Baby Mama

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: When Kate (Tina Fey) finds out she can't have babies, she hires an immature and unhealthy, white trash surrogate (Amy Poehler) to have one for her.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Greg Kinnear, Dax Shepard, Romany Malco, Sigourney Weaver, Steve Martin, Maura Tierney, Holland Taylor

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. This is a fun, easy to watch film that won't change your life if you see it, or if you don't.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Some.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Has any movie from the Lorne Michaels' school of comedy ever made anyone cry? (In case you're not familiar with Lorne Michaels' work, here's an abbreviated list: Ladies Man, Superstar, Hot Rod, Black Sheep, Stuart Saves his Family, Wayne's World-- okay, that one might have brought a tear to my eye.)

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: The Steve Martin's Still Got It Award!

Q: How is the Acting?

A: As restrained as a couple of SNL actors can manage. And I'm speaking of course about Amy Poehler.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Comment on the casting: we all know how Amy Poehler got the part, but I think the film would've been stronger if the surrogate had been played by a twenty-five year old. Contrary to what may be implied above, I enjoyed Amy Poehler's performance most of the time, although she sometimes came off a little too savvy. But it never makes sense that Tina Fey's character would pick someone so old to carry her child, and all of Amy Poehler's dialogue felt like it had been written for an Ellen Page or a Thora Birch type.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Standard fare, but it works. And big ups for making a successful female buddy comedy!

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Deception

(Guest Review by Russ)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A smooth, handsome con-man posing as a lawyer (Hugh Jackman) seduces a meek accountant (Ewan McGregor) into a dangerous game of sex and blackmail using a beautiful woman (Michelle Williams) as bait.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor, Michelle Williams, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Maggie Q, Natasha Henstridge, Charlotte Rampling

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! This is the sort of project that could have just as easily starred actors like Casper Van Dien, Antonio Sabato Jr, and Brooke Burns and be available straight to DVD at Blockbuster. So with an A-list cast and studio backing, there’s just no excuse for this movie to be the cold fish that it is. The twists aren’t twisty enough and the logic holes are too large to be glossed over, especially considering there’s not much entertainment value here, in the first place.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Not really.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: If you’re going to a movie called Deception wondering if you might cry, you probably need to see more movies.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Not unless they start inventing awards for Best Tour of NYC Hotel Rooms. If so, then skip the nominating process and just hand this movie the award right now.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: There’s no question the three leads are all A: gorgeous, and B: extremely talented. McGregor is clearly having fun subverting his star-magnetism into a mild-mannered auditor. And Michelle Williams somehow manages to make a woefully underwritten part really darn interesting. Memo to Hollywood: Please put this woman in better films because there’s no actress out there right now who clearly deserves it more.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Shiny and professional, which one would hope for in a movie with this sort of cast and what was surely a huge budget. If only they’d worked on the script a bit more. Okay, a lot more.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It’s an interesting set-up, but it takes too long to start. And we know the twist is coming, but when it does, it falls short and then stumbles along into such complete and utter improbability that it defies logic to the point where it can’t help but turn the entire movie into one huge joke. Unfortunately, the joke is on the paying customers in the theater.

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88 Minutes

(Guest Review by Russ)


Q: What’s the movie about?

A: The life of a successful forensic psychiatrist/professor (Al Pacino) is put in jeopardy by a serial killer he helped to convict.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, Amy Brenneman, William Forsythe, Deborah Kara Unger, Benjamin McKenzie, Neal McDonough

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! The serial-killer movie is long past its expiration date. If this one succeeds in killing the genre for a while, then that will at least be one reason in its favor for having been made. Beyond that, there’s not much else.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Absolutely. Al Pacino’s hair will put a perpetual smile on your face. And when wind blows through it, you will laugh.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Not so much.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Next question.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: This cast doesn't fare well with the hammy dialogue and ridiculous plot turns that make little, if any sense. Amy Brenneman wins the award for embarrassing herself the least, though.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Completely competent and professional and the movie looks good within its Seattle locale. But that makes up for zero when it comes to trying to decipher the plot and keep track of all the suspects. Which, at some point probably adds up to about 10-- we're only human! We can only handle so much information in our sub-alien brains.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Did I mention that the plot makes no sense? Oh, and did I get a chance to tell you about the dialogue? Well here’s a sample from when Al Pacino’s character is told he has “88 minutes to live, tick-tock doc.” From that point, it feels like about 588 minutes before those 88 minutes are finally up. That’s not a good thing.

