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R.I.P.D.
(2013)
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Joe Leydon
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R.I.P.D. isn’t nearly as bad as its near-deafening advance buzz indicated – though, really, what movie could be? – but that doesn’t mean the laughs and gasps are satisfyingly abundant in this loud and clunky sci-fi fantasy action-comedy.
Posted Oct 18, 2022
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Brass Target
(1978)
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Joe Leydon
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"Brass Target" is fool’s gold.
Posted Sep 04, 2022
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Tremors
(1990)
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Joe Leydon
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This is a rollicking, rip-roaring funhouse ride, with enough rude shocks to keep you anxiously on-guard, and enough self-mocking sass to be immensely, exhilaratingly funny.
Posted May 13, 2022
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Who's That Girl?
(1987)
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Joe Leydon
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Madonna is that girl who’s the driving force behind this screwball farce. The comedy is a well-tuned star vehicle, and Madonna, the peroxided punk sprite of pop music, revs it up for a wild ride.
Posted May 07, 2022
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3000 Miles to Graceland
(2001)
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Joe Leydon
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With his mean-stud swagger, brushed-back coiffure, scimitar-shaped sideburns and a wardrobe that reeks of white trash sartorial splendor, Costner certainly looks the part of a sneaky-snakey ex-convict with grand plans and a short fuse.
Posted Feb 21, 2022
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John Carpenter's Escape From L.A.
(1996)
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Joe Leydon
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A slam-bang sequel with a brazenly nihilistic sense of humor.
Posted Feb 21, 2022
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The Sapphires
(2012)
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Joe Leydon
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Its got a great beat, and you can dance to it, so Ill give "The Sapphires" four out of four stars.
Posted Feb 06, 2022
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Skin Deep
(1989)
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Joe Leydon
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Even when he's dealing with serious subjects, Edwards still can make an audience laugh with some of the best-timed sight gags in contemporary cinema.
Posted Nov 25, 2021
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Cat Daddies
(2021)
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Joe Leydon
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Mye Hoang's irresistibly appealing documentary is so insightfully observed, beautifully crafted and warmly empathetic that even normally feline-averse viewers will want to sing its praises and hold it close to their hearts.
Posted Oct 09, 2021
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Notting Hill
(1999)
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Joe Leydon
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This is the most wonderfully witty and charmingly sophisticated romantic comedy to come from Great Britain since "Four Weddings and a Funeral. "
Posted Sep 24, 2021
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Changing Lanes
(2002)
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Joe Leydon
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Time and again, "Changing Lanes" subversively upends expectations.
Posted Sep 24, 2021
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The Glass House
(2001)
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Joe Leydon
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The Glasses live in a glass house - get it? Hey, I warned you: Subtle, this movie ain't.
Posted Sep 12, 2021
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Serendipity
(2001)
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Joe Leydon
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You'll be highly amused, bountifully entertained and - maybe, just maybe - uplifted and reinvigorated.
Posted Sep 12, 2021
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Happy, Texas
(1999)
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Joe Leydon
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"Happy, Texas" is a fresh, frisky and very funny feel-good comedy that delights in upending expectations by avoiding cheap shots and demeaning caricatures.
Posted Sep 03, 2021
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Candyman
(1992)
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Joe Leydon
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There's enough full-bore gore to satisfy genre fans, but not so much that it obliterates the movie's flashes of savage wit and crafty intelligence.
Posted Aug 25, 2021
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Joe Versus the Volcano
(1990)
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Joe Leydon
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An epic comedy of goofiness triumphant and nuttiness unbound.
Posted Aug 25, 2021
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Lily Topples The World
(2021)
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Joe Leydon
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If we could all agree on a working definition of the term "nice" - one that implies bemused appreciation more than condescending disparagement - it could easily apply to "Lily Topples the World."
Posted Aug 25, 2021
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Field of Dreams
(1989)
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Joe Leydon
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Situated somewhere between third base and The Twilight Zone, "Field of Dreams" is a modern-day fairy tale about a noble quest for a grand design.
Posted Aug 13, 2021
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In Another Country
(2012)
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Joe Leydon
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French actress Isabelle Huppert isn't only the star of "In Another Country," she's also the center of gravity for this playfully wispy yet oddly captivating doodle by South Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo.
Posted Jul 22, 2021
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Howard the Duck
(1986)
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Joe Leydon
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It's a wack!-wack!-wacky comedy-adventure.
Posted Jul 08, 2021
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Stormy Monday
(1988)
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Joe Leydon
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Throughout "Stormy Monday," the characters are sharply drawn, the dialogue is bracingly hardboiled, and the tension is skillfully sustained.
Posted Jun 23, 2021
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The Fast and the Furious
(2001)
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Joe Leydon
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A film that should serve to define "guilty pleasure" for at least the rest of the summer.
Posted Jun 22, 2021
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To Sleep With Anger
(1990)
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Joe Leydon
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A quietly unsettling film that finds dark portents and hints of the supernatural in the seemingly commonplace
Posted Jun 16, 2021
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Hear My Song
(1991)
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Joe Leydon
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With a strut to its walk and a lilt to its talk, and a crafty bit of whimsy up its sleeve, "Hear My Song" is a gloriously loony and exhilaratingly romantic comedy.
Posted Jun 14, 2021
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His Girl Friday
(1940)
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Joe Leydon
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Whenever I screen His Girl Friday for college-level film courses, female students seem particularly impressed by Russell's portrayal of a woman liberated way before women's liberation was cool.
