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Movie reviews: ‘Emily the Criminal’ is a compelling mix of movie elements that fit together like puzzle pieces

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Movie reviews: ‘Emily the Criminal’ is a compelling mix of movie elements that fit together like puzzle pieces

EMILY THE CRIMINAL: 4 STARS

“Emily the Legal,” a brand new crime drama, now enjoying in theatres, and starring Aubrey Plaza, makes use of ripped-from-the-headlines subjects—pupil debt, the horrible job market and the gig financial system—to gas a narrative on a seek for liberation.

Plaza performs Emily, a younger lady whose prison document — though minor — and brief mood, makes it troublesome for her to advance up the job ladder. Caught in a dead-end restaurant job, she barely scrapes by, not to mention put a dent in her $70,000 pupil debt.

Determined, she takes a job working with the slick-talking, black-market thief Youcef (Theo Rossi). The rip-off is easy. She’ll be a “dummy shopper,” somebody who buys merchandise with stolen and cast bank cards. A fast $200 payoff later, her cool and calm demeanor impresses Youcef who affords her a much bigger, although extra harmful job for the subsequent day.

Seduced by the cash, she goes into enterprise, personally and professionally, with Youcef. She begins incomes good cash, and, as their relationship blossoms, finds love. However when she will get sloppy, scamming the identical retailer greater than as soon as in per week, she learns the simple cash can disappear as rapidly because it appeared. Until she does one thing about it.

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“Emily the Legal” is a hard-boiled take a look at the intersection of desperation and alternative.

Director John Patton Ford and Plaza craft a portrait of Emily, a millennial combating for her piece of the American Dream, regardless that it stays simply out of her attain. She is a fancy character, edgy but sympathetic, messy however targeted. Plaza provides voice to Emily’s frustration of being without end punished for a mistake, however by no means panders to the viewers in an try and be likable. She has misplaced religion within the well mannered society that hasn’t afforded her alternative, so she steps outdoors it, and doesn’t look again. We might not make the identical selections as she, however her motivations, beneath the load of a future stuffed with pupil debt and crappy jobs, come off as comprehensible. That could be a credit score to Plaza’s efficiency that reveals each Emily’s vulnerability and her steeliness.

Due to Plaza, “Emily the Legal” is an enchanting character research, however the crime features of the story are simply as compelling. Like its essential character, the film is a mixture of components. Social commentary, crime drama, a touch of romance and character work, whose sum match collectively like puzzle items.

FALL: 3 STARS

Fall

If the title “Vertigo” wasn’t already taken by a basic film, it may very properly have been the title of the brand new fear-of-heights thriller “Fall,” now enjoying in theatres. Principally set on a tiny platform excessive above the Earth, it’s a dizzying expertise.

“Fall” begins with thrill seekers Becky (Grace Fulton) and husband Dan (Mason Gooding) clinging to the facet of a mountain. When tragedy strikes, Becky is left alone and traumatized. Off the mountain she lives in concern, and her father (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is satisfied she is medicating herself with alcohol.

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Her adrenaline junkie good friend Hunter (Virginia Gardner) thinks Becky must get again up on the horse, put concern apart and pay tribute to Dan by climbing an deserted 2,000-foot radio tower in the course of nowhere. They’ll scale the construction, unfold his ashes and convey closure to Becky’s struggling.

The professional climbers scale the tower with the help of a rickety outdated ladder, which falls aside as they rise. On the prime, they perch on a small platform, however their elation is fleeting. With the ladder in items, getting all the way down to floor degree goes to check not solely their abilities as mountaineers, however the bond of their friendship.

The pleasure of “Fall,” I suppose, is voyeuristic. We are able to watch Becky and Hunter try to determine their method again to security, whereas not really being nibbled on by vultures ourselves. It’s a reduction. We’re glad we’re not them, and that provides us the fun, the dopamine rush we would like, as we stay protected in an earthbound theatre.

Like “Open Water,” “47 Meters Down” or “27 Hours,” and different endurance dramas that place an individual or individuals in untenable conditions of their very own making, “Fall” is a cautionary story. The outdated saying could also be that, “the most important danger is taking no danger in any respect,” however that, I feel, applies extra to the inventory market than it does to climbing 2,000-foot poles in the course of nowhere. Becky and Hunter take pointless dangers to make themselves really feel alive and, whoops, find yourself endangering their very own lives.

