds into scary stuff too easily. All I need is a nudge and I terrify myself with even worse imagery. I'm careful what I watch or read.
I like horrow movies when I was younger but living a few years on my own cured me. I never let my kids watch them.
I'm kind of tired of the zombies.
Maria Zannini said…
Susan: I'm just the opposite. I could not watch them at all as a kid. Now I can remind myself it's Hollywood...sometimes. :)
Mason Canyon said…
Glad you're on the road to recovery. I haven't seen either of these 2 movies. Sound interesting though.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress
Kaz Augustin said…
I'm usually immune to scary movies but "Fourth Kind" scared the stuffing out of me! It appealed to the conspiracy nut in me.
Maria Zannini said…
Mason: Sick or not, it was a good way to spend a gray weekend.

Kaz: I hadn't heard of the Fourth Kind, and I like conspiracy theory stories. I'll have to look that one up.
Meghan S. said…
Oooooh, do check out the Fourth Kind. I saw that a few weeks ago and really liked it. Was actually quite disappointed to discover it was all made up (a-la-Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity 1 & 2) :(

I haven't seen 28 days or weeks later, but I own 28 days later so maybe I'll give it a shot. I can handle most horror movies. It's blood and gore I can't tolerate. Scare me, but don't gross the hell outta me, ya know?
Marianne Arkins said…
Haven't seen either movie ... I'm not really into zombies or post-apocalypse stuff, though I do stumble across the occasional surprise.

I used to LOVE horror movies. Watched them all the time. Then, one weekend my DH was off camping and I was all alone. I rented "Scream" and hunkered down to watch.

It scared me to DEATH. I slept that night with my dog and my DH's gun on the nightstand. I haven't watched a horror movie since.

Sounds like you had a fab weekend!
Maria Zannini said…
Meghan: I just read the synopsis on IMDB and it does sound scary. I might have to wait until I know hubby is going to be around for a while. Alien abductions scare the bejeebers out of me.

Marianne: Holy moly, that had to be one scary movie. Too scary for me if I need a dog and a gun. LOL.
Anonymous said…
I think there should be a constitutional amendment for mandatory no-work weekends! They are priceless. Glad you enjoyed yours, Maria!
Maria Zannini said…
Liz: I highly recommend them. They're good for body and soul.
Renee Miller said…
A no work weekend? I'm so jealous. I'm afraid to have one of those. What I end up with on Monday is frightening. I think I might take a limited work weekend though. Work only on Saturday or something.

My kids and Kurt are big movie buffs. I used to be...ah, I miss those days. My opinion of 28 Weeks is the same as yours.

Anyway, that's all I've got today. I must go write about Organizational power and how to put a crib together. My life is exciting. :)
Sarah Ahiers said…
28 days later is one of my top 10 movies ever. i love it so much. I especially enjoy the "what makes a monster and what makes a man" theme.
Also, for the quibbler, you have to remember that the soldiers all thought the whole world was overrun by zomb. And they were clearly batshit crazy
as for 28 weeks, the only part of that movie i really like is the very beginning, when it takes place during the original outbreak
Maria Zannini said…
Renee: You have kids. I'm afraid you're in for a life sentence. Your first parole comes when the last one leaves the nest. (sorry)

Sarah: I dunno. Even if they thought the whole world was lost, I would expect soldiers to have a bit more discipline.

They had alternate endings too. I liked the one they went with the best.
Renee Miller said…
Yeah, that wasn't in the job description I got. *sigh* I suppose it's a fair trade. They're pretty great kids. I know this because I run a daycare and I've seen the worst.
Maria Zannini said…
Renee:

ref: ...that wasn't in the job description...

Yeah, they get you with the fine print. Nobody told me husbands would be so much work either. :)
Rula Sinara said…
I have no desire to watch horror films. I don't know how folks do it. I mean, I can watch the Jurrasic park and Jaws movies and I did get through Alien and Aliens, but the ones that involve psychotic people....no way. I still haven't seen Silence of the Lambs. I won't watch the crazy guy killing all the dorm students type. If they revolve around the types of psychos that are really out there, they creep me out too much.
Maria Zannini said…
Rula: I hear ya! I was FORCED to watch Silence of the Lambs and couldn't sleep for many nights. It still gives me the creeps all these years later.
I do like scary movies. I also didn't like the soldiers in 28 Days Later. I thought it was bad plotting for one and just silly for another. All of these guys are fine with raping two women until they eventually die? I wondered if the commander was trying to pass it off as "rebuilding the population" when a handful of people does not a viable population make. Bah! I had a big problem with it. ^_^ The remake of Dawn of the Dead is my favorite zombie movie.
Maria Zannini said…
Barbara: I have never understood the zombie physiology. But then my husband says I'm overthinking it. He tells me to enjoy the zombie gooeyness.

I think not.