Slam (2003)

Fish People

A group of guys face the problems of daily life in a shared house

SPF-18

18-year-old Penny Cooper spent years pining for Johnny Sanders Jr., but when a mysterious musician shows up on the beach, Penny is torn.

Level 16

The teenage girls of Vestalis Academy are meticulously trained in the art of being “clean girls,” practicing the virtues of perfect femininity. But what exactly are they being trained for? Vivien intends to find out.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Swordsmith Village-

A recap of Kimetsu no Yaiba episodes 43–45, with new footage and special end credits. Together with his comrades, Zenitsu and Inosuke, along with one of the top-ranking members of the Demon Slayer Corps, Tengen Uzui, Tanjiro embarks on a mission within the Entertainment District, where they encounter the formidable, high-ranking demons, Daki and Gyutaro.

Gasping for Air

When his sister disappears after leaving their home in hopes of singing stardom, Luis tracks her down and discovers the grim reality of her whereabouts.

Star

The Driver now carries an arrogant rock star who is visiting a major city. Played by Madonna, this title character wants to get away from her bodyguards in the Driver's BMW. He soon gets tired of her and decides to have a bit of fun.

Ever After High: Dragon Games

Dragons return to Ever After High, and so does the Evil Queen. When the most epic competition and evil scheme starts at Ever After High, Raven and Apple must let go of their story conflict and save their beloved school together.

Double Lover

Chloé, a fragile young woman, falls in love with her psychoanalyst, Paul. A few months later she moves in with him, but soon discovers that her lover is concealing a part of his identity.

The Man Who Invented Christmas

In 1843, despite the fact that Dickens is a successful writer, the failure of his latest book puts his career at a crossroads, until the moment when, struggling with inspiration and confronting reality with his childhood memories, a new character is born in the depths of his troubled mind; an old, lonely, embittered man, so vivid, so human, that a whole world grows around him, a story so inspiring that changed the meaning of Christmas forever.

Unfriended: Dark Web

​When a 20-something finds a cache of hidden files on his new laptop, he and his friends are unwittingly thrust into the depths of the dark web. They soon discover someone has been watching their every move and will go to unimaginable lengths to protect the dark web.

The Hitman's Bodyguard

The world’s top bodyguard gets a new client, a hitman who must testify at the International Court of Justice. They must put their differences aside and work together to make it to the trial on time.

Six Weeks to Twelve Years

After the death of their abusive father, two estranged twin brothers must reunite and sell off his property.

The Hard Hit

An Interpol agent hunting the head of a global crime syndicate tracks his target to Las Vegas, but when the criminal organization kills his wife and daughter, he goes above the law to get his revenge.

Friendship

Suburban dad Craig falls hard for his charismatic new neighbor Austin, as Craig’s attempts to make an adult male friend threaten to ruin both of their lives.

Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler

Cooler has resurrected himself as a robot and is enslaving the people of New Namek. Goku and the gang must help.

The Standoff at Sparrow Creek

After a mass shooting at a police funeral, reclusive ex-cop Gannon finds himself unwittingly forced out of retirement when he realizes that the killer belongs to the same militia he joined after quitting the force. Understanding that the shooting could set off a chain reaction of copycat violence across the country, Gannon quarantines his fellow militiamen in the remote lumber mill they call their headquarters. There, he sets about a series of grueling interrogations, intent on ferreting out the killer and turning him over to the authorities to prevent further bloodshed.

Dar-Dar

In the mountains of the Basque Country, a mother and her daughter take shelter in a ruined hut that seems uninhabited.

The Radleys

A seemingly ordinary family harbors a dark secret: they are vampires. They choose not to drink blood despite their natural cravings, but one day, their truth comes to light.

Moscow Mission

Tough Chinese detectives go on a mission to Moscow to hunt down ruthless robbers who have been plaguing the trans-Siberian railway with violence and chaos.

Ziam

In a fight for survival against a horrifying army of zombies, a former Muay Thai fighter must use skill, speed and grit to save his girlfriend.

A Working Man

Levon Cade left behind a decorated military career in the black ops to live a simple life working construction. But when his boss's daughter, who is like family to him, is taken by human traffickers, his search to bring her home uncovers a world of corruption far greater than he ever could have imagined.