It’s exhausting to conjure up a substantial amount of sympathy for his or her ridiculous scenario, notably since neither are notably well-rounded characters, however nonetheless “Fall” is a visceral expertise. It’s a mix-and-match of hopelessness, frustration and resilience, captured, regardless of some dodgy CGI, with some spectacular high-flying images by director Scott Mann and cinematographer MacGregor.

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“Fall” is a straightforward movie with a easy premise. It lags within the center and overstays its welcome by 15 or 20 minutes, however as a narrative of survival in opposition to insurmountable odds, it delivers the vertigo inducing items.

RESURRECTION: 3 STARS

Resurrection

The long-term results of abuse and management are detailed to vivid and violent impact in “Resurrection,” a brand new psychological thriller starring Rebecca Corridor and now enjoying in theatres.

Corridor is biotech government Margaret, a assured mentor and chief at work; a loving single mom to daughter Abbie (Grace Kaufman) at residence. Her off hours are occupied by feverish bodily coaching and a fling with married co-worker Peter (Michael Esper).

Into her rigorously constructed and compartmentalized life comes David (Tim Roth), an unwelcome customer from the previous. At first, his presence exists solely within the periphery. He attends a convention, nearly unnoticed, sitting a number of rows in entrance of Margaret. Later, she sees him at a division retailer, and confronts him as he reads a newspaper in a park.

Seems, David desires to rekindle their relationship, an abusive scenario Margaret ended 22 years in the past by fleeing, altering her title and rebooting her life. However, 20 years later, the scars of their time collectively stay. Margaret is immediately flooded with reminiscences of his bodily punishments, which he paradoxically calls “kindnesses,” and the disappearance of their son Benjamin.

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Fearing for Abbie’s security, in addition to her personal, Margaret slowly unravels as David makes an attempt to reassert his management over her.

“Resurrection” is a troublesome film to explain with out freely giving salient plot factors. It’s the story of the lengths an individual will go in defence of their family members and sanity. The extra outlandish features of the story—no spoilers right here!—solely dig their hooks in due to the ability of the performances.

Margaret’s flip from self-confidence to dazed-and-confused is expertly dealt with. From self-discipline to desperation, Corridor’s change is full. Her transformation is simplest in its subtlest moments, when her shifts in thoughts set are telegraphed by the twitch of an eye fixed or a faint change in posture. A seven-minute monologue that reveals the character of Margaret and David’s historical past is performed out in a single lengthy, unedited close-up and is a grasp class in how you can current exposition that hits all the suitable emotional notes.

Roth has much less to do, however brings an air of menace to each body of movie he seems in.

“Resurrection” culminates with a horrifying scene that throws every thing that got here earlier than into query. It confronts the viewers with a gory scene that asks, how a lot of what we’ve simply seen is actual, and the way a lot is fantasy? It’s an unforgettable scene within the fashion of Ari Aster or David Cronenberg, however overpowers the movie’s attention-grabbing take a look at feminine trauma, gaslighting and repression.

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AINBO: SPIRIT OF THE AMAZON: 2 ½ STARS

Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon

“Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon,” a brand new animated movie from Peru for teenagers and now enjoying in theatres, has so much going for it. There’s a really kid-friendly run time of simply over 80 minutes, some cool creatures and an Indigenous perspective. It’s a disgrace that a lot of that goodwill is undone by generic animation and storytelling.

The Amazonian village of Candamo is residence to courageous teen Ainbo (Lola Raie) and her greatest good friend, the soon-to-be-crowned Princess Zumi (Naomi Serrano). The city, and its elders, like Atok (Rene Mujica), have grave considerations about the way forward for the house. It’s a lush, lovely world, however it’s endangered by exploitive builders and a failing ecosystem.

When two spirit animals, an armadillo named Dillo (Dino Andrade) and a tapir known as Vaca (Joe Hernandez) go to Ainbo, they inform her the evil jungle spirits the Yacaruna and their curse, might be defeated with a particular root discovered solely within the rainforest. The data units her off on a quest to avoid wasting the one residence she’s ever identified. Her mates might have given up on the standard methods, however her perception within the Yacaruna retains her transferring ahead.

Chances are you’ll get a slight sense of déjà vu whereas watching “Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon.” The spirited animated film owes a debt to “The Lion King” with an homage to “FernGully: The Final Rainforest” thrown in for good measure.

Motion full of a plucky feminine lead, the adventures are generally too frenetic and the messages that drive the motion are perplexing—what’s the greatest risk to the village: man, fantasy or a worsening ecosystem?—however whereas it could be acquainted thematically, the film’s good-natured really feel makes it really feel much less like a knock-off or direct-to-DVD flick.

