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B-
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Freakier Friday
(2025)
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Matthew Huff
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The fact that it manages to deliver a few genuinely funny moments, a heartfelt ending and a dazzling performance from Lohan is more than enough to satisfy audiences. Will this become a classic? No. But is it a good use of an August afternoon? Certainly.
Posted Aug 10, 2025
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B+
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Thunderbolts*
(2025)
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Matthew Huff
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Thunderbolts* succeeds because for the first time since Black Panther, it is an MCU movie with something to say. In a world of screens and politics where isolation is growing stronger, a superhero movie focusing on mental health is a welcome revelation.
Posted Aug 10, 2025
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C-
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Disney's Snow White
(2025)
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Matthew Huff
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Snow White isn’t necessarily a bad movie, but it is certainly a boring, purposeless one. Was there any reason for Disney to make this aside from money? No, and that’s painfully clear from start to finish.
Posted Aug 10, 2025
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D
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Captain America: Brave New World
(2025)
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Matthew Huff
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'Captain America: Brave New World' is Marvel fatigue personified. It is a bland mess, dragged down by TV show tie-ins, humiliating visual effects and a baffling script written by nine people.
Posted Feb 16, 2025
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A
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Wicked
(2024)
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Matthew Huff
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Following in a long line of legendary adaptations, the Wicked film is sure to remain popular long after it has left theaters. If on your ride home you're asking yourself "what is this feeling?" The answer is: it's history being made.
Posted Jan 02, 2025
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B-
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Gladiator II
(2024)
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Matthew Huff
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Overall, Gladiator II is a fun ride and worth watching. Sure the action sequences jump the shark, but perhaps the film should have done even more shark-jumping. I just wouldn't recommend rewatching Gladiator in the leadup.
Posted Jan 02, 2025
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C
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Saturday Night
(2024)
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Matthew Huff
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'Saturday Night' Is a Captivating, Easter Egg-Laden Roller Coaster That's Ultimately Plotless and Pointless
Posted Jan 02, 2025
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C-
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Joker: Folie à Deux
(2024)
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Matthew Huff
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It's boring, it's bizarre and it doesn't have enough Lady Gaga. It's not for comic book lovers, it's not for Little Monsters and it's not for fans of Joker. Honestly, it's just plain weird.
Posted Oct 04, 2024
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A
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Twisters
(2024)
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Matthew Huff
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Twisters is better than Twister and better than most other movies that have hit theaters this summer. If I could prognosticate on the trajectories of films, I'd blow a dandelion into the air, slowly turn, and shout, "We've got an EF5 hit coming our way!"
Posted Aug 15, 2024
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B
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Inside Out 2
(2024)
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Matthew Huff
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While Inside Out 2 might lack the emotional gut punch of some of Pixar's previous entries, it's short, sweet and competently crafted. While it might not be Pixar's best, it's also not their worst, and that's a much needed win for the studio.
Posted Aug 15, 2024
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B-
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The Fall Guy
(2024)
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Matthew Huff
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'The Fall Guy' Is a Cute Rom-Com Buried in a Convoluted Action Movie.
Posted Aug 15, 2024
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A+
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Challengers
(2024)
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Matthew Huff
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Challengers is a layered masterclass in screenwriting elevated at each turn by the many craftspeople who contribute to a feature. I could end this review by saying its "an ace," but there are already too many tennis puns floating around the internet.
Posted Aug 15, 2024
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A
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Dune: Part Two
(2024)
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Matthew Huff
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Dune: Part Two is a masterpiece that surpasses the high expectations set by Part One, a movie so good, it will make you forget the horror of its popcorn bucket.
Posted Aug 15, 2024
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B
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Mean Girls
(2024)
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Matthew Huff
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Mean Girls is a mostly fun musical that desperately needs to shed its fat plotline.
Posted Aug 15, 2024
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A
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The Color Purple
(2023)
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Matthew Huff
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The Color Purple is a complete and total success from start to finish, and manages to take what was already a classic story and make it better. And while praise should be lavished on everyone, there should be a little bit extra for Taraji.
Posted Dec 28, 2023
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D
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Wonka
(2023)
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Matthew Huff
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The snoozy prequel to 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' drags viewers on a factory tour devoid of vocal talent, interesting characters and pure imagination.