Posted Jan 02, 2021
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Heart Condition
(1990)
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Joe Leydon
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A surprisingly engaging action-comedy-fantasy that places greater emphasis on high-caliber acting than rapid-fire shootouts.
Posted Dec 28, 2020
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Echo Park
(1985)
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Joe Leydon
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It actually works best when the very randomness of its plotting evokes a mood of extremely casual cheeriness.
Posted Dec 17, 2020
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Fearless
(1993)
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Joe Leydon
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"Fearless" is a powerful and provocative movie about, among other things, the dizzying possibilities of life after a near-death experience.
Posted Dec 04, 2020
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Dave
(1993)
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Joe Leydon
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"Dave" is the very model of a modern Capraesque comedy, being the story of a little guy who triumphs, through pluck and luck, over a corrupt system.
Posted Oct 26, 2020
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Ed Wood
(1994)
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Joe Leydon
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Burton has managed to make something altogether unique - a compassionate farce - that can be enjoyed even by people who have never heard of Wood, who would never willingly submit themselves to a Wood work.
Posted Oct 26, 2020
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Beetlejuice
(1988)
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Joe Leydon
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"Beetlejuice" is so exuberantly batty, so outrageously zany, it makes "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" seem as somber as "Ironweed."
Posted Oct 26, 2020
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Vibes
(1988)
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Joe Leydon
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Loony and lightweight, the film deals with psychics and supernatural doings, and is best when it plays both elements for laughs.
Posted Aug 01, 2020
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The Patriot
(2000)
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Joe Leydon
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To use the language of the movie's time, "The Patriot "deserves a whole-hearted, full-throated roar of "Huzzah!"
Posted Jul 11, 2020
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Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
(1987)
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Joe Leydon
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"Superman IV: The Quest for Peace," a confused and cheap-looking movie that evidently was butchered in the editing room, would be better titled "Superman Farce: The Search for a Quick Buck."
Posted Jul 09, 2020
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Jaws the Revenge
(1987)
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Joe Leydon
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After all the dire reports of production delays, inclement weather and special-effects foul-ups, it should come as no great surprise that the problem-plagued "Jaws: The Revenge" looks like something haphazardly pieced together in a hurry.
Posted Jul 09, 2020
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Silverado
(1985)
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Joe Leydon
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"Silverado" is the real thing, a good old-fashioned Western that shoots straight, rides tall, and moves quicker than a cowboy galloping off to the chuck wagon.
Posted Jul 09, 2020
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The Lost Boys
(1987)
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Joe Leydon
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Slick, savvy and scary, "The Lost Boys" is a hip horror comedy with the full-throttle excitement of a rollercoaster ride and the pop culture fluency of a Stephen King best seller.
Posted Jun 25, 2020
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Night Falls on Manhattan
(1996)
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Joe Leydon
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Lumet give us a persuasively detailed and emotionally intense film that brings out the best in just about everybody involved.
Posted Jun 25, 2020
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Outbreak
(1995)
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Joe Leydon
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Don't expect any mercy from the people who made "Outbreak," a smashingly first-rate thriller that will do more to rev your pulse rate than a week of aerobics classes.
Posted Jun 20, 2020
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The Divide
(2018)
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Joe Leydon
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An uncommonly compelling and emotionally rich drama.
Posted Nov 09, 2018
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Miracle Mile
(1988)
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Joe Leydon
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Deceptively simple and relentlessly gripping, it represents American independent moviemaking at its most exciting and accessible for mainstream audiences.
Posted Jul 31, 2015
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Spy
(2015)
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Joe Leydon
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A satisfyingly amusing and sporadically hilarious throwback to the era when 007-spawned comedy-adventures were as ubiquitous as comic-book epics are today.
Posted Jun 04, 2015
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12 Monkeys
(1995)
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Joe Leydon
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Constantly surprising and consistently unsettling.
Posted Aug 06, 2014
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The Big Kahuna
(1999)
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Joe Leydon
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Sometimes profanely funny, sometimes intensely dramatic, The Big Kahuna is a richly amusing and provocatively insightful film that builds to a profoundly powerful cumulative impact.
Posted Aug 06, 2014
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The Missing
(2003)
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Joe Leydon
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Ron Howard's vividly gritty and brutally arresting Western is a powerfully effective piece of work.
Posted Aug 01, 2014
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3.5/4
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Harry, He's Here to Help
(2000)
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Joe Leydon
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All the hallmarks of a classic Hitchcock thriller. The master would certainly approve.
Posted Jul 31, 2014
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Sex, Lies, and Videotape
(1989)
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Joe Leydon
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Soderbergh brings a bracing edge of humor to his probingly analytical drama.
Posted Jul 26, 2014
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Trouble in Mind
(1985)
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Joe Leydon
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If you've ever dreamed of turning up the collar of your trenchcoat for a solitary stroll through a fog-shrouded backlot, you'll like what you see here.
Posted Jul 26, 2014
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Richard III
(1995)
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Joe Leydon
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On its simplest and most satisfying level, Loncraine's Richard III can be enjoyed as an ingeniously sustained and spectacularly ballsy stunt.
Posted Jul 26, 2014
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Mr. Jealousy
(1997)
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Joe Leydon
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You probably haven't heard a lot about writer-director Noah Baumbach yet. Trust me, you will.
Posted Jul 26, 2014
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