Released: 2011
Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn
Stars; Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan & Bryan Cranston
EVEN if this movie wasn't great, Ryan Gosling looks great (as always) in Drive. Good thing for us, this was a fantastic movie all around!
Ryan Gosling plays an unnamed Hollywood stunt car driver/mechanic. On the side he is a getaway driver. He tells people they have five minutes, anything on either side and he's not going to help you. There isn't a whole lot of this. He does this a few times in the movie, but the times he does he's brilliant at it. Listening to the radio frequencies, quick outmaneuvers, traffic, he's awesome.
The owner of the garage he works out is named Shannon. Shannon convinces a mombster named Bernie to buy a stock car for Gosling to drive, because of Gosling's mad skills. The mobster's boss is Nino (Ron Perlman). This is important for later.
Gosling meets the girl across the hall, Irene, who doesn't say a lot the whole movie, she just kind of stares longingly at him (who wouldn't!?). She has a little boy, Benicio, to whom he grows an attachment. Benicio's dad & Irene's husband, Standard gets out of prison and is non-to-pleased about Ryan Gosling's presence. I think it shows that Standard is a decent guy, because he doesn't out right accuse any foul play and holds his tongue. Apparently Standard owes protection money from prison to a guy named Cook. To help Benicio, Gosling agrees to help standard pay off a debt he has from prison. Told you Gosling liked the kid!
Enter Christina Hendricks (think Mad Men only she plays the complete opposite person). They go through with the heist, it ends up being a setup, Standard dies, and then 5 minutes later Christina Hendricks dies as well. Gosling, not to thrilled about this, confronts Cook. Who does the money really belong to....Nino! Apparently Nino is working with the East Coast Mafia who wants the money...we're talking about a lot of money btw.
So Nino & Bernie decide to kill off people with knowledge, because that's what you do...You kill off people in movies. Shannon is killed. Gosling, being smart & handsome & awesome, wears a mask (this is wehre his movie connections came in handy!) and follows Nino. He T-Bones Nino's car and drowns him in the ocean. Gosling calls Bernie for a meeting. Bernie says Irene & Bernicio are safe, he just wants the money. Bernie stabs Gosling & Gosling stabs Bernie and leaves the money. Gosling drives off. There's a scene where Irene knocks on his apartment, but no answers...because Gosling has left town.
All in all it was a really good movie!!! I really enjoyed it & Alex is still yapping about it!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Cabaret
Released: 1971
Directed by: Bob Fosse
Staring: Liza Minnelli, Michael York & Helmut Griem
Life is a Cabaret old Chum!
I've seen Cabaret a few times. This was Alex's first (and probably only) watch of it. I realized I like the music in it, Sally Bowles drives me nuts, and other than watching the Nazi rise to power nothing REALLY happens.
Sally Bowles - You can tell she "didn't get enough love in [her] childhood." (See what I did, quote from another Bob Fosse Musical?). She is self-centered, high maintenance, and selfish. She absolutely only cares for herself. When she asks Brian (Michael York) about himself she constantly interrupts. When he repeats the things she says in a later conversation, proving he listened to her, she brushes them off. She hardly cares about his feelings even after they get together. She makes decisions based on what's best for Sally Bowles and no one else. By the end of the movie, you HOPE she has learned something, but really not. She just waves goodbye & sings about loving being on stage.
Brian Roberts - You do see some growth in Michael York's character. He was introverted and a bit stuffy before he came to Weimar Germany. He drank a lot, had an affair with a guy & a girl. Decided this Nazi crap is too much (and Sally is never going to put "me and the baby" first) and went home to Cambridge.
Maximilian - Well clearly he had no growth. He is just a super wealthy playboy. I do wish they had a little more closure on his story line.
Natalia & Fritz - They actually had a lot of growth. Natalia learned to come out of her shell. In looking to marry someone for money, Fritz fell madly in love with Natalia and in spite the dire situation for Jews in Nazi Germany, pronounced that he "[was] a Jew."
The side characters were entertaining, and the Kit Kat Club was great. Joel Grey is super creepy. I like that the songs weren't terribly long, but made commentary on what was going on in the movie.