Recep Ivedik 4

Recep Ivedik coaches the children football team in his neighborhood. For the training he uses the only free piece of land as football field on which he used to play football as a child. Recep notices sadly that this piece of land was sold to a businessman. So as not to loose this for the neighborhood and the children valuable piece of land he decides to re-buy it on his own. With his own methods he does not receive the money. The participation in a competition with a big price is the only solution of his problem ...

A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge

Jesse Walsh moves with his family into the home of the lone survivor from a series of attacks by dream-stalking monster, Freddy Krueger. There, he is bedeviled by nightmares and inexplicably violent impulses.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Four teenagers in detention discover an old video game console with a game they’ve never heard of. When they decide to play, they are immediately sucked into the jungle world of Jumanji in the bodies of their avatars. They’ll have to complete the adventure of their lives filled with fun, thrills and danger or be stuck in the game forever!

Kong: Skull Island

Explore the mysterious and dangerous home of the king of the apes as a team of explorers ventures deep inside the treacherous, primordial island.

Just a Breath Away

When a deadly mist engulfs Paris, people find refuge in the upper floors of the buildings. With no information, no electricity and hardly any supplies, Mathieu, Anna and their daughter Sarah try to survive the disaster.

Eating Out: Drama Camp

Zack and Casey's relationship is in a slump, but things are about to change at Dick Dickey's Drama Camp. Zack meets gorgeous Benji, and when they get cast as lovers in a sexed-up version of The Taming of the Shrew, their self-restraint is put to the test. Will Zack and Casey's relationship last with Benji in the picture?

Thunderbolts*

After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap, seven disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.

The Devil's Doorway

In the autumn of 1960, Father Thomas Riley and Father John Thornton were sent by the Vatican to investigate a miraculous event in an Irish home for 'fallen women', only to uncover something much more horrific.

Counterattack

When a hostage rescue mission creates a new enemy, Capt. Guerrero and his elite soldiers must face an ambush by a criminal group.

D@bbe 6: The Return

A cardiologist tries to pinpoint the cause of her mother's sudden death, while her sister, a witness, claims malevolent demons are at play.

Survival Family

A world wide electrical outage occurs. Everything that requires electricity comes to a stop. Tokyo is nearly ruined. Yoshiyuki Suzuki decides to escape from Tokyo with his family.

Panda

Two teenagers are playing by night in a dirty parking lot. After they are driving on an empty road, they start to tease each other on the way to the sea, but they seem to be too young to drive and the road is a bit strange.

Return

Back from a tour of duty, Kelli struggles to find her place in her family and the rust-belt town she no longer recognizes.

Firebase

Set during the Vietnam war, Firebase follows American soldier Hines through an ever-deepening web of science fiction madness.

Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Two young men, Martin and Rudi, both suffering from terminal cancer, get to know each other in a hospital room. They drown their desperation in tequila and decide to take one last trip to the sea. Drunk and still in pajamas they steal the first fancy car they find, a 60's Mercedes convertible. The car happens to belong to a bunch of gangsters, which immediately start to chase it, since it contains more than the pistol Martin finds in the glove box.

Maybe... Maybe Not

The heterosexual man Axel is thrown out of his girlfriends home for cheating and ends up moving in with a gay man. Axel learns the advantages of living with gay men even though they are attracted to him and when his girlfriend wants him back he must make a tough decision.

The Party

A thirteen-year-old French girl deals with moving to a new city and school in Paris, while at the same time her parents are getting a divorce.

The Party 2

A young French teenage girl after moving to a new city falls in love with a boy and is thinking of having sex with him because her girlfriends have already done it.

The Wizard

A boy and his brother run away from home and hitch cross-country, with help from a girl they meet, to compete in the ultimate video-game championship.

Berlin is in Germany

When Martin, a former GDR citizen, is released from jail, he lately becomes confronted with the consequences of the German re-unification.

Muriel's Wedding

A young social outcast in Australia steals money from her parents to finance a vacation where she hopes to find happiness, and perhaps love.