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Movie Reviews

Kanguva Movie Review – Gulte

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Kanguva Movie Review – Gulte

2/5


02 Hrs 34 Mins   |   Action Adventure – Fantasy   |   14-11-2024


Cast – Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Anandaraj, Kovai Sarala, Redin Kingsley, Natarajan Subramaniam & others.

Director – ‘Siruthai’ Siva

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Producer – K. E. Gnanavel Raja, V. Vamsi Krishna Reddy & Pramod Uppalapati

Banner – Studio Green & UV Creations

Music – Devi Sri Prasad

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It’s been about two and a half years since Suriya’s film in a lead role was released in theatres. In an attempt to deliver an out-of-the-world experience to the audience, he teamed up with director, ‘Siruthai’ Siva for Kanguva, an action-adventure fantasy film with a period backdrop. It’s been a while since Suriya delivered a hit at the Box Office and he has pinned all his hopes on the film. After raising expectations with the teaser, and trailer, especially the release trailer which was released a few days back, Kanguva, was finally released in theatres today. Did it live up to the expectations? Did the director, Siva, come up with a memorable film for the fans of Suriya and movie lovers? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

Francis(Suriya), is a bounty hunter based out of Goa along with his Ex-Girlfriend, Angela(Disha Patani) and friend(Yogi Babu) During a bounty hunting job, Francis and his friend meet a kid(Zeta) who is on a run. Both Francis & Zeta find a strange connection between themselves. What is the connection between Francis and Zeta? Why is Zeta on a run? Who is Kanguva & Poruva? What is their connection with Francis and Zeta? Forms the rest of the story.

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Performances:

Suriya as Francis Theodore looked a bit out of the place but he did well in the role of Kanga aka Kanguva. The way he used his eyes to perform in the role of Kanguva is fantastic. Disha Patani as Angela is wasted. All the sequences involving her are irritating.

Bobby Deol as Udhiran got a poorly written role with a very weird look and there’s not much to talk about his role. The child artist who did the roles of Poruva & Zeta did well. There’s a surprise cameo during the climax of the film by a ‘Most Loved Star’ but even the cameo did not work out. The cameo is used in the film just to give a lead to the second part.

Yogi Babu, Kovai Sarala and a few more notable actors are wasted in poorly written roles. Probably for the first time in the recent past, Yogi Babu’s comedy failed to evoke laughs.

Technicalities:

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Vetri Palaniswamy’s cinematography is first-rate. The way he captured the lush green forests and the way he and his team shot the film during the night is fantastic. Cinematography is the only department that gave their hundred percent to the film. Devi Sri Prasad was disappointed big time with poor songs and a soulless & loud background score. Apart from the ‘Mannippu’ song and the background score during a sequence in the second half, his work is below par and works against the film. Nishad Yusuf’s editing is poor as well. His fast cuts especially in the first half were a pain to the eyes. There’s a lot of VFX used in the film but it is strictly average at best. Production values by Studio Green and UV Creations are grand but the producers would have invested a bit more to fine-tune the VFX part.

Director, Siva selected a very good core point but his lack of experience in executing a film of Kanguva’s scale and his tendency to overdo drama worked against the film big time. He and his writers would have come up with better writing. All we get to see in the film is one action sequence after another without a soul and emotional connection. His work overall is below par.

Thumbs Up:

Two blocks each in both halves
Suriya’s performance as Kanguva
Core Plot of The Film

Thumbs Down:

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DSP’s Songs & Background Score
Weird Looks of Actors
Entire Goa Episode In The First Half
Lack of Emotional Connect In The First Half
Over-the-top drama

Analysis:

Since the release of Baahubali, many filmmakers across the country from multiple film industries have come up with ambitious films that are mounted on a huge canvas & interesting storylines to cater to the PAN India audiences but only a very few of those films worked out. Staying away from an overdose of local flavour is the basic rule that a PAN India filmmaker has to follow but unfortunately most of these filmmakers, especially the Tamil filmmakers inability to stay away from overdoing the local flavour is working against these PAN India films more often than not.

Kanguva has a very interesting plot and a setup that may have been very exciting on paper but the director, Siva and his team’s execution is loud, predictable and filled with an overdose of native flavour. Every actor in the film shouts and screams all the time for no reason. Along with the over-the-top execution and acting by almost all the actors, the weird looks designed for each of the actors, especially when the plot was set up in the year 1070, worked against the film.