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Pathology

(Guest Review by Russ)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A small group of young, hot-shot LA-medical students engage in a sick game of one-upmanship to see who can commit the perfect murder.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Milo Ventimiglia, Michael Weston, Alyssa Milano, Mei Melancon, Lauren Lee Smith, Johnny Whitworth, Keir O’Donnell

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! This movie sort of defies all rules when trying to place it into a specific genre: Slasher? Thriller? Medical crime story? But it doesn’t take much to define it as simply bad, bordering on completely unwatchable. Fans of any of the above genres will not find much satisfaction in this movie.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: The humor runs pretty dark at the beginning – the pathology students are cutting open dead people after all. But even fans of dark humor will struggle to find it very funny.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Yes, when you realize your nine dollars could have served you so much better. Ringer T’s are on sale at Old Navy for only six bucks.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I see Razzie nominations in its future.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: All the actors are way too good for this film. Seriously.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Weird. Milo Ventimiglia is shot in extreme close-up for a lot of this movie, and it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense why. On the plus side, most of the film takes place in downtown LA and it achieves a nice balance between gritty and glossy. Just like downtown LA.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Completely illogical and unfocused. The core idea is clever; medical students try to figure out how to kill someone and make it near impossible to determine cause-of-death. But that premise goes off the rails after one murder, when the plot devolves into drugs, sex, gore and people going crazy for no reason. It didn’t have to go there, so why did it?

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Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Harold & Kumar pick up where they left off, smoking weed, and living a life of total awesomeness. Unfortunately, on their way to Amsterdam, (where they hope to smoke weed and be awesome), they get mistaken for terrorists and sent to Guantanamo Bay... Which only makes it that much more difficult for them to hook up with the women they love.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris, Rob Corddry, Roger Bart, Danneel Harris, Eric Winter, David Krumholtz, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Missi Pyle

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! A classic stoner buddy movie that totally lives up to its prequel. (Don't worry if you didn't see, or don't remember, the first one. Everything you need to know is covered in the first 60 seconds of this film. In others words, there's nothing you need to know from the first one.)

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Oh, yeah... And for as far as they go into jokes about drugs and racism, somehow, the only jokes I found offensive had to so with things that come out of your butt.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No, but it might make you want to punch any number of ignorant characters in the face.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Only Comedy Getting Made Without Judd Apatow in the Credits.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: John Cho and Kal Penn are totally believable as a couple of Asian guys.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The directors of this sequel (who are also the writers of both films) did not direct Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, and yet the two films are very consistent when it comes to look and feel... This either proves that first-time directors, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, are naturally talented, or that anyone can direct a movie.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Funny, clever, daring, surprising, true to the first movie, yet totally original, and without any loose ends. The only disappointing part is the very last moment before the end credits roll, where it seems like after a movie full of death defying feats, the writers just threw up their hands and gave up for no reason.

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Son of Rambow

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Two young English boys (Bill Milner and Will Poulter) team up to form the unlikeliest of friendships, and make the best short film ever, using a little love and a lot of crazy.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Bill Milner, Will Poulter, Jules Sitruk, Jessica Stevenson, Neil Dudgeon, Ed Westwick, Charlie Thrift

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! Don't expect much and prepare to be delighted. It's simple, it's sweet, and at times really wacky... but much like the kids in it, it just wants to be loved.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: I said it was wacky.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: It has a heart the size of Rambo's guns. (I'm talking about his biceps, you violence freaks!)

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: If nothing else, the makeup deserves a nod for successfully pulling off humor.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Hyper-stylized and impeccably cute.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Between the animated sequences and the film within the film, it's hard not to be impressed by the creativity that went into the visuals in this piece.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Incredibly original.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: Bill Milner's skinny arms.

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Standard Operating Procedure

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Documentary about the story behind the torture and abuse photos that came out of Abu Ghraib prison, as told from the point of view of the infamous American soldiers in the pictures.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: All of them: Lynndie England, Javal Davis, Megan Ambuhl, Sabrina Harman, Jeremy Sivits, Roman Krol, Charles Graner (pictured and discussed only), as well as Tim Dugan, Janis Karpinski, and Brent Pack

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. This is yet another interesting perspective on why nobody should ever voluntarily enlist in that "no way out" proposition they call the U.S. army. It's very well done, but it's not always an easy film to watch, and for that reason, it's not for everyone... only those of you who enjoy educating yourselves on the truth about history and stuff.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Surprisingly, yes.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No, but it has more male frontal nudity than Forgetting Sarah Marshall!

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It's by legendary documentarian, Errol Morris, so chances are high.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: By the mid-point, I believed these kids were innocent, so it must have been pretty good acting.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The visuals and graphics and reenactments are pretty stunning. But too many times the fade-to-blacks make you feel like the movie is over when it's not.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: There are a ton of eye-opening sound bites all throughout. I had chills by the time the second narrative sentence was uttered. But I wish the story had been a little tighter, and the film a half an hour shorter. All too often, when I started really getting into what was being discussed, he would change the subject completely, and by the time we got back to the interesting part, I had forgotten what it was I was getting so into about it.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: The Danny Elfman score catches your attention in the first few notes.

