Friday the 13th parts 1&2

Great 80's slashers, they don't come more formulaic than this (and I mean this in a positive way), I actually enjoyed 2 more fun, funnier characters & slightly faster paced.

Currently working my way through the american blu ray set of films 1-8, good extras so far, the people involved have a lot of love for the series, a bit like Phantasm, I appreciate them a lot more now than when I was younger.

Next up part 3, really tired but these films are like comfort food for me, I can watch and just chill out and forget about anything bad that's happening in my life.

I also have His Name was Jason (superb) and Crystal Lake Memories documentaries lined up for after!

Spaceballs 1987.

On planet Spaceball there is a shortage of air, the president wants to steal air from their neighbour Planet Druidia by kidnapping the princess, their only hope is rogue pilot Lonestar and his side kick mog Barf and escape the clutches of Dark Helmet.

Only Mel Brooks can ome up with this Star Wars parody where ther is plenty of laughs and jokes From Mel with the spaceball salute, Dark Helmet who cant breath in his suit, a Druish Princess, the master of the Schwartz Yogurt (parody of Yoda). This has a good star cast from Bill Pullman, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Daphne Zuniga and Joan rivers who provides the voice of Dot Matrix (female version of C-3PO) and two roles From Mel Brooks, there is some small roles from Dom Deluise, Michael Winslow, Michael York and John Hurt, this was 80s at its best 10+

Hands of Steel.

Set in the future of 1997 :lol:, evil John Saxon sends a cyborg Paco Queruak(daniel greene) to murder a blind scientist chap. but Paco fails in his mission as his human side takes over, and afterwards hides out at a road house run by the sexy Linda(janet agren from City of the living dead.) but then has to contend with Raol(George Eastman, the local macho arm wrestler) and John Saxon's army of assassins.

Now this is what i call a fun and entertaining film. And director Sergio martino yet again does a amazing job on a small budget with this terminator style movie.
Sure it's a little on the cheesy side, but the action is relentless and there's never a boring minute in the film. With great casting too, from genre regulars Eastman, Saxon and Agren and the late Claudio Cassinelli.

And the chap from Goblin Claudio simonetti adds a great score in this one as well which enhances the action throughout. Top stuff indeed. and gets 81 out of 100.

Never seen this. Recommend then?? ;)

Definatly recommending it if you like Mel Brooks movies

Fair enough then. I'm going into town the morn ... and I've found stranger things before :lol:

I was surprised how much i enjoyed this when i watched it back in spring.

Flesh Gordon 1974.

Earth is being bombarded with sex rays turning everyone on to each other, join footballer Flesh with Doctor Flexi Jerkoff and Dale Ardor to the planet Porno and put an end to the evil Emperor Wang.

Welcome to the world of 70s softcore porn that has bad acting, crazy creatures that looks like something that 1930s King Kong had a bad fight with, special effects that look like they were drawn for a cartoons and cheesiest plot story that makes it more funny, If this can be your type of movie check it out.

I quite like Flesh Gordon, the stop motion effects are far above what you would expect for this kind of thing.

The sequel i thought was terrible though.:pop2:

I Cant remeber seeing the sequel, was it that bad Nos42?

I thought so when i saw it, very eighties softcore, bad hair and fake boobs if i remember rightly.;)

Sold!

Will avoid it, cheers

Stratton (Simon West)

Dominic Cooper and Gemma Chan (Humans) star in this reasonable espionage thriller. Bad foreigners have some nasty stuff. Send in the Preacher!! Short and sweet and quite entertaining tbh.


Tag (2018)

4 grown men play chase. That's it. Ed Helms, Jon Hamm among them so it's not all bad :laugh:. Quite amusing.

Overlord
A squad of paratroopers land in France to destroy a radio tower in order to bring in air support for Normandy (insert Primo Victoria reference here) only to find out the nazis are going all Herbert West on people to make super soldiers.
I liked it, wouldn't say it's the best but its a fun b-movie plot with a lot of good action. Surprisingly me and my mates were the only people watching it so we got the Premier seats to ourselves [emoji16]

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A mixed bag of films and TV shows considering I haven't posted much recently what I've seen so here some ..

1000 ways to die TV series on bizarre ways people have popped their clogs, totally recommended

Scum both versions even tho they are practically identical the film version has a more hard hitting edge to it .

