Author Topic: Trap's Movie Thread  (Read 229165 times)

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Offline trapeze

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #500 on: June 21, 2014, 09:58:21 PM »
I read "Ender's Game" when it first came out. It was a good read back then. It is said that it is a very popular book with military students. But it is a good read. The movie is a truncated and yet reasonably accurate version of the book. If you liked the movie you will also like the book. Plus the book may add quite a bit to the movie experience. I didn't care much for the sequel, "Speaker For The Dead."
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Offline Weisshaupt

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #501 on: June 21, 2014, 10:56:20 PM »
I read "Ender's Game" when it first came out. It was a good read back then. It is said that it is a very popular book with military students. But it is a good read. The movie is a truncated and yet reasonably accurate version of the book. If you liked the movie you will also like the book. Plus the book may add quite a bit to the movie experience. I didn't care much for the sequel, "Speaker For The Dead."

The book is way better.  They did a good job with the movie.. it was just one of those "you really can't do it justice in two hours" problems.
Yeah, Orson Scott Card claimed Ender's game was actually a prologue to the following books that  just sort of became its own novel - arguably better than the the story he was trying to tell in Speaker for the Dead and the follow on books.  Its about a steep transition as going from the Hobbit to Fellowship. I personally think OSC had a lot of very interesting things to say in the latter part of the series ( Center Cultures/Fringe Cultures,  and the Hierarchy of Foreignness  )  but its a rather jarring let down if you were expecting more of Ender's Game (  he does return to that sort of narrative later when he tells of Peter's quest to become Hedgemon, and Bean and the other Battleschool graduates  involvement (or resistance to)  that - but then he pulled a Piers Anthony and decided to tell the same story over from a different  characters' persectives - interesting in a way, I guess, but that bored me easily because I already knew how things played out.

You win some, you lose some. However, I have read most of what he has written and I usually find it at least thought provoking..some of his lesser known stuff is  also worth picking up  The Worthing Saga - while a bit rough and not as polished writing wise,  was worth the read, as was "the Folk of the Fringe" -  which is basically short story musing of what he thinks the Mormons will do after Teotwawki. Also his attack against the PC culture BS,  "The Redemption of Christopher Columbus" - where time travers go back and stop Columbus from opening a path to the new world,  and the sort of world that came about after that..

 And then I also found the Alvin Maker books to be good - but unfinished as a series as of yet and very, very Mormon in outlook - or anti-mormon. Or something.  Its an  Alternate Universe America with Mormon beliefs thrown on top- of a Christ-like figure  in America shortly after the Revolutionary war.  But OSC excels at setting up various moral quandaries and then asking the reader, so smarty pants, what is the morally right action here? And unlike Modern Hollywood, there will usually be a right answer-- but with a trade-off.  Welcome to real life.   He is very liberal in many views on his website, with a bit of a libertarian leaning ( which is why Gays were boycotting Enders Game because OSC had the gall to point out that other people have a right of conscience)  , but when he writes,  he ends up writing books for conservatives - many of which I think make excellent learning opportunities for older children (young teens)  as they are trying on their own moral decision making skills - largely because the problems that are proposed are complex, without obvious answers, and with obvious costs and trade-offs that have to be sorted through. And often different characters are presented with similar problems and they all solve it differently, with different  results.  Its something that drives home the fact that life is complex,  its individual,  and one size won't fit all no matter how many times the socialists tell you it will, and what is right for you might not be right for someone else, for reasons you may never understand.

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Another Book and Movie people should see if they haven't before. Though I guess it may  be an acquired taste... like most of the weird crap I watch. Hey at least I am not suggesting anyone watch Hal Hartley films :)

Offline Libertas

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #502 on: July 11, 2014, 11:36:38 AM »
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/07/upcoming-moses-movie-attacked-for-having-white-actors-appear-in-brownface/

Well, to be fair...in Free Shyt Amerika...it might be hard to find colored folk who will actually work...  ::rimshot::
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Offline trapeze

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #503 on: July 11, 2014, 11:37:13 PM »
This had sure better not suck because if it does then these are the good parts...


The one thing that I have to look forward to this summer because the rest of the country is full on suck.

This might be good. Maybe. It was a halfway decent television show so maybe...


