FILM REVIEW: Evil Dead (2013) (may contain spoilers)

First of all, I FREAKING LOVED THIS MOVIE. This will always be a memorable movie to me for 3 HUGE reasons:
1. eto ang pinakauna kong R-18 movie na napanood sa big screen, kahit na I'm still 3 days away form my 18th birthday (medyo badass XD),
2. I have been reading so much promotional materials (kahit yung mismong script na ni-leak nila months ago) but I was still shocked and disgusted, and
3. this movie signifies a new saga of gore, a new series of Evil Dead na ngayon pa lang ay pinaplano na ang sequel.



On the movie itself naman, I was not expecting na ganun siya ka-hardcore. I tried to stay away from torrents and camrips kasi malakas ang pakiramdam ko na hindi talaga ako matutuwa kung sa bahay ko lang siya papanoorin. So I watched it in a theather with my Mom yesterday, at sinabi ko sa sarili ko na kahit magyaya nang lumabas ang Nanay, hindi talaga ako aalis. Hahaha. I thought I wouldn't flinch anymore, not even a little squirm. BUT NO.



Ang kuwento niya ay tungkol sa limang magkakaibigan na nagpunta sa childhood retreat nila, isang secluded cabin sa gitna ng kakahuyan, para magtulungan na ma-overcome ng main character na si Mia (Jane Levy) ang drug addiction niya, and possibly, ayusin ang gusot nila ng kapatid niya na si David (Shiloh Fernandez). Things quickly go to hell nung bumaba sila sa basement to investigate a god-awful smell (turns out na nagkalat pala ang sandamakmak na dead cats doon used for rituals) and the "smart guy" Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci) finds a book called the Book of the Dead, or Naturan Demonto, bound in human flesh and inked in blood. 



So dahil nag-effort talaga yung huling gumamit na sulatan ng sandamukal na warnings yung libro bago niya balutin ng garbage bag at talian ng makapal na barbed wire bago itago sa basement, binuksan ni Eric yung book at kinapa yung mga naka-emboss na incantations, na talagang pinagkasipagan niyang ii-sketch at basahin nang malakas. Sa point na to, kinuwestyon ko talaga yung IQ ng character niya. Right after niyang basahin yun, isa-isa na silang sinapian ng demonyo galing sa libro, forcing them to inflict grisly mutilations and gruesome injuries to themselves and their friends.

As a remake, expect na hindi talaga siya carbon copy ng original 1981 cult classic. Kung familiar ka sa The Evil Dead of '81, hindi mo maiiwasang mag-compare and contrast, and if you do, you might even feel a little bit frustrated. Pero mostly dahil yun sa statement ng direktor na si Fede Alvarez na isa itong rebirth at hindi remake. Kung hindi ka naman familiar sa original, feel free to judge the movie on its own merit. Either way, wala kang choice kund i-enjoy ito. Hehehe.

I don't think it's even a spoiler anymore when I say people will die in this film brutally, and when I say brutal, I really do mean brutal. Immediately, Olivia (Jessica Lucas) brutally cuts her face off with broken glass and attacks Eric (shown in trailer). Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore) brutally cuts her arm off with an electric knife (shown in trailer), but not before possessed Mia cuts her tongue in half with a box cutter and French-kisses Natalie, infecting her with the demon (shown in trailer). There's even a scene where Mia bathes herself in boiling water, and I immediately recall my own accident. Dun ako pinaka-napangiwi kasi it could happen to anyone (accidentally, of course).






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Kung susumahin mo ang amount ng dugo na lumabas sa screen for whole 90 minutes, kaya niyang punuin ng dugo ang isang buong blood bank, and stil have some more to give away to the needy. I'm not kidding, ganun talaga karaming dugo ang makikita mong tumulo, tumalsik, nalunok, nilunok, at lumabas sa kung saan-saang butas na ginawa man ng characters sa sarili nila o sa kaibigan nila, o galing mismo sa langit na reserved for that epic climactic battle in the end.



