movies What's the last film you watched? And rate it!

Edge of Tomorrow - 8/10

Great film! Unlike most action films, it held my attention the entire time and didn't die out at the end. It was thrilling the entire time, with fantastic action sequences, vivid and sharp imagery, and some of the best sound design I've heard in a long time.
 
Jeff, Who Lives at Home gets an A.

At first I wasn't sure I'd keep watching. Uncomfortable situations made me cringe and want to stop watching. The brother is such a jerk and a jackass that I didn't see how they'd bring him round realistically. But it kept getting steadily better-ish until it finally 'wowed me in the end.' Quite moved by it, really. Maybe inordinately and irrationally so. Not sure how it'd hold up to another viewing. But there ya go.

Lots of zooming in and out. Is that what they do in The Office? Eh. We're not a fan of that, are we? But I guess it can achieve a certain effect which puts you into the scene.

And every character has one of those pesky :P character arcs, all right. Even the a-hole brother's arc gets a pass considering the very good ending. I want to believe he is capable of doing the 180° turnabout required to be the new, nice guy.

So, I'm glad I didn't keep passing this one by.

=)
 
Happy Ghost directed by Clifton Ko; produced by Raymond Wong (the real auteur of this series) - 6.5/10
This was an extremely fun and entertaining cheesy Hong Kong film. I love the film's take on the teen high school film without raunchiness or much exploitation, it isn't a realistic version of teenage life, but the film proposes a wonderful ideal. I love the episodic narrative common of Hong Kong cinema, what makes this film stand out is that most of these "episodes" are funny or entertaining or interesting in some way, and they are all held together by a great cast of characters. That's not to say that this film is a masterpiece though, it is extremely corny, it doesn't have much in terms of cinematic artistry nor does it explore deep themes, but it is just extremely fun.

Happy Ghost II directed by Clifton Ko; produced by Raymond Wong - 6/10
After having a lot of fun with the first film, I wanted to watch the sequel, but I was very surprised by how different it is. While the first one had a crazy ghost character, this second installment has mostly more 'realistic' school situations. The scenes aren't as memorable, nor are the characters as enjoyable (they are even less realistic than the characters in the first film), but the film is still mostly fun to watch. I like the first film much more, but while watching this film I wonder what happened to all those crazy zany movies that make me wonder (in a positive way) "what the hell were the filmmakers thinking?" I'm sure there are some today, but every time I unearth one of these eccentric gems, I can't help but think that these crazy films were being made at the same time as masterpieces from the same nation were coming out.

Star Wars directed by George Lucas - 10/10
I wrote a huge write-up on this film, but I think this film speaks for itself. I think it's one of the absolute best blockbusters, and a masterpiece of traditional narrative cinema. I love the way the film was made out of previous myths from cinema and outside of cinema to make a new myth for its generation. I feel like here Lucas knew what to put in and what to keep out. I'll just mention that I didn't grow up with these films, so I'm watching them from a slightly fresh perspective (of course I saw clips of it before, I saw some of the prequels, and I'm somewhat familiar with the film's universe, and of course the big twist was already revealed to me).
 
The Empire Strikes Back directed by Irvin Kershner - 10/10
Somehow the second film in the Star Wars trilogy is even better than the first! I wasn't too crazy about the first 30 minutes or so of the film but I quickly began to fall in love with the characters (which is the missing element in the first film, which didn't have much effective character development IMO) after that and it seemed like the plot of the film was really supporting the character development present in the film. Although I know the first film is based on The Hidden Fortress (a film I haven't seen yet, idk why, I even have this one on DVD), this film felt more like a samurai film for me with the training scenes, the master-pupil relationship, and the big dramatic fight. I also liked how the film somehow expanded the mythology and universe of the first film without sacrificing good storytelling, and I really find that to be amazing. I still feel like the first Star Wars was the better overall adventure, but somehow this film gave me a more triumphant feeling (which is strange because the stakes were actually lower in this film), and I cared about the characters more so I prefer this film by just a hair, although of course I think they are both masterpieces of traditional narrative cinema (especially of the blockbuster format).
 