Wolf creek the series 1 + 2 if you like the films then there's no reason to dislike the series excellent and highly watchable with great amount of atmosphere and tension with some fantastic scenery of Australia's outback .

I Daniel blake, I love Ken loach films because they always seem to be quite realistic approach to life in his films , and this one about Daniel who gets to know one of his neighbours and the battle they have with the social and how people are treated badly by the government .
And i know that to well with a recent case of one my friends, he has a illness where he can't work hasn't done for over 10 yrs because he always in and out of hospital , he had 2 life threatening operations and his lungs keep collapsing, can collapse at any time, and quite recently they stopped his benefits claiming he fit to work and he just had to go to a full tribunal to prove his case ..

It remake I found it dull and boring and like a cross between The Goonies and stand by me with a clown popping up now and again .

Don't hang up , 2 friends are constantly pranking people recording it and putting online until one day someone pranks them with consequences. Decent time filler .

Live a Korean TV series about the police force , a group of people who feel their lives are going nowhere and in a rutt decide to recruit to the police force , its all about the process of learning to be a copper with problems you face when you can make mistakes and **** ups , very well made with likeable characters and the emotions when things go wrong . utterly compelling and well worth seeking out .

Top boy series based around a estate in hackney East London, about the lives of people involved in drug dealing and street gangs . recommended 2 series.

Bad match modern day version of sea of love , fatal attraction , swinfan and few other dating films with consequences, a young lad is just using anyone he can match on tinder for sex until one women thinks she his girlfriend and begins to stalk him and make his life a misery when she finds out he using her, has a slight twist at the end, but something happened in the film that made guess there was a twist and what the twist was , and woo hoo :woot:I was correct , pretty decent and worth a watch .

Good neighbor about two friends where one has a grudge against his elderly neighbour and decide to prank him by making him think his house is haunted while recording it all to make it into a documentary , but things don't seem to be working to well and they notice he spending a lot of time in his basement, they fall out over this because one of them wants to know what's in the basement and the other couldn't careless and think his friends obsession over it is getting out of hand, he eventually enters the basement but what happens next is something they couldn't predict that ends them up in court .
Reasonable and pretty decent time filler worth watching if come across it .

The night of , a bloke takes his dads car (its a taxi) while driving people keep getting in thinking he working but he keeps kicking them out until one particular women he takes her fair and falls for her , they spend the night together he wakes up to find her dead and gets arrested for her murder he then has to somehow prove his innocence, recommended

Blade in The Dark.

Bruno(Andrea Occhipinti, the chap out of The New York Ripper), goes to stay at a isolated villa to work on a score for a horror film and suspects that a serial killing maniac is on the rampage after a series of women start disappearing, including his sexy neighbour Katia.

Lamberto bava directs this one and its not a bad effort at all, even if he's not as good as Dario argento was at his peak. The atmospheres are good and there's plenty of good suspense and brutal killings throughout, including a very nasty bathroom scene. the dubbing is pretty dreadful though, especially from the sexy babes. :lol: and our old mate Bob from House By The Cemetery even has a small cameo too.

and not a bad soundtrack either that gets plenty of use in this film. overall a very solid giallo, a little bit slow in parts and a bit too long, but I still rate it 78 out of 100. :)

I’ve only ever watched Blade in the Dark once and found it mind numbingly boring, can’t see me watching my Blu from 88 Films again, only reason I haven’t sold it is because it’s not worth a right lot, I wouldn’t get a fraction of the price back

Rogue One (2016)

Comfortably the best Star Wars film since the Disney re-launch. Telling the story of the capture of the Death Star's data plans leading directly into the opening of the original Star Wars (1977).

A good story line, nicely rendered action sequences, decent characters and some enjoyable nods to fans - Seeing Vader wipe out a ship of rebels on his own was quite something - even if the newly created computer generated Tarkin and Leia proved controversial to some. The CGI Governor Tarkin i think works well on dvd and looks like Peter Cushing, however the similarly shot Leia cameo is far too fat in the face. As for the film itself, it comes over grittier, downbeat and less child friendly than the rest of the Disney output.

On the whole Rogue One works well, doesn't diminish under repeat viewings and fits comfortably in the Star Wars universe.