About a Boy

Will Freeman is a good-looking, smooth-talking bachelor whose primary goal in life is avoiding any kind of responsibility. But when he invents an imaginary son in order to meet attractive single moms, Will gets a hilarious lesson about life from a bright, but hopelessly geeky 12-year-old named Marcus. Now, as Will struggles to teach Marcus the art of being cool, Marcus teaches Will that you're never too old to grow up.

Antoine and Colette

Now aged 17, Antoine Doinel works in a factory which makes records. At a music concert, he meets a girl his own age, Colette, and falls in love with her. Later, Antoine goes to extraordinary lengths to please his new girlfriend and her parents, but Colette still only regards him as a casual friend. First segment of “Love at Twenty” (1962).

Transamerica

A transgender woman takes an unexpected journey when she learns that she had a son, now a teenage runaway hustling on the streets of New York.

The Cuckoo

September of 1944, a few days before Finland went out of the Second World War. A chained to a rock Finnish sniper-kamikadze Veikko managed to set himself free. Ivan, a captain of the Soviet Army, arrested by the Front Secret Police 'Smersh', has a narrow escape. They are soldiers of the two enemy armies. A Lapp woman Anni gives a shelter to both of them at her farm. For Anni they are not enemies, but just men.

Baby Love

Bobby, Benji, and Huey are back and Benji is smitten with Bobby's little sister, who has blossomed into a beautiful young woman. The two start dating in secret, but are soon discovered by Bobby, who wrongly assumes that Benji has taken advantage of his sister. A sad series of events proves Bobby wrong and he reaches Benji just in time as he sits at the top of a cliff. More sexual misadventures set against an amazing 50's soundtrack.

Up Your Anchor

It's hi-jinks on the high seas when Benji, Bobby and Huey set sail on the cruise of a lifetime. While his friends walk the plank of mischievous mayhem, it is Benji who goes overboard for the Captain's daughter.

The Wedding Waltz

Viltteri, a balding guy in his thirties living in rural northern Finland, is hopelessly clueless about his new role as a married man and the father of a newborn son. A perfect escape from family responsibilities is having to get his old Hillman Minx repaired and inspected for road-worthiness, with a little help from an eccentric bunch of friends who never seem to have grown up either.

Kummeli Kultakuume

Psychiatric patient Elmeri knows about the existence of a gold treasure in Finnish Lapland, hidden there by his late father who somehow managed to capture it from withdrawing German troops on the last days of WW2. His openly gay nurse helps him escape from the mental institution, and the two men slowly find their way up north to reach the gold. On their way, the odd couple meets a cavalcade of even odder characters.

XIIa

The movie XIIa is the sequel of the super successful XIa. In XIIa the journey continues. After two years break, Lina is back to school to teach a new class - a new class, new problems. At home, the situation is also not better. Lina is separated with her cheating husband and her dominating mother is constantly bullying her, Lina's son is maltreated by classmates - at times the tension reaches extreme limits and Lina is about to collapse. Fortunately, she finds support in the sports teacher, a former boxer. The school director is also on her side, so are some of the students. Though the problems with the new class, especially with the beautiful and difficult Megan and between Lina and one of her colleague teachers deepen more and more. The prom is getting closer, the situation is about to escalate

Tokyo Friends: The Movie

Rei Iwatsuki moved from her hometown Kōchi to Tokyo to pursue her dreams. On arrival, she found a job as a waitress in a restaurant and met guitarist Ryuuji Shintani. Ryuuji liked her voice and invited her to join his band as the vocalist, The Survival Company (also known as Sabakan). The two started a relationship but then broke off when Rei wanted to write her own songs. Rei met other girls also working in the restaurant, Hirono, Ryoko and Maki, all in pursuit of their own dreams, and became good friends with all of them. One day, Rei receives news that Takashi was seen in New York and she decides to go look for him...

Our Shining Days

A youth inspirational film, about how a group of high school students try to revive Chinese orchestra ensemble. They face many challenges along the way to compete nationally, including a rivalry with the more popular Western orchestra club.

Road to Morocco

Two carefree castaways on a desert shore find an Arabian Nights city, where they compete for the luscious Princess Shalmar.

Road to Zanzibar

Stranded in Africa, Chuck and his pal Fearless have comic versions of jungle adventures, featuring two attractive con-women.