Return Of The Jedi directed by Richard Marquand - 8/10
I think out of all of the original trilogy Star Wars films, this is by far the weakest one, and probably the one that is mostly loved due to nostalgia. I'm seeing all of these films for the first time not having grown up with them, aside from seeing some clips and some of the prequels, so my viewing experiences are definitely not marred with nostalgia. The problem with this film is that it is extremely inconsistent, there are some moments of the film that are among the best of the series, but the problem is that there are too many scenes that are not on par to the other original trilogy Star Wars films. Another problem is that the film seems to throw away all of the character development from The Empire Strikes Back, aside from Luke's story. The film also has a different tone I think, one that has more similarity to later blockbusters (as the first two films were early blockbusters) in the way that they cater to children and a wider audience. Although I think this film is weaker than the other two on nearly all fronts, I do think that the action sequences are better overall than in The Empire Strikes Back. Overall, I really like the original trilogy a lot. It tells us every story we've heard before in a new way, introduces simple but lovable characters, and has an amazing universe that is very interesting. The Star Wars series isn't super artistic or intellectual like 2001: A Space Odyssey, but it does something that may be equally important, and that is to connect with people all over the world and providing a great emotional journey for the viewer. I'm not sure I want to invest myself fully in the Star Wars universe by reading all the books, playing the video games, reading the comic books, etc. but I am considering watching the prequel trilogy (not yet though as I heard that they are awful in comparison), and it'll be awesome to see the new series as the films come out.
 
Happy Ghost III directed by Johnnie To; produced by Raymond Wong - 7/10
Probably the funnest of the Happy Ghost series that I've seen so far, it also has the best directing in terms of visuals. I'm surprised to see that each Happy Ghost film has its own tone, and really even its own type of story. I think the first film is just a little bit better but this is a fun film to watch. Oh yeah and Maggie Cheung is just super cute in this film!

Manhattan directed by Woody Allen - 10/10
Finally, a Woody Allen film (I've been seeing all of them in order) that is not only brilliant in writing and acting, but also in visuals (well Interiors was good too but whatever haha). The film is the most mature of his 70's work and I would even say its the best film he made up to that point, although I still prefer Annie Hall since I relate to that work more and I like its tone just a bit more. I love the cinematography, acting, writing, use of Gershwin music, its all brilliant, and this film has some real transcendent moments. I think this is one of those films that I will love even more after re-watching it.

Castle In The Sky directed by Hayao Miyazaki - 9/10
This is an awesome adventure film by Miyazaki, but I don't think it's on par with his best work. It is very fun to watch and as usual the animation and music is great, but the themes don't seem to be as resonate as much with me. I somewhat blame my viewing experience (watching it on a really hot summer day in the Dominican Republic made for a very uncomfortable viewing). I hope I'll discover that it's a masterpiece after a re-watch!

Jackie Brown directed by Quentin Tarantino - 8/10
A fun Tarantino film that could've been as good as Reservoir Dogs if it were more tonally consistent and if some parts were cut out (at 2 hours and a half, I think the film is a bit too long). I love the beginning and the ending, some parts of the middle felt kind of unnecessary and not as interesting. Still, I have to love the film's mix of blaxploitation and film noir elements combined with Tarantino's signature dialogue (although the film seems to be a little more serious in tone than his other films in a way).

Dodsworth directed by William Wyler - 10/10
Quite simply the best marriage film I have ever seen (and I've seen a ton since I've taken a course on the genre)! Andre Bazin was right, William Wyler is a really talented Hollywood filmmaker. I think he's the only Hollywood filmmaker to use the same technique as Ozu of not cutting a shot after characters leave a room (he does this sometimes in this film). Wyler's use of staging is also amazing. Also, the filmmakers had balls to put a not entirely happy ending which is one of the most brilliant endings I have ever seen. The directing and acting are simply perfect, and this film simply has many great relationships. I do have some minor complaints though: I wish that the wife would have at least some redeemable qualities shown (there are a few but they are just mildly implied), I wish that the film would have shown a little bit more of their daughter and her family, but the film does a great job anyway and is an unsung masterpiece.
 