All in all, not a whole lot happens...it's kind of a character study? I know it won 8 Oscars, but they weren't for the story they were for sound, music, direction, cinematography, art-direction, actress & supporting actor.
Another few thoughts:
-Really Sally? You wanted to become an actress so you went to Weimar Germany at the height of hyper inflation to become an actress?
-I feel like Natalia & Fritz were left unfinished. Yes, they got married so they got their happily ever after. However, we all know what comes in the next few years. Do they escape Germany? It's just left up in the air.
-We all knew Maximilian wasn't going to take them to Africa (well Sally I guess did). I guess Maximilian & Brian had a goodbye thing and then had to leave. I liked the awkward scene in the car, but then he just left. Yes, he had a note, but seriously? A little closure would be nice.
-Baz Luhrmann must have been a fan of Fosse!
-For 1972, this was a very progressive movie! A film that has affairs, homosexuality, abortion....while all of that is off screen, it's still very progressive, I feel.
-The amount of alcohol & cigarettes they smoke...oh...my..god! That baby would have been doomed! I did like that she just walked home after having the procedure. I feel like she would have been in a little more pain ESPECIALLY given the time period!?!?!?!
-I enjoyed the Nazi rise to power. Although I would think Germany would be slightly upset. While people were against the Nazi's in the beginning. It does seem like the only ones against them are the foreigners (i.e.The British..i.e. Michael York). I really thought this progression was really good.
-They used some UGLY actors & actresses in this movie. During the "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" song...they're all singing very loudly & proudly with their mouths wide open & just gives me shivers.
I like the music, but I think I'm okay hanging this on the shelf and watching other movies instead.
Directed by: Bob Fosse
Staring: Liza Minnelli, Michael York & Helmut Griem
Life is a Cabaret old Chum!
I've seen Cabaret a few times. This was Alex's first (and probably only) watch of it. I realized I like the music in it, Sally Bowles drives me nuts, and other than watching the Nazi rise to power nothing REALLY happens.
Sally Bowles - You can tell she "didn't get enough love in [her] childhood." (See what I did, quote from another Bob Fosse Musical?). She is self-centered, high maintenance, and selfish. She absolutely only cares for herself. When she asks Brian (Michael York) about himself she constantly interrupts. When he repeats the things she says in a later conversation, proving he listened to her, she brushes them off. She hardly cares about his feelings even after they get together. She makes decisions based on what's best for Sally Bowles and no one else. By the end of the movie, you HOPE she has learned something, but really not. She just waves goodbye & sings about loving being on stage.
Brian Roberts - You do see some growth in Michael York's character. He was introverted and a bit stuffy before he came to Weimar Germany. He drank a lot, had an affair with a guy & a girl. Decided this Nazi crap is too much (and Sally is never going to put "me and the baby" first) and went home to Cambridge.
Maximilian - Well clearly he had no growth. He is just a super wealthy playboy. I do wish they had a little more closure on his story line.
Natalia & Fritz - They actually had a lot of growth. Natalia learned to come out of her shell. In looking to marry someone for money, Fritz fell madly in love with Natalia and in spite the dire situation for Jews in Nazi Germany, pronounced that he "[was] a Jew."
The side characters were entertaining, and the Kit Kat Club was great. Joel Grey is super creepy. I like that the songs weren't terribly long, but made commentary on what was going on in the movie.
All in all, not a whole lot happens...it's kind of a character study? I know it won 8 Oscars, but they weren't for the story they were for sound, music, direction, cinematography, art-direction, actress & supporting actor.
Another few thoughts:
-Really Sally? You wanted to become an actress so you went to Weimar Germany at the height of hyper inflation to become an actress?
-I feel like Natalia & Fritz were left unfinished. Yes, they got married so they got their happily ever after. However, we all know what comes in the next few years. Do they escape Germany? It's just left up in the air.
-We all knew Maximilian wasn't going to take them to Africa (well Sally I guess did). I guess Maximilian & Brian had a goodbye thing and then had to leave. I liked the awkward scene in the car, but then he just left. Yes, he had a note, but seriously? A little closure would be nice.
-Baz Luhrmann must have been a fan of Fosse!