Carry On Cowboy 1965.

Sanitary Engineer Marshall P Knut is mistaken to be a law marshall and sent to Stodge city to get rid of The Rumpo Kid and his gang.

Sid james, Joan Simms, Charels Hawtrey,Kenneth Williams, Angela Douglas, Jim Dale Bernard Bresslaw join together for this spoof on the western genre of movies, thats full of gags from the opening and having a sherrif of the town thats partially sighted and completely deaf. This was noted not to be in high regard of the carry on genre at it was delibrate lack of authenticty of the wild west but as a carry on movie it doesnt have to be authentic. defenitly one to add, 8 out of 10.


Maximum Overdrive 1986.

A comet passing earth emmits an energy that turns machines into killing machines, a group of people hold up in a truck stop try to survive.

Horror maestro Stephen King wrote and directed this feature who admitted to being high on coccaine while directing it and not knowing what he was doing. This is one of those 80s stylish B movie s that makes no sense as it seems trucks are more affected by the comet and a lawnmower but not a car and a ATM machine calling a guy a asshole. Emelio Estevez, Pat Hingle and Frankie Faison seemed to have enjoyed making this movie, have you ever seen a hero with his ass in the air, there is a good soundtrack from AC/DC. 6 out of 10.

House By The Cemetery(1981).

Norman and Lucy Boyle, together with their young son Bob, move to a creepy old house in New Whitby near Boston so that Norman can continue with his colleague's research who had earlier murdered his lover and hanged himself.

From Italian horror master, Lucio Fulci comes his final installment in The Gates of Hell trilogy. A beautifully crafted film dripping in gothic atmosphere that combines a ghost and zombie story.

Regular Fulci actress Catriona McColl is excellent as Lucy and also Paolo Malco who plays her husband Norman. Giovanni Frezzi is the wink link in the chain as Bob due to his hilariously bad dubbing, but even that all adds to the charm of the film. The beautiful Ania Pieroni, from Inferno, also co-stars as the mysterious Anne the babysitter who is good at making coffee and mopping up pools of blood :laugh: and is responsible for a lot of the film's strange plot holes.
And although the usual Fabio Frizzi doesn't supply the soundtrack this time, Walter Rizzati does an excellent job that adds to the atmosphere of the film. 8.5/10.

Amuck.

Hot young secretery Greta(the stunning barbara Bouchet) takes a job with a writer Richard stewart( farley granger, the chap from Prowler) so that she can find out what has happened to her missing girlfriend Sally who strangely vanished while she was working for Richard as well. And finds herself drawn into the bizarre sex games of Richard and his foxy bisexual wife Elenora(Rosalba Neri). ;)

With two top hotties like Bouchet and Neri getting their kit off and indulging in a bit of the old lady loving, this film could be absolute crap and still higely entertaining.:lol: but it's actually quite a decent little giallo with some good suspense and mystery, and not to mention some decent locations too. low on gore though.

but i have to say that this is a very solid release from 88 films indeed, and gets extra marks for Bouchet's outstanding mini skirts, and not to forget Neri's impressive hot pants and boots as well. women certainly new how to dress in those days :laugh: 80 out of 100.

City of the Dead (1960)

I'm sure you don't need me to tell you how good this British tale of American witchcraft is. Let's just say it's a beautifully atmospheric masterpiece and leave it at that.

I watched the Arrow version with the newly commissioned Jonathan Rigby commentary track. I like Rigby. I love his 'Gothic' books. He's a very knowledgeable source of information and comes across as an entertaining story teller. Because yes, he tells tales, behind the scenes tales, tales about producers Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg and the formation of Amicus Films. From stars Christopher Lee to Valentine Dyall, and Bette St John to Venetia Stevenson - all are discussed here in an engaging style.

In fact you can tell how interesting the talk was as a 76 minute film felt like half an hour at most.

Recommended.

Classic witch film. :) I keep meaning to upgrade my copy of City of The Dead. i still have that horrible Redemption release :(

I have the US VCI dvd which looks splendid and features a Lee Commentary, but upgraded in the recent Fopp offer for the Arrow dual format purely for this Rigby commentary. The rest of the VCI extras are the ones Arrow ported over.