Last Hurrah For Chivalry directed by John Woo - 8/10
This wuxia film is a great precursor to John Woo's development of the heroic bloodshed genre. It's all there, the male bonding, the themes of honor and loyalty, the humor, the kinetic camerawork, the balletic action sequences (with some interesting use of slow motion), and even some of the melodrama. I was surprised by how great this film was, although it does have flaws. One of them is that it also started the John Woo fake-out as seen in A Better Tomorrow II and Once A Thief, which completely changes the tone of the film by giving a super unrealistic twist. Another flaw is that there is a huge plot hole which should have been easily fixed (it later tries to redeem itself to mixed success because the damage was done and then it introduced some wirework which was inconsistent with the fighting that occurred earlier in the film). I did enjoy this film a lot though, it just shows how John Woo wanted to make action films with more depth from very early on. He could have turned this into a masterpiece but there just seems to be somethings missing, namely a strong melodrama to match the action in intensity. Also the character development in the film, while very interesting, could have been done in a more gradual and subtle manner. But what the hell, I write so much about this film because I freaking love it to death and want to watch it a million times. It's not on par with King Hu's films but it's funner than the modern wuxia films, and it's even better than Woo's A Better Tomorrow II and Once A Thief in my opinion.
 
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Kill Bill: Volume One directed by Quentin Tarantino - 5/10
This is where Tarantino starts to lose me, his first three films were great fun riffs on a variety of genres with some very good dialogue. Even if these films were derivative, they were charming and knew what they were (they didn't seem to be very self-important at all). Unfortunately, Kill Bill suffers from the same lack of originality but its not really all that fun, nor does it have Tarantino's great dialogue. It's a shame because Tarantino really loves HK films and yet he does everything wrong. The action in this film really almost put me to sleep, I don't care how violent it is, yes HK films were violent but that's not why they were awesome. They were awesome because they used a unique blend of cinematography, staging, choreography, and editing to galvanize the viewer and make them feel the blows. Tarantino does none of this at all, and even then there is actually very little interesting dialogue (which is very unusual for Tarantino). There is mostly a bunch of backstory for an essentially meaningless tale of revenge (with a very immature handling of the theme I might add). It seems like Tarantino is taking this too seriously and throwing everything in there just because it's Asian (I mean what was the point of the anime sequence). I was very disappointed by this film.

Kill Bill: Volume Two directed by Quentin Tarantino - 5/10
But I still had to watch the rest of the series just to complete it, and this film is equally flawed but in different ways. The film has a nice homage to HK martial arts films that really captures the visual style of those films, but it does not capture much of the spirit or visceral energy of those films. I really think these two films suffer from Tarantino trying to take too much from a variety of sources and not mixing them together well at all. The story gets a little better in this film, but then it gets a little absurd too.

I think that somehow Kill Bill is greater together though, after watching them together I feel that they deserve a 6/10 but this is still very disappointing for a very popular and critically acclaimed American filmmaker. And it takes four hours to watch both of these films, and there are tons of better lengthy films anyway so this really is disappointing for me. I'd recommend watching the films that inspired this series rather than actually watching it (I'd do that with every Tarantino film but I don't think this film is justifiable unlike his earlier works).
 
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What Did The Lady Forget? directed by Yasujiro Ozu - 8/10
This is a lighter Ozu film that surprisingly still has some of the transcendent brilliance of his more serious works. The story of the film is very simple, and it is in line with Ozu's stories of common daily life but the way it is told is so brilliant. All of the brilliant visual compositions, perfectly paced editing, and 'pillow' shots are all here. Not only that but Ozu's awesome sense of humor is present here as well. And even though this is mostly a comedy, it does have some awesome dramatic sequences that fit with the tone of the film and very interesting characters that are easy to relate to. And I think that's what separates light Ozu from light Naruse or light Gosho, he is able to maintain a high level of artistry even in films that could've been 'throwaway' by any other director. I think even people who dislike Ozu can enjoy the ending of this film which is at once funny, romantic, and hopeful (though I would recommend watching the whole film as the ending really works best within its context of course).

Grease directed by Randal Kleiser - 7/10
Okay, this is by no means a great film but it is just so much fun and it has a lot of personal value to me. I saw parts of it when I was 12 years old and I was obsessed with this vision of high school and greasers (heck I even started growing out my hair because I wanted to look like Travolta in this film, until I found out my hair was extremely curly!). Still today, 50's American pop culture fascinates me, I love 50's rock 'n' roll in all of its variations, the beautiful women back then, the 50's movies with Brando and Dean, the fashion, the drive-in theaters, all of that is just so awesome! And this film is a tribute to that era that I adore, so I have to enjoy it just for that! And even though I much prefer John Hughes' portrayals of high school, I also like the idealistic version of high school shown in this film, although it did make me feel disillusioned when I actually went to high school! The story is pretty stupid, and I even hate the implications of the ending, and not all of the scenes are great. But the ones that are, are just extremely fun to watch and I think they are just brilliant. I'll add this one to my list of favorite films that are not great.