And since Spider-Man gets a reboot I suppose anything goes these days. Now the turtles get the full Michael Bay treatment (which could be bad because Transformers and Pearl Harbor) so who really knows?


This might be good but I am immediately prejudiced against it due to the ludicrous (and demonstrably false) premise that we use only 10% of our brains. And by "we" I mean the non-MSNBC target demo...


It's directed by Luc Beson who has done stuff that I have liked in the past (notably "The Fifth Element") so again, who knows?

And they say that Nic Cage is and has been crazy stupid with all of the money he has ever made and thus is now either dead broke or in debt up to his eyeballs and will therefore do just about anything for a buck...


Cage is behind Clint Eastwood on the all-time movie kill list but this one will certainly push him past.

« Last Edit: July 12, 2014, 12:31:19 AM by trapeze »
In a doomsday scenario, hippies will be among the first casualties. So not everything about doomsday will be bad.

Offline trapeze

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #504 on: July 14, 2014, 12:39:12 AM »
Tonight I watched "Pain & Gain" on Roku. This is a movie that I posted on a while back. It is supposed to be a true crime story and it is most definitely based (very, very loosely based) on actual events that happened in Miami during the mid nineties. They really butchered the story.

Now, I understand that it is frequently necessary to take artistic license with the truth in order to make a story interesting enough to work on the big screen. Believe me when I say that there is absolutely no way that this story needed to be embellished. Not even in the slightest. If you didn't read the entire story back in April of 2013 when I originally posted on this...hey, you gotta believe me that this story is worth your time to read. It is nearly* the most  incredible crime story I have read in just about forever.

But the movie is another story. Literally, another story. First of all they took a tragedy and turned it into a comedy. Completely unnecessary. Then they decided that there was just no way that the audience was smart enough to keep track of all of the players in the real story. In reality there were seven to nine people involved in the kidnapping/torture/murder scheme but the movie producer felt that the audience was too stupid to handle that many characters. What they did was to eliminate several people from the story and create a composite (and therefore completely fictional) character that was supposed to represent three to four of the perpetrators. They also made the first victim out to be an asshole. He was a shady character (he was later convicted of Medicare fraud) but by all accounts he wasn't a dickhead.

The most insulting thing about the movie, though, is that the producer used it as a platform to bash Christians. This was done via the composite character played by Dwayne Johnson. The character, Paul Doyle, is a self-professed Christian and goes out of his way to promote the notion both verbally at almost every opportunity and by wearing "Team Jesus" shirts. Nevertheless, he seems to have no trouble whatsoever being a party to kidnapping and then torturing one person and then being an accessory to murder of two others all the while snorting copious amounts of cocaine. At one point he even forces their Jewish hostage to convert to Christianity...claims he has a "gift" for such things. It was truly a sickening display of anti-Christian bigotry on the part of the film makers that had nothing to do with the original story...a total fabrication that made no sense.

So...bottom line is that I would not recommend this movie at all. I would whole heartedly recommend that you read the very excellent and comprehensive account of the true story as written by the Miami New Times.

*What would be either a close second or a tie would be the story of Anthony and Frances Toto. Frances attempted to kill her husband (an infamous philanderer) at least five separate times. She didn't succeed and ended up in prison. Incredibly, he forgave her for it because he loved her and she also loved him. A pretty good film of this story was made that starred Kevin Kline and Tracey Ullman.
« Last Edit: July 14, 2014, 12:45:05 AM by trapeze »
In a doomsday scenario, hippies will be among the first casualties. So not everything about doomsday will be bad.

Online ToddF

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #505 on: July 14, 2014, 07:30:11 AM »
I just read Empire a couple of months ago and Card definitely goes off on the MSNBC culture.  He incorporates their own language into his story, which of course, attracted an avalanche of 1 star reviews on Amazon, because of such.

I found it a worthy read.

The Homecoming Books are also a decent read, if you don't mind the touches of Mormonism that do sneak into his books.

Offline Libertas

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #506 on: July 14, 2014, 07:46:01 AM »
I guess Dawn of the Planet of the Moochelle's is doing OK...

http://nikkifinke.com/box-office-dawn-planet-apes-starts-4-1m-late-shows/

 ::)

TMNT...Whoopi Goldberg?   ::saywhat::   ::puke::
« Last Edit: July 14, 2014, 08:36:07 AM by Libertas »
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Offline Weisshaupt

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #507 on: July 14, 2014, 08:17:05 AM »
The Homecoming Books are also a decent read, if you don't mind the touches of Mormonism that do sneak into his books.