The film starts on an interesting note with a monologue by an old woman in the year 1070 that questions the true purpose of each of us human beings’ birth, followed by another interesting sequence involving a kid named, Zeta at a lab in 2024. But, what follows after these two sequences in the first half is a mess filled with people screaming all the time and very predictable pre-interval sequences.

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The second half of the film is marginally better compared to the first half with a couple of well-executed blocks but again, apart from those couple of blocks, remaining everything is unexciting. Also, the sequences Suriya, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu and others in the first half in the backdrop of Goa are forgettable. All those sequences are executed very poorly and test the patience of the audience.

It is the director who is to be blamed for wasting the potential of a very interesting plot with below-par execution barring four blocks. Another culprit is Devi Sri Prasad. Both his songs and background score are forgettable, to say the least.

Overall, Kanguva has an interesting plot but the below-par execution made it a disappointing film that may find it difficult to sustain at the Box Office. There’s a lead given during the climax of the film using a surprise cameo by a star hero for the second part but it is highly unlikely that the second part of the film will be made.

Verdict – Too Loud & Over-The-Top

Rating: 2/5

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'Heretic' Review – A Rube Goldberg Machine Dripping With Theological Boredom

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'Heretic' Review – A Rube Goldberg Machine Dripping With Theological Boredom

Hugh Grant as Mr. Reed in the psychological horror film Heretic. Photo credit: Kimberley French. Image property of A24.

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Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (65, Haunt, writers of A Quiet Place), Heretic is a so-called psychological horror that is disappointing on all fronts. After only seeing the trailer once months ago, I initially thought that Heretic was a film about a serial killer (Hugh Grant) who used his crazy mouse trap-contraption house to lure in religious, door-to-door service people and kill them.

While that is partially the case, Heretic follows two missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher, The Book of Boba Fett) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East, The Wolf of Snow Hollow). The two women go to the house of Mr. Reed (Grant) who has expressed interest in hearing more about their religion.

(L-R) Chloe East as Sister Paxton and Sophie Thatcher as Sister Barnes in the psychological horror film Heretic (2024), A24

As Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton make their way inside, they soon find themselves trapped in Mr. Reed’s bizarrely intricate home featuring electricity on a timer, a front door that supposedly won’t open again until morning, and metal construction that blocks cell phone signals.

Reed, a theology major with vast knowledge of all religions, claims to have found the one true religion. Whether the two women will escape or if Reed knows what he’s talking about all factors into the cerebral aspect of the film.

(L-R) Chloe East as Sister Paxton, Sophie Thatcher as Sister Barnes, and Hugh Grant as Mr. Reed in the psychological horror film Heretic (2024), A24

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Martin Freeman constantly looked miserable and bored out of his mind when he appeared in films like The Hobbit trilogy and the Sherlock TV series. He suddenly looked like he was having the time of his life when he shifted film genres, plunged into horror, and starred in the 2017 film Ghost Stories.

It seems to be the same case for Hugh Grant. While this isn’t his first horror film, Heretic is his first film in the genre in 36 years (Grant starred in The Lair of the White Worm in 1988). Grant is noticeably lively in his performance in Heretic though and seems downright giddy to be torturing people.

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With cinematography by Chung Chung-hoon (Last Night in Soho, The Handmaiden), Heretic has two visually memorable sequences thanks to how they’re shot. When Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton first arrive, Mr. Reed leaves the room to check on his “wife.” While he’s gone, Barnes turns the candle he blew out and discovers what the scent of the candle is. As she slowly turns the candle, the camera turns with it.

Reed has a miniature duplicate of his house complete with little figures that represent Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton. In a sequence when Sister Paxton is trying to run away from Mr. Reed, we’re following her movements in the miniature but it seamlessly transitions from the model to the real thing when she enters the room and slams the door.

Sophie Thatcher as Sister Barnes in the psychological horror film Heretic (2024), A24

RELATED: ‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’ Review – Striking Animation That Plays It Safe

The method in which Heretic is written is somewhat odd. Not quite horrific enough to be scary with its religion-defying dialogue taking center stage, Heretic is essentially a two-hour sermon attempting to destroy your faith with some splashes of blood and a raggedy woman or two dying in a blueberry pie.  

It feels like if you walked into Heretic devoted to the Mormon religion, you’ll walk out of the theater a different person. Mr. Reed’s arguments regarding all religions stemming from the same concept are portrayed in a way that is believable and convincing.