The Big Sleep directed by Howard Hawks - 10/10
This is one of the best and most confusing films I have ever seen. In the hands of less talented writers and directors, this could have been one of the most frustrating movie experiences ever. But Hawks and the film's writers made a film that is so perfectly written and so perfectly directed that the confusion enhances the film and does not detract from it at all. Literally every line is just awesome, and Bogart is badass like always. There is also just a lot that goes on in the film which makes me feel like I'm in Marlowe's shoes trying to figure everything out. The plot is crazy but it is just extremely fun to follow and I loved it for that reason. Although I hate to call Hawks' style 'invisible' (as it probably isn't), I was so caught up in following the plot and enjoying the scenes that I didn't really detect a distinct directorial style or aesthetic. However, all I can say is that it worked because it engrossed me. Maybe on a re-watch I'll be able to appreciate more of the cinematography, lighting, music, editing, etc.
 
1. 22 Jump Street: Sequel to the hit action comedy 21 Jump Street. More consistent pacing, more imaginative sight gags. In one word: just a little short of brilliant.
Rating: 8/10

2. How To Train Your Dragon 2: Definitely a tad higher than the original franchise-launching animated prequel of 2010. As some critics put it, this DreamWorks movie is a romance in itself - visually, parentally, ecologically. It's got the emotional, humorous, exciting sweep you want in a typical entertaining and riveting summer movie. In short: A must-watch.
Rating: 9/10
 
Lean On Me directed by John G. Alvidsen - 7/10
I liked this film a lot more than I expected! Yes it has many flaws, but I see it as a great performance film featuring Morgan Freeman that is also an inspiring Capra-esque story. The film just gives me some of the rush of emotions that Frank Capra and Stanley Kramer films do, although it does lack the artistry of those two directors' work and it has some serious flaws.

School Daze directed by Spike Lee - 8/10
This was my first Spike Lee joint and it was an amazing experience! I think this is possibly the most underrated film I've ever seen (considering its low scores on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb)! There is so much to love in this film. I laughed a lot with it, the musical sequences were awesome, the racial/social issues presented were awesome, it actually made me think a lot about race and different issues. I loved the characters, and some scenes were simply transcendent, for me there was a good 15-20 minutes that was the sign of a masterpiece (unfortunately the rest of the film is good but doesn't reach this level). There is a lot of heart in this film too, I hope that when I make films I'll be able to show this much passion! There are a lot of flaws, and in terms of structure, the film feels like a mess, but it is a wonderful mess. A major complaint though is the ending which does nothing but re-state the message which was made clear in a more eloquent manner throughout the film, still the film gives me a wonderful feeling. I can't wait to watch Spike Lee's joint Do The Right Thing tomorrow, as it is considered to be his masterpiece and tomorrow is its 25th Anniversary!
 
4 Little Girls directed by Spike Lee - 8/10
This documentary by Spike Lee is simple but powerful. I love how it has no use of narration at all, telling its story entirely through images and the accounts of others. There are many emotionally powerful moments, some of which even made me cry. Although the best parts are really amazing, for some reason as a whole the film was very good but I wouldn't call it a masterpiece.

Pretty In Pink directed by Howard Deutch; produced and written by John Hughes - 7/10
I like this film a lot, but I thought it could have been a lot better. I love how much more seriously Hughes tackled his subject in this film, and how it dealt with some topics that were not as commonly dealt with in high school films. The best scenes of the film are incredible and show just what I love about John Hughes in the way that he tackles teen issues without being condescending or even moralizing, just by being honest and having a lot of empathy. Still some interesting ideas are just hinted at and not fully developed, the ending is garbage in my opinion, and the directing doesn't have the same heart that I found even in another flawed film like Sixteen Candles or in Hughes' greatest works. I read that Hughes had to relinquish a lot of control in this film so he later re-made it into Some Kind Of Wonderful, hopefully that film fulfills Pretty In Pink's potential.