Touches? They are overtly Mormon.. but  since a lot of his books are about point out hypocrisy in and correcting the Mormon Faith along libertarian guidelines,  I don't see how they couldn't be.  I haven't read anything by Card I hated, but after while the above theme because so repetitive that it grates on you a bit.


Offline Predator Don

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #508 on: July 14, 2014, 03:02:34 PM »
If Stallone will do one more "Expendables" flick he will pass Ahnold on the kill list.
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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #509 on: July 15, 2014, 07:45:05 AM »
Not as overtly Mormon as Lost Boys, a must read if you again don't mind the Mormonism, and the most disturbing ending to a book in history, which is part of the appeal.  It's a book you will never forget.

Offline LadyVirginia

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #510 on: July 15, 2014, 10:51:13 PM »

So...bottom line is that I would not recommend this movie at all. I would whole heartedly recommend that you read the very excellent and comprehensive account of the true story as written by the Miami New Times.



I read the whole thing. Incredible story.

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Offline Libertas

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #511 on: July 16, 2014, 06:55:41 AM »
If Stallone will do one more "Expendables" flick he will pass Ahnold on the kill list.

Heh, it's like wow, man...your Kung Fu is good!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2333784/

Cast:  Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Antonio Banderas, Wesley Snipes, Dolph Lundgren, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger,...others: Terry Crews, Kelsey Grammer (huh?), Robert Davi, Randy Couture, yadda yadda yadda...

They'll have to out-do each other!

Looks like a the makings of flick choke full of mucho grande violence!   
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Offline AmericanPatriot

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #512 on: July 16, 2014, 07:04:26 AM »
Chock full of geriatrics.
No Bruce Willis?

Offline Libertas

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #513 on: July 16, 2014, 07:35:35 AM »
Well yeah, hey, as long as those walkers and wheelchairs have guns mounted all is well!   ;D

And no Willis that I saw, maybe a cameo somewhere though...they like doing that stuff...

ETA - Speaking of geriatrics...there are a few here too!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2488496/?ref_=nm_flmg_msc_1

...I dunno about this...

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Offline IronDioPriest

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #514 on: July 16, 2014, 09:01:10 AM »
If Stallone will do one more "Expendables" flick he will pass Ahnold on the kill list.

Heh, it's like wow, man...your Kung Fu is good!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2333784/

Cast:  Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Antonio Banderas, Wesley Snipes, Dolph Lundgren, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger,...others: Terry Crews, Kelsey Grammer (huh?), Robert Davi, Randy Couture, yadda yadda yadda...

They'll have to out-do each other!

Looks like a the makings of flick choke full of mucho grande violence!

Don't forget Rowdy Ronda Rousey. That chick is not only the baddest woman on the planet, she's got three movies ready to drop.
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Offline Libertas

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #515 on: July 17, 2014, 06:53:03 AM »
You see trailers for this Jupiter Ascending flick?  Looks kinda wild, even by SciFy standards.
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Offline trapeze

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #516 on: July 22, 2014, 02:44:56 AM »
I just finished watching "Snowpiercer" on pay-per-view.

I had never heard of this thing until I saw it mentioned in the sidebar at AoSHQ. They noted that it had extremely high reviews. Seriously, it gets a 94% That, in and of itself, is not enough for me to watch something, though. After all, "The Crying Game" was super well received, too, as was "Brokeback Mountain" but no way am I going to enjoy homo propaganda. But I was intrigued by this film and the buzz that it was getting. So, I did a bit of research into it by reading the comments and reviews of ordinary people at imdb.com What interested me the most is that there was no agreement on just what the meaning of the film was supposed to be. But sure enough, most people really liked it regardless of their interpretation.

On the one hand you had leftists bragging that it was something along the lines of OCW where the 1% kept the 99% down...that it was an indictment on capitalism (which was ridiculous since there was no business being conducted in this dystopian future) and "the rich." I believe the preferred leftist term used here is "income inequality" so big whoop.