How to Apply for a Sexual Position

Reverse Cowgirl. Rusty Trombone. The Wheelbarrow. Go inside the government office responsible for creating sexual positions as one woman pitches the position she hopes will take the world by storm.

Reuben, Reuben

A drunken Scottish poet who has not written a word in years feels compelled to regain control of his life and work after meeting a beautiful young woman.

Not Cool

Former prom king Scott returns home for Thanksgiving break and gets dumped by his long-term girlfriend. With his world turned upside down, Scott strikes an unlikely friendship with former classmate Tori, an ugly duckling who blossomed in her first semester of college, and they embark on an outrageous adventure through their hometown. But when Scott and Tori start falling in love, they realize that a few months away may have changed them more than they realized.

Construction

Vin, Bobby, and Ray, are three blue collar guys, that can't seem to get things to line up in their lives. They had so many dreams when they were 18, but then life seemed to catch up with them, and now they feel stuck in every way. This is a story about men, and the women who make them better.

Roman Scandals '73

The young Chiarina di Vallefiorita is forced by her father to marry an old, fat, rich man. With the help ot the monk of a nearby convent, she will escape her fate.

Going the Distance

Erin and Garrett are very much in love. When Erin moves to San Francisco to finish her journalism degree and Garrett stays behind in New York to work in the music industry, they gamely keep the romance alive with webcams and frequent-flyer miles. But just when it seems the lovers will soon be reunited, they each score a big break that could separate them for good.

Just Wright

Physical therapist Leslie Wright lands the dream job of working with basketball superstar Scott McKnight, helping him recover from a career-threatening injury. All goes well and soon Leslie finds herself falling in love with him. Just as their friendship deepens, however, Scott focuses his attention back on his tenuous relationship with his ex-fiancé Morgan, Leslie's gorgeous godsister, who would love to be the basketball player's trophy wife.

The Time of Their Lives

Determined to gatecrash her ex-lover's funeral on glamorous French hideaway Île de Ré, former Hollywood siren Helen escapes her London retirement home with help of repressed English housewife Priscilla and they hit the road together in a race to get to the funeral on time.

The Flintstones

Modern Stone Age family the Flintstones hit the big screen in this live-action version of the classic cartoon. Fred helps Barney adopt a child. Barney sees an opportunity to repay him when Slate Mining tests its employees to find a new executive. But no good deed goes unpunished.

Cars

Lightning McQueen, a hotshot rookie race car driven to succeed, discovers that life is about the journey, not the finish line, when he finds himself unexpectedly detoured in the sleepy Route 66 town of Radiator Springs. On route across the country to the big Piston Cup Championship in California to compete against two seasoned pros, McQueen gets to know the town's offbeat characters.

Madagascar

Four animal friends get a taste of the wild life when they break out of captivity at the Central Park Zoo and wash ashore on the island of Madagascar.

The Philadelphia Story

When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.

The Front Page

A journalist suffering from burn-out wants to finally say goodbye to his office – but his boss doesn’t like the idea one bit.

St. Elmo's Fire

Reluctant to let go of college life, a close-knit team of seven friends--irresponsible saxophone player Billy, young Republican Alec, his girlfriend Leslie, struggling journalist Kevin, drama queen Jules, lovesick waiter Kirby, and Wendy, a social worker with a heart of gold--realise the party is over. And as the burdens of maturity close in on the young dreamers, the complexities of adulthood and the daily struggle of growing up put their sacred friendship to the test. But everyone knows life is not a bed of roses. It won't be easy, but when all is said and done, what will it take for St. Elmo's clique to find its place in the real world?

Silver Streak

A somewhat daffy book editor on a rail trip from Los Angeles to Chicago thinks that he sees a murdered man thrown from the train. When he can find no one who will believe him, he starts doing some investigating of his own. But all that accomplishes is to get the killer after him.

Sleeper

Miles Monroe, a clarinet-playing health food store proprietor, is revived out of cryostasis 200 years into a future world in order to help rebels fight an oppressive government regime.

Show Me Love

Two teenage girls in small-town Sweden. Elin is beautiful, popular, and bored with life. Agnes is friendless, sad, and secretly in love with Elin.

Are We There Yet?