Winners And Sinners directed by Sammo Hung - 9/10
I guess I'm starting to fall in love with films that people don't rate that highly with this one and with School Daze yesterday. I simply love everything about this film, I almost even gave it a 10/10. It's just great martial arts comedy, even though it's more of a comedy film. I think this is one of the best examples of Hong Kong's non-plot focused episodic cinema which provides wonderful entertainment that develops lovable characters without even having a real story. The martial arts scenes with Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan are amazing, and there are so many memorable funny scenes. I think the U.S. hasn't made comedy films like this since the silent era, where physical comedy is used for laughs and to push the story forward (only when necessary though!).
 
I've been very busy moving around so I didn't get to write on films I've seen, so I'll just write like a sentence about each film now.

My Lucky Stars directed by Sammo Hung - 7/10
Lacks the charm of the first film in the series, but it has some memorable broad comedic scenes and action, the ending in particular is awesome. Unfortunately I was bored with parts of the films.

Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars directed by Sammo Hung - 7/10
Somehow this film has the best martial arts sequences in the sequence but it suffers from repeating the same type of humor used in the other films. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I wouldn't have watched all of the films within a two day span.

Toy Story 3 directed by Lee Unkrich - 10/10
I'm glad I waited so long to watch this film, as I head out to college it completes my childhood and really touches my heart. The adventure is perfect, the characters are perfect, the narrative is perfect, and I was surprised by the way the whole film turned out to be a biblical allegory which added depth to the film, good job Pixar!

Day & Night directed by Teddy Newton - 7/10
This film has a very cool concept and it's done well, it isn't particularly special though in my opinion.

The Searchers directed by John Ford - 10/10
I was surprised by how much I loved this film. Formalistically, everything is perfect here with Ford's amazing visual compositions and great use of editing. There is a lot of subtle mastery here as well that I would have to mention in a longer form of review. I especially liked the complexities of the characters, this film really was doing what Taxi Driver was doing many years before!

Priest Of Darkness directed by Sadao Yamanaka - 7/10
After falling in love with Yamanaka's Tange Sazen film, this one was slightly disappointing. I didn't know whether to consider it drama or comedy, and then it turned out to be drama. Although the film is good visually, I don't think it's on the level of Ozu, Mizoguchi, Naruse, or even Kurosawa. The story was also hard to follow for me after a while, although the initial plot intrigued me. It's nice to see a young Setsuko Hara though! I wouldn't say my opinion here is definitive because I don't feel like I fully "got" this film, and it seems like a much better film than the other Japanese 7/10's I've given to lesser Naruse films and to Oshima's debut film.

April Story directed by Shunji Iwai - 10/10
While re-watching this film, it was still incredibly cute, sweet, and heartwarming. The film doesn't have a lot of depth or even much of a plot, but it does a great job of showing a girl going off to college in a simple beautiful way. It's not a perfect film or one with a lot of depth, but I have to give it a perfect score as it does what it does perfectly and I really like it.

To Sir, With Love directed by James Clavell - 7/10
I love Sidney Poiter here, and the film is mostly very good. I just feel that somewhere after the first half the film just lost a lot of power and momentum, so even though it's superior to something like Lean On Me, it doesn't feel as powerful. I also wish that some of the social issues discussed would be analyzed with more depth.

The Other Side Of Gentleman directed by Ringo Lam - 6/10
This early Lam film is like many HK films which have some great aspects and some downright absurd aspect. As usual, I like the episodic narrative in these kind of films, although this film is somewhat weaker with its narrative. I love the concept of this film, it's like a romantic comedy version of A Clockwork Orange. I still think that the relationship could have been more well developed, as I didn't care as much as I should have when it fell apart. I have mixed feelings about the ending, I like the bold experimentation of images and the events presented, but I disliked how it became a happy ending as it didn't seem to fit with the characters. I think this could have been a great film but it was possibly rushed out like many HK films of the period so it has many flaws.
 