I'll probably end up getting the Arrow release as well. frustrating when it was just on offer in the 5 for £30 as well. :lol: but will probably be on sale again before long. :)

Unfriended: Dark Web

The moral being ... there are no shortcuts :lol:. When Matias 'acquires' a new laptop, he thinks he has scored.
Sadly he doesn't know he's in a horror film :laugh:.
About as entertaining as the first .... let's face it I like FF films for my sins. This is about average, as 5 people Skyping isn't that visual tbh :pound:.
Somewhat ludicrous after the fact, it plays on the 'fact' that the 'dark net' is crammed full of ... unsavoury types :laugh:.
Again it was more effective on the PC.

Next!

Do the cobwebs at the start look pretty then?? ;)

Still need this one. Review! :hail:

Dead of Winter.

An unemployed actress(Mary steenburgen) goes to a remote house in the country to do a screen test to replace a actress who supposedly had a nervous breakdown. but finds herself in grave danger from the handicapped Dr Lewis and his creepy servant(Roddy Mcdowall,the chap from the planet of the apes).

This is not a bad film at all, which i found quite a enjoyable watch. and has a good plot that slowly builds up the suspense and tension. and also makes good use too of the bleak winter setting.

Acting is also superb throughout, with Steenburgen actually playing three parts which she does very well indeed.
although i don't really think that it belongs in 88 films slasher range. yes it has a bit of violence now and again, but it is more of a psychological thriller to be honest.

But i still award this fairly impressive film a solid 72 out of 100.

Edgar Allan Poe‘s Lighthouse Keeper (2016)

An interesting take on what was Poe's very last (and unnamed) piece of work that was seemingly unfinished although some scholars argue differently.

Set, i think at the turn of the last century, it tells the tale of a young man shipwrecked on a small island where he is rescued by the local lighthouse keeper. However it seems the two might not be alone on the island.

Although let down by a bit of a modern sheen from being digitally filmed, and one or two dodgy fx of a boat crashing onto rocks, Lighthouse Keeper captures the Gothic period nicely. Legendary Aussie heavy Vernon Wells plays Walsh the lighthouse keeper and his tales of disaster and woe give the film a sense of isolation. Of course isolation is a favourite detail of Poe along with paranoia and lost love and all three feature heavily here along with other typical nightmarish scenarios. There's also new love to be found as the marooned JP (Matt O'Neill) discovers a beautiful young woman (Rachel Riley) also apparently marooned on the godforsaken island.

Although classed as Poe, and in fact feeling rather Corman like in it's languid build up, without giving too much away here, i thought the film heavily reminiscent of John Carpenter's The Fog (1980) in both it's setting and finale and also the Halloween School Bus Massacre urban legend of Michael Dougherty's Trick r' Treat (2007) - anyone familiar with both films will probably know in which direction the plot heads as psychological horror gives way to undead horrors.

Despite having a frankly piss poor score on IMDB - 3.9 / 10 - i really enjoyed the film and could certainly imagine the likes of Vincent Price having a whale of a time had this been made by Roger Corman in the sixties.

Your Vice is a locked room and only i have The Key.

Oliviero(Luigi Pistilli) is a failed writer and drunk who lives in a neglected villa with his long suffering wife Irina (Anita Strindberg), who he enjoys abusing and raping. and invites all the local hippies over for sex orgies and a sing song, terrible singing by the way :lol:, although the babe from Flesh For Frankenstein does a nice striptease on the table. :happy:
but later finds himself in a bit of a jam when a local girl who he has been having an affair with is brutally murdered by a maniac with a sickle. More murders then follow.

Once again director Sergio martino knocks out another top notch giallo which is full of twists and turns and bags of style and atmospheres and with some great suspenseful killings as well. Oh and not to forget a great score too from Bruno Nicoli.
and apart from the great casting of Pistolli and Strindberg, giallo queen Edwige Fenech pops up too about 30 minutes into the film, playing an unusual bad girl role as the slutty Floriana. and looking very nice indeed in superb looking outfits. not sure about the unflattering wig though. :nono:

Yes, this is a excellent and very entertaining giallo. extremely well made and with a nice twist ending involving Olivieros creepy cat Satan. 86 out of 100.

I watched the Screenbound release of The Blood Beast Terror last night.

I've never been happy with the VCI Euroshock release due to it's poor picture quality so turned on the UK release with some trepidation.