The fledgling romance between Nick, a playboy bachelor, and Suzanne, a divorced mother of two, is threatened by a particularly harrowing New Years Eve. When Suzanne's work keeps her in Vancouver for the holiday, Nick offers to bring her kids to the city from Portland, Oregon. The kids, who have never liked any of the men their mom dates, are determined to turn the trip into a nightmare for Nick.

The Garbage Pail Kids Movie

Seven disgusting kids but nevertheless of interesting personality are being made of the green mud coming out of garbage can. Once alive their master gives them rules to obey although they think that life is funnier without following stupid regulations like no television or no candy. Naturally this will cause some conflicts.

The Hot Chick

Not only is Jessica Spencer the most popular girl in school -- she is also the meanest. But things change for the attractive teen when a freak accident involving a cursed pair of earrings and a chance encounter at a gas station causes her to switch bodies with Clive, a sleazy crook. Jessica, in the form of the repulsive Clive, struggles to adjust to this radical alteration and sets out to get her own body back before the upcoming prom.

Orange County

Shaun Brumder is a local surfer kid from Orange County who dreams of going to Stanford to become a writer and to get away from his dysfunctional family household. Except Shaun runs into one complication after another, starting when his application is rejected after his dim-witted guidance counselor sends in the wrong form.

Big Fat Liar

After one of his class papers is stolen and turned into a movie, a young student and his best friend exact a hilarious, slapstick revenge on the Hollywood hot shot who has taken credit!

Ice Princess

With the help of her coach, her mom, and the boy who drives the Zamboni, nothing can stop Casey Carlyle from realizing her dream to be a champion figure skater.

I'm Starting from Three

Gaetano, a young Neapolitan, decides to leave home, work and friends, to look for other moments of life and meet other people.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Raised a boy in East Berlin, Hedwig undergoes a personal transformation in order to emigrate to the U.S., where she reinvents herself as an 'internationally ignored' but divinely talented rock diva, inhabiting a 'beautiful gender of one'.

The Wash

With the rent due and his car booted, Sean has to come up with some ends...and fast. When his best buddy and roommate Dee Loc, suggests that Sean get a job busting suds down at the local car wash.

Kronk's New Groove

Kronk, now chef and Head Delivery Boy of Mudka's Meat Hut, is fretting over the upcoming visit of his father. Kronk's father always disapproved of young Kronk's culinary interests and wished that Kronk instead would settle down with a wife and a large house on a hill.

Roger Dodger

A smooth-talking ad executive attributes his remarkable success with women to his ability to manipulate their emotions from the moment he first meets them. When his teenage nephew drops in for a visit, he soon learns that his approach isn't as foolproof as he thought when he attempts to teach the boy how to pick up women.

College Road Trip

When an overachieving high school student decides to travel around the country to choose the perfect college, her overprotective cop father also decides to accompany her in order to keep her on the straight and narrow.

Sex Drive

A high school senior drives cross-country with his best friends to hook up with a babe he met online.

Fanboys

In 1999, Star Wars fanatics take a cross-country trip to George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch so their dying friend can see a screening of The Phantom Menace before its release.

The Doom Generation

Jordan White and Amy Blue, two troubled teens, pick up an adolescent drifter, Xavier Red. Together, the threesome embarks on a sex- and violence-filled journey through a United States of psychos and quickie marts.

My Best Friend's Girl

Lovestruck Dustin is dating Alexis, his ideal girlfriend, but when she dumps him for coming on too strong, Dustin takes drastic measures to win her back. He asks his best friend Tank to take her on the worst rebound date imaginable - his side job - so that she will come running back to him, and Tank reluctantly agrees. However, Alexis is more than a match for Tank's shock tactics and he begins to really fall for her, leaving him torn between loyalty to Dustin and his growing attraction toward Alexis.

Sonic the Hedgehog

Powered with incredible speed, Sonic The Hedgehog embraces his new home on Earth. That is, until Sonic sparks the attention of super-uncool evil genius Dr. Robotnik. Now it’s super-villain vs. super-sonic in an all-out race across the globe to stop Robotnik from using Sonic’s unique power for world domination.

The Long Dumb Road

Two guys serendipitously meet at a time when they both find themselves at personal crossroads and decide to embark on an unplanned road trip across the American Southwest.

