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
Don't you ever have trouble sleeping? LOL!
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.
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.
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.
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.
Zombie movies freak me out, LOL!
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.
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. :)
I want to either laugh or watch things be blown up. Bonus points for both (ie Zombieland, Tropic Thunder)
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'm kind of tired of the zombies.
Mason
Thoughts in Progress
Kaz: I hadn't heard of the Fourth Kind, and I like conspiracy theory stories. I'll have to look that one up.
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?
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!
Marianne: Holy moly, that had to be one scary movie. Too scary for me if I need a dog and a gun. LOL.
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. :)
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
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.
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. :)
I think not.