549 A bloody road
From the New York Times to the Los Angeles Times, from the "movie reviews" to the "movie threats", from the "variety shows" to the "Hollywood Reporter" it seems that all the authoritative media have lost their hearts overnight, either one hundred points or zero points, no middle value, no room for negotiation, and clearly stated their position. Even for a cult movie, such a scene is jaw-dropping.
Even the news media themselves did not expect such a situation.
After the Oscars, Lance officially entered the circle of interests. If he won benefits for a certain part of the people, he would inevitably harm the interests of a certain part of the people. Therefore, the "Christian Pravda" and "Austin Chronicle" took the initiative to provoke trouble and tried to teach Lance a lesson. Unfortunately, before the follow-up methods were used, the news incident of the "Boston Globe" broke out, which made Lance quietly escape the disaster and did not even hear the wind.
Now, the opportunity has come again. "City of Sin" is a controversial work. The media does not need to struggle to catch Lance's pain. Interest groups quietly stood on the same front again. "Seattle Post", "San Francisco Chronicle", "Hollywood Reporter", etc., nine "zero points" appeared in the first batch of comments. Such a rare scene appeared in such a grand manner.
Generally speaking, it is normal for cult movies to have zero points, but about four or five is already more than ten. Because any movie has its merits, zero points not only mean nothing, but also a complete denial of the entire crew. What the media needs to give a zero point is not only courage, but also the obligation to take responsibility. They are likely to destroy the future of the entire crew. But now there are nine zero points, a full nine!
This is also the reason why people have seen such a shocking reaction.
"City of Sin" is not an ordinary movie. Lance is a director who has won the Oscars. Just three zero points is enough to become a scandal that cannot be erased in his career. But now nine Bruce, Mickey, Jessica and others have mixed interests behind them. Their agents will definitely not let their artists sink. The media must think twice before giving zero points. Giving a 100-point rating is enough to express a critical stance. Why bother giving zero points and hurting each other's harmony?
Obviously, the media intend to join forces to give Lance a shocking education, and then put the blame on Lance, so that the forces behind Bruce, Mickey, Jessica and others will also condemn Lance. Tom Cruise has been endorsing Lance for the past six months, and Lance's status in the circle has been rapidly improved, but if this plan is successful, Lance will definitely not have such a good life, and may even be rejected and contempt by some small groups in the circle.
Once successful, this shocking education will be enough to make Lance silent for one to two years. It’s not like it’s just sinking. After all, Lance is the winner of the Oscar Little Golden Man, and there are two 200 million works. Tom’s strong support, as well as the friendship between Martin Scorses, Leonardo DiCaprio and others, it’s only a matter of time before Lance wins the opportunity again, but within the past two years, Lance’s development will be bumpy, stumble, and annoyed.
This is the reality that rootless duckweed with no background, no foundation, and no backing is struggling in Hollywood.
But now, things are obviously deviating. Nine zero points caused a frenzy of discussion according to the plan, triggering a series of chain reactions, but in the end, they encountered fifteen full scores, allowing the plan to develop uncontrollably in an unknown direction.
Some people want to teach Lance a lesson, but others want to support Lance. Just as Martin missed Oscar for Best Director Xiao Jinren, the power on the East Coast of the United States is declining. With the declining rivers on Broadway, hip-hop music is blooming, and the cold image of the East Coast forces is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. People can't help but stay away from it and migrate towards the more people-friendly, more civilian, and more friendly West Coast. The attention around the world is gradually shifting towards the West Coast.
The East Coast is very satisfied with its "cold" route. "One confidant is enough, and one blindly follows ten thousand people," this is their usual code of conduct, and they have no intention of making changes. But it is undeniable that if art does not receive commercial expansion and support, they will lack the motivation to continue to develop, and the birth of the new generation of art will gradually become shortened or even more terrifying. Those artistic talents are moving towards the West Coast and are contaminated with vulgar commercial atmosphere. In short, it is an era when wine is fragrant and the alley is deep.