Posted Dec 15, 2023
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B-
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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
(2023)
|
Matthew Huff
|
At nearly three-hours long, the movie gives you too much of some things and not nearly enough of others. Still, for all its flaws, at least critics can't say, "It didn't follow the book."
Posted Nov 17, 2023
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A-
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The Marvels
(2023)
|
Matthew Huff
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'The Marvels' Is the MCU's best movie in years. The film excels by separating itself from MCU lore, shortening the runtime and leaning on humor and heart.
Posted Nov 10, 2023
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A-
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Killers of the Flower Moon
(2023)
|
Matthew Huff
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A well-crafted legacy to its creators and a monument to the Osage people and their resilience.
Posted Oct 24, 2023
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B-
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Next Goal Wins
(2023)
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Matthew Huff
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Next Goal Wins does, however, serve as a reminder to filmmakers out there. Just because you enjoy watching a film, doesn't mean you need to remake it.
Posted Sep 16, 2023
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|
C
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A Haunting in Venice
(2023)
|
Matthew Huff
|
Agatha Christie's famed detective has now solved three cases under the Shakespearean actor's direction, but the latest, starring Tina Fey and Michelle Yeoh, still suffers from rigor mortis.
Posted Sep 16, 2023
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C-
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Strays
(2023)
|
Matthew Huff
|
There are a few golden (buttery) scraps strewn around like discarded pizza crusts. You'll just have to paw through some garbage to find them.
Posted Aug 17, 2023
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4/5
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John Wick: Chapter 4
(2023)
|
Samuel R. Murrian
|
The most emotional Wick film is to be commended for nailing a tone that has gravity without losing sight of the fact that this has all been for fun.
Posted Mar 24, 2023
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4/5
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Scream VI
(2023)
|
Samuel R. Murrian
|
[The Core Four] are the heart and lungs of a surprisingly tender slasher franchise that just won't quit.
Posted Mar 10, 2023
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5/5
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Avatar: The Way of Water
(2022)
|
Samuel R. Murrian
|
A pandemic didn't help, but the cold hard truth is that Top Gun aside, blockbusters this year have been underwhelming and anemic. The Way of Water delivers excitement audiences have been starved for, and then some.
Posted Dec 16, 2022
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3.5/5
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Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
(2022)
|
Samuel R. Murrian
|
Real-world fascism and dark fantasy melded better in more grounded Del Toro masterworks, but there's a kitchen-sink approach with themes and presentation here that will, understandably, leave some viewers cold.
Posted Dec 10, 2022
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5/5
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The Fabelmans
(2022)
|
Samuel R. Murrian
|
Deeply personal in its feelings, but also thunderously cinematic, The Fabelmans could pair with Martin Scorsese's Hugo for a double bill from heaven.
Posted Nov 26, 2022
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3.5/5
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Halloween Ends
(2022)
|
Samuel R. Murrian
|
Not all of it works, but it is satisfying. The scariness and kills are treated with a stone-faced respect they didn't get in the snarky 2018 film.
Posted Oct 15, 2022
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3/5
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Amsterdam
(2022)
|
Neil Pond
|
This mostly made-up period frolic has a kernel of harsh historical truth at the center of its merrily crowded, retro-rollicking tale of friendship, bonds that last a lifetime and places in the heart.
Posted Oct 05, 2022
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2.5/5
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The Greatest Beer Run Ever
(2022)
|
Neil Pond
|
It won't get any champagne toasts at the Oscars, but this sudsy, somewhat superficial tale goes down easy, like a foxhole quaff from one of the lukewarm ales rattling around in Chickie’s duffel bag.
Posted Sep 28, 2022
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3/5
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Pearl
(2022)
|
Neil Pond
|
A super-stylized shocker with a wild, freakishly compelling story—about how mental illness and instability can turn almost anyone into a monster.
Posted Sep 16, 2022
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2/5
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Pinocchio
(2022)
|
Neil Pond
|
A solidly fanciful fable that vibrantly, creatively dusts off the years from pop culture’s most famous puppet.
Posted Sep 08, 2022
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3/5
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See How They Run
(2022)
|
Neil Pond
|
Revels in classic murder-mystery conventions, giving them a deliciously self-aware twist, and a charming cinematic toast to the works of Agatha Christie.