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Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: When Peter's (Jason Segel) actress girlfriend (Kristen Bell) leaves him for a rock star (Russell Brand), he goes on vacation in Hawaii to heal his heart, and runs into them there.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Jason Segel, Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Russell Brand, Bill Hader, Jack McBrayer, Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd, Da'Vone McDonald, Maria Thayer, Billy Baldwin

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! Another Judd Apatow-style success story, this comedy has a story strongly based in reality, original jokes, and a few extraneous scenes placed ever so carefully to give haters an excuse not to like this film even though everyone else does.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: You can count on it. Highlights come mostly from the lesser known actors and Billy Baldwin... of course.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No, but the main character's crying might make you laugh.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I saw 5 previews for comedies before this movie, all of which looked brilliant and hilarious, so I'm thinking the comedy category is going to be pretty competitive at the Oscars this year... Oh, that's right, the Oscars don't acknowledge that comedies exist. But I guess they're right, Best Picture should always go to some mediocre dramatic film, that most people didn't like or understand.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Discover the softer side of That 70's Show's Mila Kunis. This role proves that she has a greater range and a deeper beauty than anyone familiar with her signature character, Jackie Burkhart, probably would have given her credit for. This movie will be a turning point in her movie career. Similarly, if you know Jason Segel from How I Met Your Mother, you may be surprised to see that he can play a realistic person so convincingly. But Russell Brand, a little known actor from the UK, is in charge of stealing this movie.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: You can't even tell Nicholas Stoller is a first timer! And the actresses all look glossy and beautiful under the flattering lighting.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: If you've ever had your heart broken, you can relate to the emotions driving this story forward, like the feeling that you're seeing your heart breaker's face everywhere, which drives you to making bad decisions, like casually stalking them, and rebelliously hooking-up with complete strangers, for the sole purpose of making that heart breaker suffer!... Which they won't, because they're probably never going to find out about it, and even if they do, they won't care, because if they weren't over you in the first place, they wouldn't have stomped on your heart like it was a grape at a wine making festival. Sorry, that's just how it works.

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Then She Found Me

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A 39-year-old woman (Helen Hunt) struggling to have a baby is suddenly left by her immature husband (Matthew Broderick), and that's when her birth-mother (Bette Midler), the woman who gave her up for adoption, decides to show up in her life.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Helen Hunt, Colin Firth, Bette Midler, Matthew Broderick, Ben Shenkman, John Benjamin Hickey, Lynn Cohen, Salman Rushdie, Daisy Tahan, Tommy Nelson

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. This dramedy is worth attending because the concept of a grown woman meeting her mom hasn't been explored much in film, and it is explored fairly thoroughly here. My only warning is that there are a few moments in the story, dialogue and directing that feel false, and while you will walk out of the movie feeling satisfied, you won't feel moved.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Yes, but only as much as a "dramedy" can.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No, and that might be the problem.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Best Child-Actor Casting. Daisy Tahan, the little girl who plays Colin Firth's daughter, not only looks like him, but also completely makes you forget that she's saying scripted lines and they are not actually related.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: I finally get Colin Firth! I never understood what Bridget Jones saw in him, but in this movie he is funny and charming and real. Just a perfect man from beginning to end.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Helen Hunt's only previous experience directing was on her own sitcom, and I'm afraid it shows. There were several times when I wanted to get inside a scene, and look into the actors' eyes, as they looked into each other's eyes, but unfortunately, she didn't take me there, so I'll just have to imagine what it was like for them.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The story and all its intertwined story lines are original. The characters are fresh, real, and complex, and the ending is satisfying. But (because there's always a but), the banter sometimes feels forced. With actors of this caliber, the forced feeling is most likely not due to bad acting, so I have to blame the script.

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The Forbidden Kingdom

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A nerdy American teenager, obsessed with Kung Fu movies, is destined to return a magical staph to its rightful owner, the Monkey King, who is one of the Eight Immortals in the Forbidden Kingdom.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Angarano, Collin Chou, Yifei Liu, Bingbing Li

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. You will enjoy the Martial Arts fights, but the story is by the numbers, and the main character is underdeveloped.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Not as much as a campy movie like this should.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No, but it might make you wish you were re-watching The Karate Kid instead.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It's close to being the first Hollywood-China co-production to open in China. This of course is pending China's censorship board approving it, and Hollywood getting its head out of its butt and remembering that China is the world's capital of piracy.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: As is his way, Jackie Chan is over the top. Jet Li also has a few false moments-- but only when he's talking.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The fights are captured well and the visuals are appealing, but it's not as pretty as movies like Hero or House of Flying Daggers.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Predictable, and clearly ripping off a little bit of every movie in this genre that came before it... which sometimes is a blessing in disguise, because when you can't understand what the actors are saying (which is often), it's a relief to know that you can reach into your memory of what happens in other films, and follow along.

