31 Days Of Horror: Day 13 (28 WEEKS LATER - 2007)

To be honest I wasn't a fan of the original, but the sequel is in my opinion way better. It starts 6 months after the events in the first movie as the US Army has started to bring people back home with the infection seemingly having died out. But all it takes is one infected person and the crisis begins again. Once again a strong story is at the forefront with Rose Byrne as an Army medical doctor trying to find a cure; Robert Carlyle as a dad dealing with personal demons when he couldn't save his wife when the first epidemic hit, and Jeremy Renner as a lethal sharpshooter who I think is the best character in the movie. Of course there are several kick ass scenes involving attacking zombies. The showstopper is a helicopter making mincemeat of about 70 or 80 zombies. Very cool. For me the sequel works better than the orginal. And if you liked the original then you will probably like this one also.

The Rose Byrne/Diane Kruger Connection

Australian actress Rose Byrne is my star of the month for August. Last month it was German actress Diane Kruger. There are a few similarities between the two women that I found to be interesting. For starters, both are gorgeous. Stunningly beautiful. They both have birthdays in July. They are close in age.  Diane is three years older than Rose. Both are about the same height. Rose is 5'6 and 1/4"and Diane is 5'7". And while Rose's career started off about 8 years earlier than Diane, they both seemed to hit stardom around the same time in the year of 2004. Diane is currently filming the movie Farewell, My Queen playing Marie Antoinette. Rose played the character Duchess de Polignac in the 2006 film Marie Antoinette.


And in 2004, the two actresses shared the screen in two films. First in the epic film Troy which had Diane playing Helen of Troy. While Rose played slave girl Briseis. Diane had the more famous role and definitely looked the part, but Rose had the meatier role as the girl who tames Brad Pitt's Achilles heart.


The two would pair up again later on in the year for the mystery thriller Wicker Park which gave Rose the lead role of Alex, an actress who calls herself Lisa, much to the bewilderment of Josh Hartnett's Matthew, who recently had the love of his life named Lisa (Diane Kruger) walk out of his life. Wicker Park is a very underrated film that many people may not know about and features an amazing performance by Rose. I'm talking Oscar worthy here people.


So this post is just something I thought would be cool to write. Showing the similarities between Diane and Rose. Just something to pass along to all my friends and followers. Me, personally I love doing posts like these.

Star of the Month Rose Byrne is terrific in the super creepy INSIDIOUS...

Star of the month Rose Bryne is terrific in the creepy thriller, Insidious. She and Patrick Wilson play husband and wife with three children who move into a new house. Once their eldest child goes into a coma and the doctors find nothing medically wrong with him, Renai (Rose's character) starts seeing things and think the house is possessed. So they move yet again but still can't shake these apparitions.
But when Josh (Patrick Wilson) mother shows up, they realize it isn't the house that is possessed, but their son. They call in Elise (played by Lin Shaye) who has had dealings with this short of thing as she and her two man crew attempt to bring the couple's son back from the dreamworld called The Further. It's a place where restless spirits dwell, and who will do anything to get back to the real world. And the young boy becomes a link from their world to the real world.

Renai and Josh looking suitably worried...

Insidious is one seriously twisted movie. And it is very creepy. The music alone will send shivers down your spine. The spirits are freaky looking and will scare you a few times. The cast is perfect especially Rose Byrne and Lin Shaye. Byrne is perfect as the distraught housewife who believes instantly about evil spirits and the Further. Her husband, not so much. And Lin Shaye is very effective as the spirit buster. This film really surprised me and it ends with a cliff-hanger. So I wouldn't be surprised if a sequel comes out very soon.
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Elise: It's not the house that's haunted. It's your son!


Elise and Specs ready to do some spirit busting.....

A couple of spirits who look all innocent and nice...but are not

Freaky looking thing..ain't she?

Oh Elise don't mess around when it comes to dealing with evil spirits...IT'S ON!

Renai trying to explain that she has been seeing some weird things...

STAR OF THE MONTH: ROSE BYRNE

Last month, my star of the month was Diane Kruger. This month it's Diane's co-star from Troy and Wicker Park, Rose Byrne. The Australian actress has had one heck of a year in 2011 with three big hits: the thriller Insidious, the unexpected comedy smash Bridesmaids and X-Men: First Class. I will post pics and facts and reviews of her films all month long. Maybe my good friend Irene will lend a hand as well.

Actress Rose Byrne is having one heck of a year...

Australian actress Rose Byrne is having one terrific year at the movies. Her new film X-MEN: First Class just opened this weekend to number one at the box-office. Rose is still riding high off the success of her other summer movie, Bridesmaids, which cast her as a woman jockeying to be the maid of honor at her friend's wedding. At first she comes across as very unlikable but by the end of the movie, the audience have become very sympathetic to her character. And a few months ago, Rose starred in the horror pic Insididous which defied box office expectations and earned over $50 million in America alone. The film only cost about $1.5 million. So, the 31-year actress is having a really good year.

My first film seeing Rose in was 2004's Troy. She played the slave girl Briseis, who caught Brad Pitt's eye. Rose had appeared earlier in 2002's Star Wars: Attack of the Clones as Dorme, but I did not know it at the time. She would then appear in such films as Wicker Park, 28 Weeks Later and Sunshine. She is one of my favorite modern actresses and it's great to see her doing so well this year. Congratulations Rose. Keep up the good work. Because Bridesmaids and X-MEN are two of my favorite films of the year so far.