I'm delighted to say it's head and shoulders above the VCI version. Picture quality is excellent, colours are bright and edges crisp and it looks like a totally different film. Just goes to show that restoring a film for blu-ray makes a dvd look so much better.

As for the film itself? Well, it's a decent if not spectacular Tigon production which borrows a lot of ideas from Frankenstein and is let down as many of these films are by the monster itself, which in this case is a flimsy moth thing made out of tissue paper. However i would like to add that the moth chrysalis when hung up in the cellar makes for a very memorable Gothic horror motif.

Suspiria 2018

Attachment 210756

(Trying to avoid major spoilers)

I thought the trailers looked interesting and although fearing the worst i thought sod it i'll check it out.

Obviously there wasn't going to be an attempt to recreate the atmosphere, but given the arty direction it seemed to be going for i was interested to see what the director would do with the basic premise.:confused:

Well after watching it i was slightly perplexed, not really sure who the film was aimed at, for the most part it's a very well made slow burn arthouse film, cinematography is really well done and there is a thread of unease running throughout that is quite palpable, beginning with a guttural death rattle in the first scene that mutates into heavy breathing and sighs, throughout many scenes in the dance academy where an underlying feeling of despair and unease lingers.

This was the first thing that struck me with the film, the soundtrack is used very effectively but in a slow kind of lingering way that is the opposite to Argento's original. Thom Yorke's soundtrack when it appears was in moments very good, then at others seemed to be out of place, this is my favourite piece
which in some way has a undercurrent of Goblin, with it's discordant hypnotic feel that builds up to an anxious final drone.:cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpULWBT1WEg

Then in opposition to the slow burn there are moments that are filled with bone crunching nastiness, nightmarish dreams that are interesting (but slightly generic for a modern horror film) and a finale that throws taste to the wall and descends into a ritualistic b-movie bloodbath, closer to a insane feverish version of the finale in Mother of Tears.

So there is a lot of stuff i liked in the film, the dance academy still has art deco overtones, with floor patterns and decorated handrails on the staircases etc that seemed to nod to the original in design but seem a bit more subdued.

The dance scenes i found interesting and well shot, often being used parallel with a death scene, they are used in a sort of ritualistic manner by the coven as if weaving spells, and this is something i liked as it reflects the use of dance in voodoo and pagan religion etc.

Attachment 210757

Then we come to the bad parts, while Tilda Swinton is very good in her numerous roles, i think playing the male psychoanalyst was a step too far, she plays the character well but knowing she is under prosthetics for this make's for a very large elephant in the room that is distracting.:nono:
Dakota does fine with the dancing and is generally good but she just doesn't have the power when needed in certain scenes.

Attachment 210758

The film uses the backdrop of Berlin 1977, and draws in elements of history, but to me this didn't really add much to the film.
This is also the problem with the Psychoanalysts story in general, it takes up too much of the film and doesn't really amount to much in the end.:rolleyes:

it's nice to see Jessica harper crop up in a cameo, she is good while onscreen but i would have liked to have seen her as part of the coven myself.:loveeyes:

The film is focused generally on the female psyche and viewpoint, which i felt was fine, when you consider the original men don't play much of a part, so i am fine with this but actually felt the focus of the film should have been just that, centred around the coven and the newcomer without the outside world distractions.

Attachment 210759

If pared down to the central ideas like the original this would have been a really strong remake i feel, and taking a good half an hours worth of subplot away would have made for a much tighter and better film.

As it is the film is meandering to the point of distraction, it just tries to do too much and is straining for respectability, when it actually would have worked better if it just went for the jugular.

So all in all a mixed bag, interesting but frustrating, good atmosphere but not enough genuine scares.

A film that has underlying themes and moments that link it to the original, but one that has to be viewed as a separate entity to appreciate it for what it is.

I would say also that i've been thinking about it alot since i watched it, to me that is always a good sign, i don't think it's a film that you can watch and just say "that was shit" and dismiss, it's definitely interesting and if you can put aside reservations and attachments to the original you might get something out of it.

Attachment 210760

It's a long film and although i was tempted to go out for a cigarette halfway through i never did, so that must say something.

7/10 :pop2:

:behindsofa:

Two Orphan Vampires 1997
(Les Deux Orphenlines Vampires).