Suspension Points

André is a young doctor who, after spending a year working in Africa, discovers that he has been exchanging letters not with his long-time girlfriend, but with someone very close to her.

The Lucky Ones

The story revolves around three soldiers — Colee, T.K. and Cheaver — who return from the Iraq War after suffering injuries and learn that life has moved on without them. They end up on an unexpected road trip across the U.S.

Meet the Robinsons

Lewis, a brilliant young inventor, is keen on creating a time machine to find his mother, who abandoned him in an orphanage. Things take a turn when he meets Wilbur Robinson and his family.

Mr. Bean's Holiday

Mr. Bean wins a trip to Cannes where he unwittingly separates a young boy from his father and must help the two reunite. On the way he discovers France, bicycling and true love, among other things.

TMNT

After the defeat of their old arch nemesis, The Shredder, the Turtles have grown apart as a family. Struggling to keep them together, their rat sensei, Splinter, becomes worried when strange things begin to brew in New York City.

Shortbus

In post-9/11 New York City, an eclectic group of citizens find their lives entangled, personally, romantically, and sexually, at Shortbus, an underground Brooklyn salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality.

Lights in the Dusk

Outcast by his co-workers and living alone, Koistinen is a security guard who works the night shift in a luxury shopping mall in Helsinki. But when icy blonde Mirja approaches him, the lonely Koistinen falls helplessly for her, unaware she is manipulating him for her criminal boyfriend.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr. Gonzo drive a red convertible across the Mojave desert to Las Vegas with a suitcase full of drugs to cover a motorcycle race. As their consumption of drugs increases at an alarming rate, the stoned duo trash their hotel room and fear legal repercussions. Duke begins to drive back to L.A., but after an odd run-in with a cop, he returns to Sin City and continues his wild drug binge.

SommerHundeSöhne

Summer is the time to travel, enjoy life, and do or leave what you want. A motor home with two occupants makes its way south. But the two travelers do not travel voluntarily, and certainly not together.

Reclaim Your Brain

Frustrated, because he is forced to produce bad TV-shows, a manager of a TV-station, enters the station and manipulates the ratings, to initiate a TV-revolution.

The Man Who Loved UFOs

In the late 1980s, journalist José de Zer seeks proof of alien life in Argentina — even if he has to fake evidence — causing a surreal media circus.

Hi, Are You Alone?

Nina is a 20 years old girl from Valladolid who lives with her divorced father, an autoritarian and conservative man. Trini is of the same age and has lost her mother. For both Valladolid and their families have nothing to offer and therefore they go on a risky voyage to the Costa del Sol at the south of Spain.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

An irritable marketing executive, Neal Page, is heading home to Chicago for Thanksgiving when a number of delays force him to travel with a well meaning but overbearing shower curtain ring salesman, Del Griffith.

Heathers

A girl who halfheartedly tries to be part of the "in crowd" of her school meets a rebel who teaches her a more devious way to play social politics: by killing the popular kids.

Pleasantville

Geeky teenager David and his popular twin sister, Jennifer, get sucked into the black-and-white world of a 1950s TV sitcom called "Pleasantville," and find a world where everything is peachy keen all the time. But when Jennifer's modern attitude disrupts Pleasantville's peaceful but boring routine, she literally brings color into its life.

Le Divorce

While visiting her sister in Paris, a young woman finds romance and learns her brother-in-law is a philanderer.

The Ferpect Crime

A playboy has the tables turned on him when he finds himself being used as a plaything by an undesirable woman.

Ants in the Pants 2

In the sequel of "Ants in the Pants" we again meet Flo and his friends.

Convoy

Trucker Rubber Duck and his buddies Pig Pen, Widow Woman and Spider Mike use their CB radios to warn one another of the presence of cops. But conniving Sheriff Wallace is hip to the truckers' tactics, and begins tricking the drivers through his own CB broadcasts. Facing constant harassment from the law, Rubber Duck and his pals use their radios to coordinate a vast convoy and rule the road.

The Bonfire of the Vanities

After his mistress runs over a black teen, a Wall Street hotshot sees his life unravel in the spotlight; A down-and-out reporter breaks the story and opportunists clamber to use it to their advantage.