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Chloe East as Sister Paxton in the psychological horror film Heretic (2024), A24

He somehow rambles about Monopoly and board games, music, and vinyl records to demonstrate similarities between certain board games, how some songs are essentially the same tunes with different lyrics, and that all religions are more similar than dissimilar.

While the dialogue-driven film can be interesting, it’s also rather boring. There’s an unsettling aspect to Mr. Reed’s behavior that capitalizes on the tension in the film. But there are also these long stretches where nothing happens besides the next topic of conversation or a weak payoff where someone’s throat is cut with a box cutter or it builds up to a whisper.

Hugh Grant as Mr. Reed in the psychological horror film Heretic (2024), A24

Heretic is beautifully shot with a stellar performance from Hugh Grant, but its intriguing concept is drowned out by the desire to deconvert the audience and have a lukewarm reveal regarding whatever the one-true religion is. Watching the film is like being trapped in a church of a religion you don’t believe in with an overwhelmingly passionate pastor trying to dissuade you from ever coming back.

‘Memoir Of A Snail’ Review – Hilarity And Empathy Bundled In Stop-Motion Brilliance

Heretic (2024), A24.

PROS

  • Hugh Grant
  • Well thought out dialogue
  • Strong writing

CONS

  • Talks the audience to death
  • Horror aspect feels secondary
  • Gets dull during final act

Mentioned This Article: A24 Heretic Horror Hugh Grant Movie Review psychological

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Review: ‘Emilia Pérez’ is the most wildly original film you’ll see in 2024

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Review: ‘Emilia Pérez’ is the most wildly original film you’ll see in 2024
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The next time you can’t decide what kind of movie to watch, stream “Emilia Pérez.”

In just over two hours, there’s pretty much everything: noir crime thriller, thought-provoking redemption tale, deep character study, comedic melodrama and, yes, even a go-for-broke movie musical.

The other important thing about Netflix’s standout Spanish-language Oscar contender? You won’t find a more talented group of women, whose performances keep French director Jacques Audiard’s movie grounded the more exaggerated it gets as the cast breaks into song-and-dance numbers.

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Trans actress Karla Sofía Gascón is a revelation as a drug kingpin desperate to live a different, female existence in “Emilia Pérez” (★★★½ out of four; rated R; streaming Wednesday). She’s one of several strong-willed personalities seeking inner joy or real love in their complicated lives: Selena Gomez plays a mom driven back into old bad habits, while Zoe Saldaña turns in an exceptional and multifaceted performance as an ambitious attorney caught in the middle of drama.

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Rita (Saldaña) is a defense lawyer in Mexico who toils for an unappreciative boss while also making him look good in court. But someone does notice her skills: Rita receives an offer she can’t refuse from Manitas (Gascón), a notorious cartel boss who yearns to live authentically as a woman and hires Rita to find the right person for the gender affirmation surgery. After moving Manitas’ wife Jessi (Gomez) and their two boys to Switzerland, Rita helps him fake his death while Manitas goes under the knife and becomes Emilia.

Four years later, Rita’s in London at a get-together when she meets and recognizes Emilia, who says she misses her children and wants Rita to help relocate them back to Mexico. (Emilia tells them she’s Manitas’ “distant cousin.”) Rita moves back home and helps Emilia start a nonprofit to find the missing bodies of drug cartel victims for their family members. While Emilia tries to make amends for her crimes, she becomes increasingly angry at Jessi for neglecting the kids and reconnecting with past lover Gustavo (Edgar Ramirez).

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And on top of all this dishy intrigue is how it works with the movie’s musical elements. Original songs are interspersed within the narrative in sometimes fantastical ways and mostly for character-development purposes. They tend to be more rhythmically abstract than showtunes, but by the end, you’ll be humming at least one rousing melody.

Saldaña gets the lion’s share of the showstoppers, including one set in a hospital and another at a gala where Rita sings about how their organization is being financed by crooks. Gomez gets jams of the dance-floor and exasperatingly raging variety, and Gascón has a few moments to shine, like the ballad that showcases her growing feelings toward Epifania (Adriana Paz), a woman who’s glad when her no-good criminal husband is found dead.

Gascón is spectacular in her dual roles, under a bunch of makeup as the shadowy Manitas and positively glowing as the lively Emilia. What’s so good is she makes sure each reflects the other: While Manitas has a hint of vulnerability early on, sparks of Emilia’s vengeful former self become apparent as past sins and bad decisions come back to bite multiple characters in an explosive but haphazard finale. 

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The stellar acting and assorted songs boost much of the familiar elements in “Emilia Pérez,” creating something inventively original and never, ever bland.

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