Posted Sep 07, 2022
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3.5/5
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Bodies Bodies Bodies
(2022)
|
Neil Pond
|
Works the time-honored “teen terror” setup but gives it a riotously bloody twist, skewering these young, self-absorbed children of wealth and privilege.
Posted Aug 12, 2022
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4/5
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Nope
(2022)
|
Neil Pond
|
A big, big 'Yep!' for 'Nope'!
Posted Jul 20, 2022
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3/4
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Minions: The Rise of Gru
(2022)
|
Neil Pond
|
An onslaught of unbridled silliness, slapstick shenanigans and retro riffs on the '70s. And let's not forget fart bombs and butt cracks.
Posted Jun 30, 2022
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4/5
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Elvis
(2022)
|
Neil Pond
|
Luhrmann uses loads of razzle-dazzle to tell—and sell—this frenetic, whiplash, time-jumping, hyper-stylish fantasia that depicts Elvis’ career as it builds to a crescendo—then progressively consumes him.
Posted Jun 23, 2022
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3/5
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The Black Phone
(2021)
|
Neil Pond
|
This chilling dip into a horrific suburbia disturbia is a heart-pounding slice of childhood trauma drama built on a troubling foundation of hometown terrors.
Posted Jun 23, 2022
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4.5/5
|
Hustle
(2022)
|
Samuel R. Murrian
|
With a quiet determination and subtle, deeper humor than you might expect, Sandler plays maybe his most sympathetic character ever, a 180 from his (lamentably Oscar-snubbed) titanic turn as the angel of death in Uncut Gems.
Posted Jun 22, 2022
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2/5
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Jurassic World Dominion
(2022)
|
Neil Pond
|
Stuck in its own nostalgia loop, it doesn't break new ground as much as retread it. And CGI dinos just don't feel as awesome anymore.
Posted Jun 09, 2022
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5/5
|
Top Gun: Maverick
(2022)
|
Samuel R. Murrian
|
Top Gun: Maverick is the perfect American blockbuster. It plays like as much a legacy sequel to the 1986 film as to 40 years of Tom Cruise movies, with the best of what we’ve come to expect from Hollywood’s most consistent star accounted for.
Posted Jun 03, 2022
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4/5
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Top Gun: Maverick
(2022)
|
Neil Pond
|
A big, strutting, soaring, roaring, proudly pop-corny entertainment that begs to be seen on the big screen, like the blockbuster it's gonna be.
Posted May 24, 2022
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3.5/5
|
Men
(2022)
|
Neil Pond
|
The “battle of the sexes” takes a weird, wild turn in this smart, savage broadside blow to the abhorrent behaviors of men.
Posted May 19, 2022
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2/5
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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
(2022)
|
Samuel R. Murrian
|
'Oz the Great and Powerful' had more personality.
Posted May 06, 2022
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|
2/5
|
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
(2022)
|
Neil Pond
|
Being the most powerful doctor in the universe, it seems, is some serious, ponderous business, and not a lot of fun.
Posted May 04, 2022
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3.5/5
|
The Northman
(2022)
|
Neil Pond
|
A monumentally bonkers, blood-smeared battering ram of Old World barbarism.
Posted Apr 21, 2022
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3.5/5
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Everything Everywhere All at Once
(2022)
|
Neil Pond
|
A gob-smacking gauntlet of action-packed, gonzo sci-fi fantasy about the loopy connectedness of all things.
Posted Apr 06, 2022
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5/5
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X
(2022)
|
Samuel R. Murrian
|
It's a love letter to the best of horror, and further, freedom of expression. There are moments of surprising, haunting beauty that add nothing to the plot, but everything to the experience. With X, West can be compared to Craven or even Carpenter.
Posted Apr 01, 2022
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3/5
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You Won't Be Alone
(2022)
|
Neil Pond
|
A devilishly unsettling dive into Old World disturbia.
Posted Mar 31, 2022
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3.5/5
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The Lost City
(2022)
|
Neil Pond
|
This zesty zip of ripping rom-commery is a fun-filled frolic with a hilariously saucy, playfully risqué spin.
Posted Mar 24, 2022
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