Two Sisters in a orphanage run by nuns are blind during the day but at night can see and become vampires.

From Director Jean Rollin comes this story taken from his source novel, this was more like one sister looking after another and surviving off the living while meeting other people with strange creature form of a she wolf and a witch.

The film does seem to deviate away from the plot but not in a bad way, with a small budget Rollin does make it work to his advantage with good camera work, colourful scenery and a good background score, any fan of Rollin's will enjoy this film. 7 out of 10.

Leon: The Professional 1994.

After her family is killed by a crooked D.E.A agent, 12 year old Mathilda seeks solace with neighbour Leon a hitman.

This was a great action thriller, blended in with laughs that's very heartwarming that will give you a smirk. Natalie Portman's first feature movie and what a way to start off a good career, there was dispute with her family and director due to her age and script had to be changed. Jean Reno performance as Leon is brilliant, he is like the type of neighbour that's quiet but hides his cleaning job, the way the two actors are is like passing neighbours to a new father figure then a true friendship bonds them together.

Gary Oldman stars as Stansfieild the corrupt cop he seems to enjoy Beetthoven and Mozart before a kill and popping a pill to keep him calm while killing but at times seems to be high on caffeine but he steals every scene he is in, definitely a film to watch and never be bored of. 10+.

Pieces.

A young boy is in his bedroom doing a sexy jigsaw when his uptight mum walks in and tells him off for being a pervert. she then sends him out to get a bag for the rest of his porn, but he comes back with an axe instead and brutally kills her before sawing off her head. :axekiller:
Moving forward 40 years a black gloved maniac in mack and trilby is stalking the students of a college in Boston and chopping them up with a chainsaw and stealing body parts.

I have to say that i really enjoyed this one from the Spanish director chap Juan Piquer Simon, and is a great fun movie in the so bad it's good kind of way with its hilarious dubbing and characters. all the student girls are your typical types who never need a clothing budget and there's even a funny chinese chap doing kung fu. :lol:

But the kills are top class and unlike Tobe Hoopers Chainsaw Massacre which although is the better made film, seriously disappointed me when i first saw it, this one actually delivers on the gore and shows you an actual chainsaw massacre.

and with a lot of familiar actors too, with the great Christopher George from Fulci's City of The Living Dead playing a cop and Lynda day( his actual wife in real life) playing undercover cop Mary the sexy tennis coach, and gives some hilarious lines when she's shouting 'bastard' after finding a girl cut up by the maniac. :laugh:
And also there's the creepy gardener played by the hulkingPaul Smith. and with Edmund Purdom(from Absurd) as the dean.

Very entertaining indeed and with a brilliant soundtrack that borrows from Deep Red, Bloodstained shadow and even D'amatos Absurd.
So i give this Slasher/giallo a solid 81 out of 100.

Animal Farm (1999)
A boar named old major has a dream of equality for all the animals on Manor farm who are then inspired to revolt against their human masters, however their dreams of freedom are crushed into a fascist nightmare.
This adaptation of Orwells masterpiece is clearly dated in its visuals, it sadly seems as of the only effort were put onto the pigs. The voice acting is great for the most part. What's really surprising is how instead of being a satirical piece of work it goes for something extremely dark.
It ain't the 1954 cartoon that's for sure.

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The Nun (2018, Corin Hardy)

I liked it. Whilst is is nothing new to anyone who has seen say, 30 odd nunsploitation films tbh :laugh:, it is adequately put together without a dogged reliance on jumpy scary bits.



The Ring Two

Somewhat lesss dour than the first, our hapless heroine is yet again haunted by .... a goth :lol:. They ain't that scary. Give her some cider girl!! :lol: It ends in a well. As well it might ;)



City Of The Living Dead (1980, Lucio Fulci)

Priest opens a portal with his willing sacrifice. Rewatched this due to the first film reviewed,, as it blatantly pinched a memorable moment fae it :laugh:
Ahem. A psychic and a nosey bastard team up to investigate. Somewhat less frenzied than his other horror films , I have watched this again and again. I love the music. The rather gross FX still unsettles imo. And that ending!!! I was asked today to "explain" the end of The Black Hole :laugh:. That's easy. But this ..... hmmm.