Tokyo Family directed by Yoji Yamada - 8/10
A fine remake of Ozu's Tokyo Story, but of course no film could recapture the magic of the original. Yoji Yamada's directing is fairly conventional as he has always been known as a talented craftsman. The beginning of the film is good but the film slowly entranced me more and more as I got caught in Ozu's wonderful story updated fairly well for the 21st century. While it's no masterpiece, I think it captures the basic kind of film Ozu made, and I think this could be a great introduction to Ozu for more contemporary audiences. I only wish the film would have had a little bit more of Ozu's idiosyncratic directing style displayed. I do have to say that the changes made to the character of Noriko were good because they added something fresh, but it should have been developed a little more. And the casting choice of Yu Aoi as Noriko was really inspired, they did a perfect job at finding today's Setsuko Hara!
 
The Camera Caught It with Pete Smith - 4/10
A sometimes funny little short film that's kind of pointless. I like the archival footage but this isn't really a good film at all otherwise.
 
The Ox-Bow Incident directed by William A. Wellman - 10/10
A very good bleak Western that is even quite thought provoking in its exploration of human nature. It's not an absolute perfect film, but its few flaws don't really harm the film at all.
 
Don't Go Breaking My Heart directed by Johnnie To - 8/10
This is a very good romantic comedy with a lot of interesting ideas. What I like about this film is that it is very unabashedly romantic and funny in a cute way. I haven't seem romantic comedies made this way in recent years, so it was very fresh to see something that goes all out. The film also has had people compare it to Rear Window in the way that it uses shots of the characters communicating and looking at each other through the window between two buildings. I don't think that comparison is really fair because Rear Window is much more brilliant, and I feel like To over-uses the idea here a bit. There were some scenes that really weren't good, but the best parts are absolutely brilliant. I guess I was kind of disappointed though because the first few scenes had me so hooked that I thought this would be one of the best romantic comedies ever! Fortunately though, even with the film's flaws it has a lot of great scenes and the ending is incredibly touching! One thing I'll mention though is that I saw this film on Hulu, and I now realize that I'll never watch movies this way if there's another option because I hate ads interrupting my movie, especially during very important moments!

Happy Ghost IV directed by Clifton Ko; produced by Raymond Wong - 6/10
I still love this series even though they aren't particularly great films. This installment to the series is more absurd than ever, and funny as hell. There are some parts that to me are very annoying but it doesn't detract too much from the charm this series has. I love the early comedic scenes with the popular band Beyond (named Behind in this film). The film doesn't have as much heart as the first three in the series, and it doesn't transcend the style of film like the first and third in the series do, but it's still a lot of fun to watch for the usual reasons (absurd digressive episodic narrative, the cute ghost scenes, ghost powers interfering with relationships, crazy special effects, funny youthful characters, and just that crazy HK commercial film style of the 80's and 90's).
 
Till We Meet Again directed by Tadashi Imai - 8/10
This is one of those films that make me completely change my mind about the film with its ending. For the most part, I found this to be a good straightforward romance film, but nothing really special due to the fact that it felt a little overlong at parts and does not have the masterful directing that I am used to with Japanese films of its period. However, the ending did so much and was so emotionally impacting that I had to raise my rating from a 7 to an 8. First it was great in the way that it recontextualized the beginning of the film, then once it had me engaged more than I ever had been with the film it hits me with a heartbreaking twist, and then when it seems like a perfect ending happened, the film shows a taste of the aftermath that enhances the already perfect ending. I hope that in these few years where there are more studies on classic Japanese cinema that Tadashi Imai won't be placed among the masters such as Ozu, Mizoguchi, or Kurosawa because he is a very good director but to label him as a master of those ranks (or of Yamanaka's, Naruse's, and Ichikawa's for that matter) would be dishonest. Tadashi Imai is notable for bringing some social realism in his work which was what the Japanese New Wavers demanded and why they hated classical Japanese cinema, but I think time has shown that the masters had it right in their more subtle mastery of expressing the human condition instead of outright political demonstrations. Imai shows that he has a gift for filmmaking, but his command of the image doesn't reach the level of perfection that the Japanese masters achieved. This is still a preliminary judgement on Imai as I have only seen this film, but the problem is that a lot of times people are quick to praise the unknown in order to gain credit for discovering masterpieces. At least with Till We Meet Again, Imai demonstrates that he is a very skillful filmmaker but not one of the greatest in his nation. I hope that An Inlet Of Muddy Water proves me wrong.
 
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