-For 1972, this was a very progressive movie! A film that has affairs, homosexuality, abortion....while all of that is off screen, it's still very progressive, I feel.
-The amount of alcohol & cigarettes they smoke...oh...my..god! That baby would have been doomed! I did like that she just walked home after having the procedure. I feel like she would have been in a little more pain ESPECIALLY given the time period!?!?!?!
-I enjoyed the Nazi rise to power. Although I would think Germany would be slightly upset. While people were against the Nazi's in the beginning. It does seem like the only ones against them are the foreigners (i.e.The British..i.e. Michael York). I really thought this progression was really good.
-They used some UGLY actors & actresses in this movie. During the "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" song...they're all singing very loudly & proudly with their mouths wide open & just gives me shivers.
I like the music, but I think I'm okay hanging this on the shelf and watching other movies instead.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Heat
Released: 1995
Directed by: Michael Mann
Staring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer
The next movie on our gangster/heist journey was Heat. Another really long movie! I really enjoyed this one as well. I think the movie did a fantastic job at comparing Robert Di Niro & Al Pacino. While they are on different sides of the “right/wrong” spectrum, they are very much the same.
The movie also shows that you don’t ever ever bring on someone new, that you don’t trust. EVER!
It also has EVERYONE…In addition to those three: Danny Trejo, Kevin Gage, William Fitchner, Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd, Hank Azaria, Diane Venora, Jon Voight, Dennis Haysbert (President Palmer), Jeremy Piven.
We’ll start with Al Pacino. Al Pacino is a great detective with the LAPD homicide unit. While he’s generally a step behind De Niro, he does have brilliant deductive reasoning skills – like when he figures out why they are in the shipyard. He’s on his third marriage, which is failing. His wife, Justine (Diane Venora), is frustrated, because Pacino gives all of his time to work. Then again, if this is his third marriage, he was probably a successful detective while they were dating. Story lines like this annoy me. She married a guy that didn’t have a 9-5 job. You shouldn’t expect him to be any different. Now I did like her line about “there’s sharing and then there’s leftovers.” I think she is right about that. But generally, I don’t side with the wives.
I enjoyed when she slept with another man, and Pacino kept yelling at him to sit down. I did find it interesting that while he didn’t have a great relationship with Justine, he did have a connection with his step-daughter (Natalie Portman). He noticed her on the side of the road and went to take her home. She went to his apartment, presumably to ask for help, but when he wasn’t there she cut herself. While the movie only hinted at it, it showed him giving her more attention than her mother. Remember one of the opening scenes where Natalie Portman was freaking out about her clothes, and Justine was reading a paper and ignoring her? I think his relationship with his step-daughter showed he absolutely can care about things other than work. In the end, he chose work (after saving his step-daughter’s life of course).
Then there’s his semi-foil, Robert De Niro. I love Robert De Niro, I actually love both him & Pacino. De Niro is cold. He wishes he had a family, like in the scene where he & his crew are out to dinner with their families. He’s alone. He starts having a relationship with Violet Eady (Amy Brenneman). Ultimately, he is able to walk away. He is a man of discipline, which is actually why he dies.
I like the scene when he & Eady are driving to the airport, you can see him thinking/debating/twitching. He knows he needs to ignore the ability to go get Waingro. He knows he has to let it go, but he can’t. That ultimately leads to his downfall. He walks away from Eady (which reminds you of his conversation with Pacino at the diner, you have to be able to walk away from everything with a 30 second decision). He walks away from the precious metals heist, he walks away from the woman he loves.
Val Kilmer’s character wasn’t my favorite. He was beyond technically proficient. He has a gambling problem, cheating problem, and an anger problem. In spite of all of that, he & Ashley Judd love each other. In spite of her saying she may leave him, and her starting to have an affair, she saves him. She warns him in the end and he’s able to get away. It’s kinda sweet in the end.
In the end in the airfield, De Niro & Pacino holds hand. I was kind of sad that De Niro died, but I guess that’s the work of a good script/director/actor. You make the bad guy sympathetic, so you feel for him and root for him! There were only a few parts where I thought the movie was slow.