Siyempre, hindi naman puro gore ang Evil Dead. May genuine chemistry rin bilang magkapatid si Jane at si Shiloh, at mararamdaman mo yung sincerity nilang dalawa na magkaayos. Si Lou, nagampanan nang mabuti yung pagiging apparently-smart guy na hard to kill. Si Jessica, kahit maikli lang yung ganap, talagang maganda kasi nakakalungkot na namatay siya kaagad. As for Elizabeth, her character was in the wrong place in the wrong time, not being very close to the others pero napilitang tumulong as if mamamatay din siya if they do.





Isa pang napakalaking plus factor nitong remake na ito ay yung cinematography. Shot-for-shot, I dare say this the most beautiful horror movie to look at. landscapes feel like they're in front of you even in 2D. Trees feel far away and dangerously close, the rain creates a foreboding atmosphere, and even the blood looks as if you can go in front and wipe it off the screen. You really cannot fully appreciate this movie unless you see it in theaters.

So in closing, do I recommend this movie? HELL YEAH. In fact, see it two or more times if you can. It deserves a first viewing, a rewatch, and another rewatch, and another, and another. To quote Mia, "FEAST ON THIS, MOTHERFUCKER!"

(P.S. If you're a fan of the originals just like me, I strongly suggest to stay during the credits. Trust me.)

I'M GOING TO UPGRADE THIS BLOG.

Dati, nag-promise ako na kapag may grade na ang blog na ito, papalitan ko lahat ng reviews ko into gay lingo and conyo. Hahaha. Guess what, it's not happening anymore. LOL

Instead, I've decided na itutuloy ko na lang ang blog na ito under its new moniker "Afterburn: From The Files of Rogue Hunter" because I can. XD

So ayun.

NARRATOLOGY - Scream (1997)

The Theory:

Narratology refers to both the theory and the study of narrative and narrative structure and the ways that these affect our perception. While in principle the word may refer to any systematic study of narrative, in practice its usage is rather more restricted.[citation needed] It is an anglicisation of French narratologie, coined by Tzvetan Todorov (Grammaire du Décaméron, 1969). Narratology is applied retrospectively as well to work predating its coinage. Its theoretical lineage is traceable to Aristotle (Poetics) but modern narratology is agreed to have begun with the Russian Formalists, particularly Vladimir Propp (Morphology of the Folktale, 1928).

(courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narratology)



The Story:

courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scream_(film)

High school student Casey Becker receives a flirtatious phone call from an unknown person, asking her, "What's your favorite scary movie?" The situation quickly escalates out of control as the caller turns sadistic and threatens her life. He reveals that her boyfriend Steve is being held hostage. After failing to answer a question correctly about horror films, Steve is murdered. When Casey refuses to cooperate with the caller, she is attacked and murdered by a masked killer, and her body is hung from a tree.

The following day, the news media descend on the town and a police investigation begins. Meanwhile, Sidney Prescott struggles with the impending one-year anniversary of her mother's murder by Cotton Weary. While waiting at home for her friend Tatum Riley, Sidney receives a threatening phone call. After she hangs up, she is attacked by the killer. Sidney's boyfriend Billy Loomis arrives and offers support, but after he drops his cell phone Sidney suspects him of making the call. She flees. Billy is arrested and Tatum takes Sidney to her house.

Billy is released the next day. Suspicion has shifted to Sidney's father Neil Prescott, as the calls have been traced to his phone. School is suspended in the wake of the murders. After the students have left the school, Principal Himbry is stabbed to death in his office. Billy's friend Stu Macher throws a party to celebrate the school closure. The party is attended by Sidney, Tatum, their friend Randy Meeks, and several other students. Reporter Gale Weathers attends uninvited to cover the situation, as she expects the killer to strike. Deputy sheriff Dewey Riley also looks out for murder at the party. Tatum is killed during the party after having her head crushed by a garage door. Billy arrives to speak to Sidney privately, and the two ultimately consummate their relationship. Dewey and Gale investigate a nearby abandoned car. Many party attendees are drawn away after hearing news of Himbry's death; Randy, Sidney, Billy, Stu, and Gale's cameraman Kenny remain.