Therefore, East Coast does not want to change itself, but it needs to make more advertisements. They need more flag characters like Martin to stand up. Obviously, Lance, who emerged from nowhere, is a good candidate, not to mention, with the advent of "City of Sin", Lance's crime trilogy also completes the last piece of the puzzle, which makes East Coast cheer. This not only shows Lance's creative talent, but also shows Lance's pursuit of art in his bones. Even comic works with a strong commercial atmosphere like "City of Sin" finally bloomed with a charming artistic humanistic atmosphere under the lens of Lance.
So, fifteen hundred points appeared, which was against nine zero points. Compared with zero points, the media's 100 points is common, but in such an extreme and extreme comparison, the two extreme views collided with unimaginable sparks. Neither the zero point force nor the one hundred point force had expected such an ending.
The confrontation between the two heavens of ice and fire completely triggered a frenzy of discussion, giving people the illusion of "the summer vacation is coming early". Even ordinary audiences who have no concern for the movies can't help but come to their attention. They are full of curiosity and interest in "City of Sin". They hope to go to the cinema and watch it in person, and express their own views. Maybe they are looking for like-minded people, or maybe they are fighting with friends with gunpowder.
This is really an interesting thing, isn't it?
In addition to 100 points and zero points, the other sixteen media outlets that made the first comments were not extreme, but their positions were still clear and confrontational, continuing this reputation duel.
The Wall Street Journal scored ninety-one, "There are so many things worth watching in the City of Sin: violence, cruelty, hopeless evil. But the irresistible charm comes from the core of the story, like a twisted presentation of our world projected in the mirror."
The Austin Chronicle scored only twenty-five points. "City of Sin is a work that pays tribute to the old spirit of the old era, full of a kind of rude machismo and a twisted view of violence, as if all the beauty and all women will become the carriers for their emotional venting."
"New Yorker" gave 90 points, "City of Sin is the most distinctive, personalized and breakthrough work among mainstream films this year. The film is filled with an arrogant and original spirit, a vicious, difficult, and interesting little movie filled with ironic black humor, but it contains meaningful artistic exploration and revival of thought."
"News Daily" has a 33-point rating, "This is a cruel movie filled with ruthless violence and exploitation. City of Sin is an extremely uneasy but extremely mediocre cartoon. If you like cartoons.
The Chicago Tribune scored 89 points. "A unique movie, Frank Miller's comics bring a visual feast under the black and white composition, while Lancelot Strello's works raise the comic adaptation to an artistic level, giving the picture soul and the story soul."
The rating of "Los Angeles Weekly" stopped at 30. "After spending half an hour drooling at the wonderful visual scene, I found that every detail of the movie was disgusting. Just as the creator's intention, after deducting those martial arts moves, the movie achieved this goal."
As always, even if relatively "objective" scores are given, the comments are still polarized. Either praise or sneer. The praise score is not lower than 85 points, and the criticism score is not higher than 35 points, and the intermediate value seems to have evaporated and cannot be found at all.
Although Lance had encountered such a situation in the previous two works "The Day After Day" and "Borrowing a Knife to Kill People", in comparison, those two times were nothing at all. "City of Sin" was truly facing extreme comments, just like everyone lost their minds and pushed the strong emotions to the extreme. This is really a rare and strange thing for film critics who have always been known for their calmness, objectiveness, fairness and justice.
But what is surprising is that the praise score always prevails, from quantity to quality. In the end, the first batch of comments from "City of Sin" came to an incredible 77 points in the double world of ice and fire. The score is far better than the "Seven Deadly Sins", and even crossed the threshold of 70 points. For a cult movie, such a result is simply shocking for a commercial movie, especially considering the polarization of the media, 77 points are even more rare.
"City of Sin" successfully took the title of cult movies and fought a bloody path under the escort of stylized images, and strongly declared its presence with a 77-point surprise. Such a development situation was probably something that no one expected.
What is even more commendable is that Rotten Tomato Network has also shown a similar development context, further pushing the discussion on "City of Sin" to the peak! To be continued.
Chapter completed!