But then there was also a sizable number of people who thought the opposite, that it represented a command and control economy gone all the way to its logical conclusion with the elites attempting to dominate everyone else via a socialistic totalitarian regime which practiced population control and other things.

So, I decided that I really needed to see it for myself and form my own opinion.

This film is actually in theaters right now (so they say) and I suppose it is...somewhere. But for the rest of us it is on pay-per-view. Which is good, in a way, because it allows viewing in hi-def with pause and rewind...very convenient for a film like this.

The thing is visually stunning. CGI is used in a very limited, very sparing fashion to great effect. Most of the beauty comes in the form of over-the-top attention to detail in set design. The acting is quite good. The direction is extremely competent and the script is just what it needs to be...nothing more or less. So, what is this thing about?

Well, first of all it is a science fiction based story but it is the type of science fiction that uses the genre only loosely. Do not expect very much of the premise to make sense, it doesn't. But that isn't a problem as long as you realize that a realistic (plausible) premise is beside the point, that the film isn't about the premise but rather about a society and the people in it and how they behave. The director is Korean and the source material is a many decades old French graphic novel...go figure.

The story takes place in the not too distant future, 2031 to be specific. In 2014 the Algores of the world developed some kind of chemical that, when released in the upper atmosphere, would counteract the supposed effects of global warming. I found it a nice touch that the film maker implied that the work was done with airliner "chemtrails." For me, that was as nice a reference as trutherism...that the promoters of this "solution" to AGW were nuts. Well, the chemical treatment of the atmosphere goes horribly wrong and within a very short period of time the earth freezes over to the point that all life is extinguished. The survivors now exist on a train that travels endlessly around the frozen globe making one complete circuit every year. It has been going around the earth now for seventeen years, long enough for the passengers to have largely forgotten all about what life was like before getting on the train.

The conflict is between the classes or castes that occupy different places on the train. The elites (paid ticket holders) are in the front of the train and live in relative luxury compared to the rabble who live in the last one or two cars. Comparisons that immediately come to mind are "The Time Machine" by Jules Verne and others such as "1984" or "Brave New World." As the action moved forward (literally as the rebellion starts and moves from back to front of the train) I was also reminded somewhat of "Logan's Run." And "The Wizard of Oz" to a very small degree.

It's a smart film that (despite any complaints about plot holes and irrational, non-scientific technical stuff) that keeps your attention all the way through to the end and does not insult your intelligence. Please note that the train is powered by a perpetual motion machine and the food never seems to run out. And speaking of food, another film reference that immediately popped up for me was "Soylent Green." Trust me when I say that I am not giving anything away with these comments. You will realize all of these things quickly near the beginning of the movie.

Please note that this is a spectacularly violent film with frequent doses of profanity. John Hurt (not, thankfully, William Hurt) is in it as well as Ed Harris. The other actors are lesser known (although Chris Evans is kind of a name now with the Captain America lead) and unknown. Not a bad thing at all, it takes the star power out of the way and puts the emphasis on storytelling.

I don't pretend to "know" the meaning of this film. At least not after a single viewing. But I will probably watch it at least one more time to look for details and plot points that I missed. Perhaps after that I will have a better understanding of what everything "means." But apart from any deep meaning it is an enjoyable (albeit insanely bleak and violent at times) film that I would recommend seeing on a 1080p big screen with good sound. It is one of those rare films that makes you think about what you just saw and ask yourself questions. And, I will say that I am leaning toward the anti-AGW/anti-socialist interpretation of the movie.

Further recommendation: Avoid reading anything about this movie that includes spoilers. Better to just see how it all turns out than to know what's coming, in my opinion.
« Last Edit: July 22, 2014, 02:51:40 AM by trapeze »
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Offline Libertas

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #517 on: July 22, 2014, 06:58:27 AM »
Wow, 17 times around the globe and not a single derailment?  Either really good engineering up front and/or no government engineers driving the thing! 

 ::hysterical::

Sounds interesting enough to watch, I'll give it a gander.
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Offline trapeze

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #518 on: July 23, 2014, 12:12:25 AM »
Wow, 17 times around the globe and not a single derailment?  Either really good engineering up front and/or no government engineers driving the thing! 

 ::hysterical::

Sounds interesting enough to watch, I'll give it a gander.