Directed by: Michael Mann
Staring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer
The next movie on our gangster/heist journey was Heat. Another really long movie! I really enjoyed this one as well. I think the movie did a fantastic job at comparing Robert Di Niro & Al Pacino. While they are on different sides of the “right/wrong” spectrum, they are very much the same.
The movie also shows that you don’t ever ever bring on someone new, that you don’t trust. EVER!
It also has EVERYONE…In addition to those three: Danny Trejo, Kevin Gage, William Fitchner, Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd, Hank Azaria, Diane Venora, Jon Voight, Dennis Haysbert (President Palmer), Jeremy Piven.
We’ll start with Al Pacino. Al Pacino is a great detective with the LAPD homicide unit. While he’s generally a step behind De Niro, he does have brilliant deductive reasoning skills – like when he figures out why they are in the shipyard. He’s on his third marriage, which is failing. His wife, Justine (Diane Venora), is frustrated, because Pacino gives all of his time to work. Then again, if this is his third marriage, he was probably a successful detective while they were dating. Story lines like this annoy me. She married a guy that didn’t have a 9-5 job. You shouldn’t expect him to be any different. Now I did like her line about “there’s sharing and then there’s leftovers.” I think she is right about that. But generally, I don’t side with the wives.
I enjoyed when she slept with another man, and Pacino kept yelling at him to sit down. I did find it interesting that while he didn’t have a great relationship with Justine, he did have a connection with his step-daughter (Natalie Portman). He noticed her on the side of the road and went to take her home. She went to his apartment, presumably to ask for help, but when he wasn’t there she cut herself. While the movie only hinted at it, it showed him giving her more attention than her mother. Remember one of the opening scenes where Natalie Portman was freaking out about her clothes, and Justine was reading a paper and ignoring her? I think his relationship with his step-daughter showed he absolutely can care about things other than work. In the end, he chose work (after saving his step-daughter’s life of course).
Then there’s his semi-foil, Robert De Niro. I love Robert De Niro, I actually love both him & Pacino. De Niro is cold. He wishes he had a family, like in the scene where he & his crew are out to dinner with their families. He’s alone. He starts having a relationship with Violet Eady (Amy Brenneman). Ultimately, he is able to walk away. He is a man of discipline, which is actually why he dies.
I like the scene when he & Eady are driving to the airport, you can see him thinking/debating/twitching. He knows he needs to ignore the ability to go get Waingro. He knows he has to let it go, but he can’t. That ultimately leads to his downfall. He walks away from Eady (which reminds you of his conversation with Pacino at the diner, you have to be able to walk away from everything with a 30 second decision). He walks away from the precious metals heist, he walks away from the woman he loves.
Val Kilmer’s character wasn’t my favorite. He was beyond technically proficient. He has a gambling problem, cheating problem, and an anger problem. In spite of all of that, he & Ashley Judd love each other. In spite of her saying she may leave him, and her starting to have an affair, she saves him. She warns him in the end and he’s able to get away. It’s kinda sweet in the end.
In the end in the airfield, De Niro & Pacino holds hand. I was kind of sad that De Niro died, but I guess that’s the work of a good script/director/actor. You make the bad guy sympathetic, so you feel for him and root for him! There were only a few parts where I thought the movie was slow.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Goodfellas
Released: 1990
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci
"We were good fellas, wiseguys."
I really enjoyed this movie, and I hate that it took me so long to see this. If you haven't seen it, I strongly recommend viewing it.
The general plot is the rise & fall of Henry Hill in the gangster world. At a young age he starts working for Paulie Cicero, Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci). He marries a jewish girl, Karen. Tommy kills this guy Batts without Paulie's approval. Batts was a "made man," you had to be full Italian to be a "made man" meaning Jimmy & Henry weren't ever going to be made. This also means your untouchable, without the consent of the bosses, i.e. Paulie!
Tommy is a bit of a hot head & Batts was harassing Tommy for being a shoe shiner, in front of a girl. Driving Batts's body to upstate New York to dump it is the opening scene of the movie, then it cuts to a flashback of how Henry got started. We get more details on the June 11, 1970. I feel like this is the start to the end, even though there's still another hour or so of the movie! It's about this time that Henry starts seeing a mistress, Janice, who he puts up in a very expensive tacky apartment. Karen finds out, takes the kids to Janice's apartment, and starts screaming. It's a pretty awesome scene. She wakes up Henry with a gun to his head, he gets a hold of the gun and hits her. Henry decides Karen's crazy (gee? really?) and goes to live with Janice.