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The Life Before Her Eyes

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: An adult woman (Uma Thurman) has flashbacks that she can't get past about a Columbine-style shooting that happened at her high school.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Uma Thurman, Evan Rachel Wood, Eva Amurri, Gabrielle Brennan, Brett Cullen, Oscar Isaac, John Magaro, James Urbaniak, Molly Price

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! After making your way through the amateurish dialogue and repetitive flashbacks to the same parts of the same scenes, over and over again, you are rewarded with an ending that is pretentious and arbitrary.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: If a person laughs in a theater, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No, but it might make you cry out. Expletives mostly.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: If a bear farts in the wood-- sorry, what was the question?

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Nobody does the angst-ridden, rebellious teenager thing better than Evan Rachel Wood. Just try not to think about how she's sleeping with Marilyn Manson-- gross! And isn't he like twice her age? But I digress. What I'm trying to say about the acting is... I never realized how big Uma Thurman's boobs were before.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Much like the dialogue, it's hoaky.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: They had enough good material to make a four minute short film. They seem to realize that though, because they play the good part over and over and over again, just in case you missed how good it was the first twenty times. Oh, and did I mention how lame the ending is?

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Redbelt

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A Jiu-jitsu Master's (Chiwetel Ejiofor) faith in honor and integrity is put to the test when his personal life starts to fall apart.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tim Allen, Alice Braga, Emily Mortimer, Joe Montegna, Rodrigo Santoro, Max Martini, David Paymer, John Machado

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. I really liked it because it harkens back to the roots of martial arts, which are based in honor and respect, not in kicking ass and taking names. These themes make for inspirational lessons about sticking to your ideals and morals, even when it feels like everybody else is getting ahead by leaving their own at the door. Unfortunately, the concept may scare away movie goers who don't like martial arts, and don't realize that this movie is more about moral philosophy than violence. And at the same time, it could disappoint true martial arts aficionados, because there's not all that much fighting in the film, and what is there is shot artistically, rather than in your face, blood and guts.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: If you're in show business you'll get the one joke.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Not cry, but hopefully inspire you to stand tough in the face of what's right, even when everyone around you is knowingly choosing what's wrong.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Chiwetel Ejiofor won an Independent Spirit Award last year for Talk to Me, and in this movie he's even better.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: It is a strange combination of actors giving the performances of their lifetimes, and actors who seemed like they are perhaps not professionals. David Mamet is known for his difficult-to-say, realistic dialogue, so when someone doesn't bring it, it's very hard to hide.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Mamet tries some interesting techniques with the focus, like racking away from the person or thing the scene is about, and making them blurry. I'm not sure that it works. Also, as mentioned earlier, the fight scenes show you very little of what's going on physically (perhaps to cover up the fact that the actors are not always fighters). This is especially true in the climactic fight, where inserts and close-ups are used in such a way that you have very little idea what they're of, and why they've been inserted.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It builds to a clever second half and a satisfying and unexpected ending. The structure is somewhat unconventional-- which I respect, because it works for the most part-- but it also may be the reason the first half meanders and drags on a little.

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Run, Fatboy, Run

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A man (Simon Pegg) leaves his pregnant fiancee (Thandie Newton) at the altar, and then regrets it, and decides to run a marathon to get her back.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, Hank Azaria, Dylan Moran, Harish Patel, India de Beaufort, Matthew Fenton

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! First, look at the description of the film. Does that make any logical sense? To clarify, the main character's thinking is, "If I run a marathon, the girl I humiliated about as badly as you can humiliate a person, who is now dating a hot, rich guy, is going to take me back."... Aside from the imaginativeness that went into thinking that hypothesis would make for a good movie premise, there is nothing original or funny in this movie.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Only if you're still in the theater by the end of the third act, which you won't be.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Yes. It's that bad.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Is there a Miracle of Science Award? Because this movie combines the hypothetical sperm of Simon Pegg (who is white) with the hypothetical egg of Thandie Newton (who is half-black), and with it creates their hypothetical son, who is white. Don't get me wrong, Matthew Fenton, who plays their 5-year-old son, is one of the highlights of the movie. But was the casting director on crack? How hard is it to find a kid who's the right color? Are there suddenly no light-black kids in England? Or maybe the Brits just think they're too good for the whole 'dominant-recessive gene thingy' to apply to them.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: The leads don't have the necessary chemistry with each other to make us believe that she would ever take him back-- with or without a marathon.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Good, so long as you overlook the fact that a white man and a black woman have created a son without any trace of Africa! Yeah, Schwimmer, the casting is your fault, too.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: I hate to pan a comedy. Especially one by Simon Pegg and Michael Ian Black, who I love-- but only because they're geniuses... But seriously, guys, could you try to use your comic genius for good? There was not one unpredictable moment in the whole movie.

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