As I said, the premise is preposterous. But the film isn't about the premise. Once you accept the premise, absurdities and all, then you can move on to what it's really about and that is where the real thought provoking controversy is. But you have to accept that:

1) Someone built a train that runs all the way around the world, non-stop, in a year,

2) The train runs without fuel and by way of some kind of perpetual motion machine for an engine,

3) That the passengers and/or train workers are somehow able to create enough food to live on for 17 years,

4) That man was able to artificially and irrevocably create a new ice age by spraying something into the atmosphere,

5) That said ice age killed every single living thing save the occupants of this train,

plus quite a bit more.

So, yes, the premise is ridiculous. But the story that is unleashed by accepting the premise is very thought provoking.

The reason why I lean toward this story being about the evils of socialism and leftist-leaning totalitarianism is because of the elites referring to the train and its engine as being (literally) "holy" and to the train's creator as being a savior. These are themes that are traditionally and historically found in marxism and socialism. People who tend to lean right do not worship the state. People who tend to lean right tend to worship God if they express a religious preference at all. It is leftists who tend to look at the state as the source of all things...source of all power, source of all food, source of all housing, source of all purpose for existence, etc. and therefore they worship it as if it were God.

Anyway, it is a good film. A well made film and should be considered for viewing. IMO.
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Offline Libertas

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #519 on: July 24, 2014, 06:39:19 AM »
Wow, 17 times around the globe and not a single derailment?  Either really good engineering up front and/or no government engineers driving the thing! 

 ::hysterical::

Sounds interesting enough to watch, I'll give it a gander.

As I said, the premise is preposterous. But the film isn't about the premise. Once you accept the premise, absurdities and all, then you can move on to what it's really about and that is where the real thought provoking controversy is. But you have to accept that:

1) Someone built a train that runs all the way around the world, non-stop, in a year,

2) The train runs without fuel and by way of some kind of perpetual motion machine for an engine,

3) That the passengers and/or train workers are somehow able to create enough food to live on for 17 years,

4) That man was able to artificially and irrevocably create a new ice age by spraying something into the atmosphere,

5) That said ice age killed every single living thing save the occupants of this train,

plus quite a bit more.

So, yes, the premise is ridiculous. But the story that is unleashed by accepting the premise is very thought provoking.

The reason why I lean toward this story being about the evils of socialism and leftist-leaning totalitarianism is because of the elites referring to the train and its engine as being (literally) "holy" and to the train's creator as being a savior. These are themes that are traditionally and historically found in marxism and socialism. People who tend to lean right do not worship the state. People who tend to lean right tend to worship God if they express a religious preference at all. It is leftists who tend to look at the state as the source of all things...source of all power, source of all food, source of all housing, source of all purpose for existence, etc. and therefore they worship it as if it were God.

Anyway, it is a good film. A well made film and should be considered for viewing. IMO.

Well, I watched Snowpiercer last night.  I did what you suggested and just suspended common sense and logic and let the story unfold in its own context.

I have to say my initial reaction during and after was a blend of: a) What the Hell was that?  b) Why do I get the odd sense that somehow this is telling me something important? c) Actually not a badly made or poorly acted flick.  d) Hey, that reminds me of ______!

It had elements of just about every major Dystopian/Utopian story ever written or put to film, and I have to agree that I find it difficult to fathom how a lefty/prog could watch this and a) not identify with the privileged higher class types at the front who are rewarded with unrestrained hedonism for their mindless obedience and servitude to the Dear Savior and b) rationalize that elitism and blame the wretched masses in the back for f**king it up for everybody else, thinking "if they only were more obedient and thankful for what they are given".  They would blow right past the fact that the AlGore/Gaia/Eco-Nazi/Smug-Fart-Sniffing-Progs created this calamity in the first place (with the properly benign-sounding name CW-7) and just as quickly forget all that psuedo-egalitarian concern for the little guy as soon as they were seated up front.

And SPOILER ALERT!

Who knew the wacky Mongolian dude was right in the end?  His plucky little gal pal was funny, she had some of the best lines in the whole movie, though the confessional of Chris Evans' character near the end was pretty good.

I might have to spin 'er up again and see what I might have missed.  The dialogues with that translator doohickey I couldn't make out too well.  Without the sub-titles I'd have been screwed.
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