After having sex, Sidney and Billy are attacked by the killer, who seemingly murders Billy. Sidney escapes the killer and seeks help from Kenny, but he gets his throat slit by the killer. Sidney again flees. Gale and Dewey, having discovered the car belongs to Neil Prescott, return to the house. They believe Neil is the killer and has come to the party to continue his spree. Gale attempts to leave the scene in her van but drives off-road and crashes to avoid hitting Sidney. Meanwhile, Dewey is stabbed in the back while investigating in the house. Sidney takes Dewey's gun. Stu and Randy appear and accuse each other of being the killer. Sidney retreats into the house, where she finds Billy, wounded but still alive. She gives Billy the gun; he lets Randy into the house and then shoots him. Billy has feigned his injuries and is actually the killer; Stu is his accomplice.

Billy and Stu discuss their plan to kill Sidney and frame her father—whom they have taken hostage—for their murder spree. The pair admit to being the killers of her mother, Maureen. Billy says he was motivated to seek revenge on Maureen because of an affair she was having with Billy's father, Hank, which drove his mother away. Gale, thought dead by the killers, intervenes. Sidney takes advantage of this to turn the tables on her attackers, killing Stu. Randy is revealed to be wounded but alive. Billy attacks Sidney but she shoots him through the head, killing him. As the sun rises and police arrive, a badly injured Dewey is taken away by ambulance and Gale makes an impromptu news report about the night's events.

(courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scream_(film))

The Criticism:

courtesy of: http://daveandhiscriticisms.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/scream.jpg

"Scream" follows a group of teens as they rally to uncover the killer behind the mask responsible for a string of murders in their town. "Scream" was declared revolutionary for its time by introducing a cast of characters that were self-aware and had sufficient knowledge about horror movies. Their knowledge, in the film, helps them determine the next move the killer might make, and this quickly turns a stereotypical slasher flick into a clever whodunit with thinking characters and a smart plot line. The movie was considered a major turning point in the horror genre for having big names and smart personalities. It broke free from the conventions and decided to make an entirely original product still grounded on the concept of slasher films and movie trivia. Generations of horror fans will always treat "Scream" as a game-changer, proof that a horror movie can be scary, gory, fun and intriguing, all at the same time.

LOGOCENTRISM - Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Hush

The Theory:

Logocentrism is a term coined by the German philosopher Ludwig Klages in the 1920s. It refers to the tradition of "Western" science and philosophy that situates the logos, ‘the word’ or the ‘act of speech’, as epistemologically superior in a system, or structure, in which we may only know, or be present in, the world by way of a logocentric metaphysics. For this structure to hold true it must be assumed that there is an original, irreducible object to which the logos is representative, and therefore, that our presence in the world is necessarily mediated. If there is a Platonic Ideal Form then there must be an ideal representation of such a form. This ideal representation is according to logocentrist thought, the logos.

(courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logocentrism)



The Story:

courtesy of: http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090118185150/buffy/images/5/51/410_Hush.jpg