Paulie steps in and says go back with Karen. (I'm reminded of Don Corleone: "A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."). On the next job in Florida, most of the crew is arrested, because one of guy's sister works for the FBI. Henry starts to sell drugs to support his family (you know the one he loves so very much). Karen sees Janice's name on the list...she's obviously upset...again...The prison is a joke.
Paulie tells Henry to get out of the drug trade its bad (similar to Don Corleone...didn't want to be in the drug trade). The drugs continue. Tommy becomes a "made man" or at least is told that he's going to be, but then he's killed...you know for that murder that he wasn't supposed to do. De Niro shows his wonderful acting ability when he finds out in the pay phone. I found this to be a tell of how close they were to Tommy. Tommy always seemed like that jerk off friend you have that causes problems everywhere he goes. But in all the years they spent together, De Niro really did care for Tommy. It was touching.
Henry (and Karen...poor Karen), do quite a bit of cocaine and are organizing a deal. The FBI raids the house and Karen flushes the cocaine...you know so they don't find they have $60K worth of cocaine! Henry is pissed!!! Henry crawls back to Paulie needing help, Paulie's response was...hey remember those MULTIPLE TIMES I warned you that this was bad? Here's $3,200 and get out of my life. Jimmy is going to have Henry killed, so Henry joins the Witness Protection Program. He's later arrested on drug charges.
------
Ray Liotta looks a lot like my boss, which is a little weird. But anyway, I thought he was really good. His laugh annoyed me. It was too loud & he opened his mouth really loud. I wanted to like him, but the whole cheating on his wife thing...I couldn't root for him. If it was just sex, I could probably rationalize it, but nope. You have kids dude...grow up. Then again, he grew up really fast and had a jerk of a father who happened to be a weeeee bit (read a whole lot) abusive.
Robert De Niro nailed it out of the park. He was fabulous, then again he's fabulous in everything he does. I appreciate the work/time/effort he spent with the real Jimmy Conway to observe gestures, mannerisms, etc.
Joe Pesci - good god I love Joe Pesci. My Cousin Vinny is one of my favorite movies. I honestly wasn't too bothered by the excessive use of the f word. He really is that pain-in-the-ass friend who you deep down love, but he causes problems wherever he goes. I mean shooting the kid? Someone is seriously suffering from some little man former shoe-shiner syndrome. Take a chill pill dude! His mom was great.
-------------
Scorsese uses the steadiness of the camera & how fast paced the scenes move to chronicle Henry's life. In the beginning it's more stable, but as Henry becomes a paranoid coke head the camera becomes more jumpy (we're not talking Blair Witch shaky, but enough to notice).
The soundtrack is awesome. Scorsese's use of the soundtrack (and playing the soundtrack while filming like the "Layla Montage" so the shots line up exactly) is great. He also kept the music to the time period (then again the movie spans from 1955 - 1980, so he had a wide variety to choose from!
The "You think I'm funny" scene, according to IMDB, was apparently improvised between Pesci & Liotta.
The "f" word is used almost 300 times in the movie, averaging just over 2 per minute. Can you guess which actor said about half of them?
I like the differences between "old" and "new" gangsters and the downfall caused by drugs. It's a really interesting. The "old" gangsters just had an economic system, so to speak. They knew about appearances and the importance of a sharp mind (not necessarily educated, just street smarts and staying aware & alert of those around you & their intentions).
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci
"We were good fellas, wiseguys."
I really enjoyed this movie, and I hate that it took me so long to see this. If you haven't seen it, I strongly recommend viewing it.
The general plot is the rise & fall of Henry Hill in the gangster world. At a young age he starts working for Paulie Cicero, Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci). He marries a jewish girl, Karen. Tommy kills this guy Batts without Paulie's approval. Batts was a "made man," you had to be full Italian to be a "made man" meaning Jimmy & Henry weren't ever going to be made. This also means your untouchable, without the consent of the bosses, i.e. Paulie!