During a college lecture where Dr. Walsh is discussing the difference between language and communication, Buffy has a dream in which Riley kisses her. They are interrupted by a young girl holding a distinctive box, singing a cryptic rhyme about "The Gentlemen". Riley and Buffy speak after class and they almost kiss, but are unable to stop talking. They leave when it becomes awkward. Buffy calls Giles to tell him of her dream and the details of the little girl's rhyme.
At Giles' apartment Xander and Anya argue, as Anya is trying to get Xander to tell her what she means to him. He is unable to answer her. Willow attends a meeting of the campus Wicca group, hoping to meet others who share her interest in studying witchcraft, but is disappointed when they only talk about bake sales. Willow raises the subject of spells but is chastised for pandering to the stereotype about witches performing magic. A shy woman in the group named Tara Maclay (Amber Benson) starts to speak up to support Willow's suggestion, but falls silent when the attention turns to her.
That night, as Sunnydale sleeps, white wisps float from each person's mouth to a belfry, where they settle in the box from Buffy's dream as ghoulish skeletal figures with metallic-toothed grimaces and impeccable black suits look on. In the morning, Buffy and Willow discover they are unable to speak and become visibly distressed; they soon discover that everybody is unable to speak. The group gathers at Giles' where they see that the news is reporting that Sunnydale is suffering from an epidemic of laryngitis. Buffy and Riley, each concerned that chaos will ensue, find each other attempting to keep order on the streets. They exchange a look and then have their first kiss before parting to continue their efforts.
The next night, the ghouls leave the belfry and float into town accompanied by their straitjacketed, deformed minions. They knock on the door of a student. When he opens it, aroused from sleeping, they hold him down and carve out his heart while he tries in vain to scream. At Giles' apartment his visiting girlfriend, Olivia, is frightened by one of The Gentlemen outside Giles' window. The following morning in a campus classroom, Giles uses a series of overhead transparencies to explain to the others that The Gentlemen steal the townspeople's voices so no one can scream as they gather the hearts they need, and that folklore indicates that they have been vanquished before when a princess screamed—the only thing that will kill them is a live human voice.
That evening, Anya falls asleep on Giles' sofa while Spike takes a mugful of blood from the refrigerator. Xander enters Giles' apartment as Spike, his mouth wet with blood, bends down to pick up something that he dropped in front of the sofa where Anya sleeps. Inferring that Spike bit and drank from Anya, Xander pummels him ferociously until Anya wakes and stops him; excited that he fought to defend her, Anya gestures that they go home for sex.
On her own Tara finds a spell to help the town get its voices back, and goes out to show it to Willow. On the way to Willow's dorm she trips, turns around and sees The Gentlemen floating toward her. In Willow's dorm she frantically knocks on doors which no one will open; The Gentlemen steadily pursue her. Willow hears Tara's panicked knocking down the hall and exits her room as Tara sprints into her, sending them both tumbling. They lock themselves into a laundry room and try to barricade the door with a vending machine, but it is too heavy for them to move. Willow, injured, sits and concentrates on moving the machine with telekinesis; she fails, but Tara sees what she is doing. They clasp hands and the machine moves swiftly across the room, blocking the door.
On patrol, Riley notices shadows in the belfry and goes to investigate. Buffy finds two of The Gentlemen's minions, kills one and runs after the other. Riley fights his way into the belfry and while he's embattled, Buffy crashes through a window, fighting. He turns to attack and finds himself face to face with Buffy. She fights while he stares, unmoving. When a minion pins her down she sees and recognizes the box from her dream and gesticulates wildly for Riley to destroy it. When he does so, the stolen voices escape. Buffy screams until the heads of The Gentlemen and their minions explode.
The next day, Tara tells Willow she is special and has significant power. Riley comes to visit Buffy in her dorm room and they sit facing each other, saying nothing.

(courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hush_(Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer))



The Criticism:

courtesy of: http://hardinthecity.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/buffy-hush-the-gentlemen.jpg

"Hush" explores issues relating to the limits and benefits of language and communication. During the first act of the episode, the characters are presented as being overwhelmed by language that is misused, used as white noise, and employed as a means of avoiding truth. This depicts an abuse in the usage of language, and the misuse of it is contrasted with striking silence once the second act commences. The characters are shown to be very vulnerable and helpless without a solid means of communication, and throughout the episode, they are shown to attempt various ways to establish dialogue and understanding among themselves. This scenario further emphasizes the importance of language as a communication device and its indispensability in today's society.

DARWINISM - King Kong (2005)

The Theory:

Darwinian Literary Studies (aka Literary Darwinism) is a branch of literary criticism that studies literature in the context of evolution by means of natural selection, including gene-culture coevolution. It represents an emerging trend of neo-Darwinian thought in intellectual disciplines beyond those traditionally considered as evolutionary biology: evolutionary psychology, evolutionary anthropology, behavioral ecology, evolutionary developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, affective neuroscience, behavioural genetics, evolutionary epistemology, and other such disciplines.

(courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwinian_literary_studies)



The Story:

courtesy of: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6a/Kingkong_bigfinal1.jpg

In the autumn of 1932, at the height of the Great Depression in New York City, Ann Darrow has lost her job as a vaudeville actress but is hired by troubled filmmaker Carl Denham to act in his new film. Ann signs on when she learns her favorite playwright, Jack Driscoll, is the screenwriter. As their tramp steamer SS Venture sails to the mysterious Skull Island, Ann and Jack fall in love. Captain Englehorn begins to have second thoughts following the fears of his crew about Skull Island and its strange creatures that have evolved apart from the outside world. Deep in the southern seas the Venture receives a radio message from its owners informing Englehorn about an arrest warrant for Carl and instructing him to divert to Rangoon. Despite his attempt to turn around, the ship is lost in fog and runs aground on rocks encircling Skull Island.
Carl and his crew explore the island to film and are attacked by vicious natives. The sound technician and one of the sailors are killed, and Jack is knocked unconscious. Ann screams as she is captured, and a roar beyond the wall responds. The matriarch of the tribe vows to sacrifice her to "Kong", a 25 ft. (8 m) tall gorilla. Englehorn and his crew break up the attack and return to the stranded ship. They lighten their load to float off the rocks and carry out repairs to the hull, but Jack discovers Ann has been kidnapped. On the island, Ann is hung from a primitive drawbridge on the side of the wall. The crew comes armed, but is too late as Kong takes Ann into the jungle. As time passes in her captivity, Ann wins over Kong with juggling and dancing, and begins to grasp Kong's intelligence and capacity for emotion.
Englehorn organizes a rescue party led by Hayes. The rescue party is caught up in a Venatosaurus saevidicus pack's hunt of Brontosaurus baxteri, and the cameraman is killed along with three sailors. The rest of the rescue party come across a swamp where Bruce Baxter and two others leave the group. While making their way across a giant fallen log, Kong arrives and attacks the rescue party. Hayes is killed and the rest of the crew are shaken off the log into a ravine. Kong returns to Ann and rescues her from three Vastatosaurus rex, then takes her to his mountain lair. Englehorn and the rest of the crew save what is left of the rescue party from a pit of giant insects, and as Jack continues searching for Ann, Carl decides to capture Kong. Jack goes to Kong's lair, inadvertently waking him. As Kong fights a swarm of flying Terapusmordax, Ann and Jack escape by grabbing the wing of one of the bat-like rodents and then jumping into a river. They arrive at the village wall with the angry Kong following them, and Ann becomes distraught by what Carl plans to do. Kong bursts through the gate and struggles to get her back, but is knocked out by chloroform.
In New York, in the late winter of 1933, Carl presents a chained Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World on Broadway, starring Baxter and an imprisoned Kong. Ann has become an anonymous chorus girl. Camera flashes from photographers enrage the gorilla. Kong breaks free from his chrome-steel chains and chases Jack across town, where Kong encounters Ann again. Kong and Ann share a quiet moment on a frozen lake in Central Park before the army attacks. Kong climbs with Ann onto the dome of the Empire State Building, where he fights off a flight of six Curtiss Falcon fighter planes sent to attack him, downing three. Kong is hit by several bursts of gunfire, and gazes at Ann for the last time before dying and falling from the building. Ann is greeted by Jack as reporters gather around Kong's carcass. Carl takes a last look and says, "It wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast."

(courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Kong_(2005_film))



The Criticism:

courtesy of: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3b/Andy_Serkis_-_King_Kong.jpg

"King Kong" is mainly set on Skull Island, a fictitious island somewhere in the Indian Ocean. Skull Island is an island wherein the wildlife is comprised mainly of prehistoric creatures such as fierce dinosaurs, grotesque gigantic worms, and enormous insects, among many others. The setting was supposed to depict an island that was so isolated from civilization that the wildlife evolved in the 65 million years they were separated from the rest of the world. As a result, the T-rexes don't resemble their common counterparts, the insects have grown to disturbingly large sizes, the worms have developed a taste for flesh, and Kong grew over 25 feet tall. These are results of an evolutionary process that allowed them to survive their weak ancestors and adapt to their surroundings as the creatures constantly face an eat-or-be-eaten situation.

ARCHETYPAL CRITICISM - A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne

The Theory:

Archetypal literary criticism is a type of critical theory that interprets a text by focusing on recurring myths and archetypes (from the Greek archē, or beginning, and typos, or imprint) in the narrative, symbols, images, and character types in a literary work. As a form of literary criticism, it dates back to 1934 when Maud Bodkin published Archetypal Patterns in Poetry.

(courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archetypal_literary_criticism)



The Story:

courtesy of: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/A_Journey_to_the_Centre_of_the_Earth-1874.jpg

The story involves a German professor (Otto Lidenbrock in the original French, Professor Von Hardwigg in the most common English translation) who believes there are volcanic tubes going toward the centre of the Earth. He, his nephew Axel (Harry), and their guide Hans descend into an extinct Icelandic volcano, encountering many adventures, including prehistoric animals and natural hazards, before eventually coming to the surface again in southern Italy.

(courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Journey_to_the_Centre_of_the_Earth)



The Criticism:

"A Journey to the Centre of the Earth" falls under Archetypal Criticism because it observes many science-fiction archetypes. A person who believes in an assumption previously disregarded and helmed as a fallacy tries to prove its authenticity, usually with a partner or a friend, and ends up discovering the truth and embarking on an adventure to return home or survive. In this case, the adventure is spiced up by increasingly astounding discoveries and exceedingly alarming dangers that they encounter every step of the way to return to the surface.

MORAL CRITICISM: Losing Isaiah by Seth Margolis

The Theory:

Literary critics who use the school of Moral Criticism (known in contemporary critical circles as Christian Humanism) as their "lens" from which to view and examine the worthiness or quality of literature do the following:

1. Judge the value of the literature on its moral lesson or ethical teaching

A. Literature that that is ethically sound and encourages virtue is praised
B. Literature that misguides and/or corrupts is condemned

2. Works that are moral (or literature that attempts to teach and instruct as well as entertain) are often seen in contemporary criticism as didactic. 

3. Plato argues that literature (and art) is capable of corrupting or influencing people to act or behave in various ways. Sometimes these themes, subject matter, or the actions of literary characters undermine religion or ethics, he warns. Aristotle and Horace both believed that literature can instruct as well as corrupt. So care must be taken when writing or reading. This idea is picked up later by Samuel Johnson and Matthew Arnold who see literature as a good way to teach morality and probe philosophical ideas. The underlying principle then is whether or not the text can be seen as A) moral, and B) practical or useful.

(courtesy of: http://aplitsota.blogspot.com/2010/11/moral-criticism.html)



The Story:

courtesy of: http://www.tcit.com.au/parkleabooks/2628.JPG

Margaret Lewin loves her adoptive son, Isaiah, even more passionately than she does her natural daughter, Hannah, probably because of the unique, magical way Isaiah joined the family. A volunteer baby-holder in a Manhattan hospital, whose job was to lavish physical affection on abandoned, drug-addicted infants, Margaret fell in love with tiny Isaiah's determination to get what he needed--first through unceasing screaming, and now, at nearly three, through tantrums that could cause Attila the Hun to cower. Leaving Isaiah to the care of a children's center and an au pair while she pursues her career as a photographer's representative (and her husband, Charles, pursues a leggy female employee at his own graphic-arts company), Margaret alternately worries over possible lingering aftereffects from Isaiah's prenatal drug addiction and swoons in relief at having rescued the little boy from life with a crack-addicted, illiterate, utterly negligent mother. Little does Margaret know that over the past two years Isaiah's mother, Selma Richards, has found religion, weaned herself from drugs, and obtained a job as a nanny on the Upper East Side in the fierce hope of reclaiming her lost son. When Selma files suit for custody, the lives of all concerned begin to crumble in the cruel light of media coverage, while the best interests of Isaiah himself are nearly forgotten in the clash of emotions.

(courtesy of: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/seth-margolis/losing-isaiah/)



The Criticism:

"Losing Isaiah" centers on two women who are both fighting for the custody over a child named Isaiah. One mother can raise him up but is hesitant, while the other wants to raise him up but can't. The women have their personal issues but are both willing to raise Isaiah as their own son, but it is their fight over him that's causing damage.
The novel pays attention to a dilemma no parent wants to face: the fear of losing your child. The novel has a very strong resounding message of acceptance and change. It is not all time that things will go your way; sometimes, it is you yourself who has to get in the way of things.