Tommy is a bit of a hot head & Batts was harassing Tommy for being a shoe shiner, in front of a girl. Driving Batts's body to upstate New York to dump it is the opening scene of the movie, then it cuts to a flashback of how Henry got started. We get more details on the June 11, 1970. I feel like this is the start to the end, even though there's still another hour or so of the movie! It's about this time that Henry starts seeing a mistress, Janice, who he puts up in a very expensive tacky apartment. Karen finds out, takes the kids to Janice's apartment, and starts screaming. It's a pretty awesome scene. She wakes up Henry with a gun to his head, he gets a hold of the gun and hits her. Henry decides Karen's crazy (gee? really?) and goes to live with Janice.
Paulie steps in and says go back with Karen. (I'm reminded of Don Corleone: "A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."). On the next job in Florida, most of the crew is arrested, because one of guy's sister works for the FBI. Henry starts to sell drugs to support his family (you know the one he loves so very much). Karen sees Janice's name on the list...she's obviously upset...again...The prison is a joke.
Paulie tells Henry to get out of the drug trade its bad (similar to Don Corleone...didn't want to be in the drug trade). The drugs continue. Tommy becomes a "made man" or at least is told that he's going to be, but then he's killed...you know for that murder that he wasn't supposed to do. De Niro shows his wonderful acting ability when he finds out in the pay phone. I found this to be a tell of how close they were to Tommy. Tommy always seemed like that jerk off friend you have that causes problems everywhere he goes. But in all the years they spent together, De Niro really did care for Tommy. It was touching.
Henry (and Karen...poor Karen), do quite a bit of cocaine and are organizing a deal. The FBI raids the house and Karen flushes the cocaine...you know so they don't find they have $60K worth of cocaine! Henry is pissed!!! Henry crawls back to Paulie needing help, Paulie's response was...hey remember those MULTIPLE TIMES I warned you that this was bad? Here's $3,200 and get out of my life. Jimmy is going to have Henry killed, so Henry joins the Witness Protection Program. He's later arrested on drug charges.
------
Ray Liotta looks a lot like my boss, which is a little weird. But anyway, I thought he was really good. His laugh annoyed me. It was too loud & he opened his mouth really loud. I wanted to like him, but the whole cheating on his wife thing...I couldn't root for him. If it was just sex, I could probably rationalize it, but nope. You have kids dude...grow up. Then again, he grew up really fast and had a jerk of a father who happened to be a weeeee bit (read a whole lot) abusive.
Robert De Niro nailed it out of the park. He was fabulous, then again he's fabulous in everything he does. I appreciate the work/time/effort he spent with the real Jimmy Conway to observe gestures, mannerisms, etc.
Joe Pesci - good god I love Joe Pesci. My Cousin Vinny is one of my favorite movies. I honestly wasn't too bothered by the excessive use of the f word. He really is that pain-in-the-ass friend who you deep down love, but he causes problems wherever he goes. I mean shooting the kid? Someone is seriously suffering from some little man former shoe-shiner syndrome. Take a chill pill dude! His mom was great.
-------------
Scorsese uses the steadiness of the camera & how fast paced the scenes move to chronicle Henry's life. In the beginning it's more stable, but as Henry becomes a paranoid coke head the camera becomes more jumpy (we're not talking Blair Witch shaky, but enough to notice).
The soundtrack is awesome. Scorsese's use of the soundtrack (and playing the soundtrack while filming like the "Layla Montage" so the shots line up exactly) is great. He also kept the music to the time period (then again the movie spans from 1955 - 1980, so he had a wide variety to choose from!
The "You think I'm funny" scene, according to IMDB, was apparently improvised between Pesci & Liotta.
The "f" word is used almost 300 times in the movie, averaging just over 2 per minute. Can you guess which actor said about half of them?
I like the differences between "old" and "new" gangsters and the downfall caused by drugs. It's a really interesting. The "old" gangsters just had an economic system, so to speak. They knew about appearances and the importance of a sharp mind (not necessarily educated, just street smarts and staying aware & alert of those around you & their intentions).
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