It's reasonable for me, a stuntman, to live a crazy life, right?

Chapter 1385 The door to science fiction that had just opened has been slammed shut again...

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, casting warm, inviting streaks of light on the floor.

Chen Fei rolled over, picked up his phone, and saw that it was already past ten o'clock.

This was probably the deepest sleep he'd had in a year. There was no alarm clock, no work messages, only the occasional sounds of children playing outside the window, making the yard exceptionally quiet.

He stretched and got up, then quietly rolled out of bed.

Seeing that Liu Yifei was still curled up in the quilt, her brows relaxed, and sleeping soundly, he didn't wake her and turned to walk towards the kitchen.

The dumplings were all made last night and are currently in the cupboard.

Chen Fei rolled up his sleeves and boiled a pot of water.

Liu Yifei loves sauerkraut and pork filling, and even specially made a few "ingot dumplings" with decorative edges for her son.

The water boiled, and the dumplings were dropped into the pot with a "plop plop," spinning around in the boiling water.

Chen Fei was staring at the pot when suddenly, he heard soft footsteps behind him.

Looking back, Liu Yifei was standing at the kitchen door, holding Xiao Shitou's hand.

Both of them changed into new clothes.

Liu Yifei wore a red knitted sweater, which made her skin look fair, while Xiao Shitou wore a Tang suit jacket and had his hair in a small bun, looking just like a doll in a New Year's painting.

"Dad, are the dumplings ready?" Little Stone broke free from his mother's hand, ran to the stove, and stood on tiptoe to peek into the pot.

"Almost there." Chen Fei smiled and ruffled his hair, then looked at Liu Yifei, "Awake? Go wait in the living room, we'll be eating soon."

Why didn't you call me?

Liu Yifei walked over, gently wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, rested her chin on his back, and spoke in a sleepy voice.

"Look how soundly you're sleeping." Chen Fei turned around and tidied the stray hairs on her forehead. "It's Chinese New Year, you should sleep in a little longer."

As they were talking, the dumplings floated to the surface, each one with a round, plump belly.

Chen Fei turned off the stove, used a slotted spoon to scoop the dumplings into a plate, and sprinkled some chopped green onions on top.

Little Stone had already moved his little stool and sat down at the table, holding chopsticks in his little hands, his eyes sparkling as he stared at the plate, muttering, "After eating dumplings, I'm a year older!"

The sun was shining brightly outside the window, the aroma of dumplings wafted from the kitchen, and the laughter of the family of three mingled together...

This is probably the best kind of family reunion during the Chinese New Year.

After eating, Chen Fei put on an apron and washed the pots in the kitchen.

Just then, a noise came from the courtyard gate, and the old man returned from his stroll outside.

As soon as I entered, I saw Little Stone lying on the living room carpet playing with building blocks. My eyes lit up, and I immediately called out, "Little Stone, come here!"

Upon hearing his great-grandfather's voice, the little guy jumped up and rushed to the old man, exclaiming, "Great-grandfather!"

"Oh, my dear grandson!" The old man smiled, his wrinkles smoothing out as he pulled a red envelope from his pocket and shoved it into his hand. "New Year's red envelope, take this and buy some good food!"

Little Stone clutched the thick red envelope, rubbing it between his fingers. Feeling the hard interior, his eyes widened instantly. He rushed to Liu Yifei, tugging at her clothes and shaking it: "Mommy, it's money! Let's go buy yummy things! Buy chocolate, buy strawberry candied hawthorns!"

Liu Yifei stumbled slightly from his tug, then playfully pinched his nose with a smile: "You want snacks right after eating dumplings? You need to save the red envelope your great-grandfather gave you, okay?"

"Don't save it! Buy it now!" Little Stone hugged the red envelope to his chest as if it were a precious treasure. "Dad said that we should save the red envelopes we receive for the New Year so we can buy delicious food!"

Chen Fei had just finished washing the pots and came out when he heard this and couldn't help but laugh: "When did I say that?"

“Yesterday! You said it when you were drinking with Grandpa!” Little Stone looked up and spoke with conviction.

The old man chimed in, "Go ahead, go ahead. The first day of the Lunar New Year is the time to make the kids happy. I know a new snack shop opened at the end of the alley, and it's packed with New Year's goods."

Liu Yifei glanced at Chen Fei, and seeing him nod, she picked up her coat: "Okay, I'll take you there, but we have to agree that you can only choose three things."

"Okay!" Little Stone replied loudly, and pulled his mother outside.

Chen Fei stood at the door, watching the mother and daughter's retreating figures with a gentle smile.

The old man came over and patted his shoulder: "Look at this child, just like you when you were a kid, he can't move his legs when he sees food."

"Hey? Do you think I'm that greedy?"

"Haha, you're way more greedy than this."

……

When Little Stone returned from the snack shop, he was carrying a bulging bag in his arms, with a strawberry candy in his mouth, and his steps were full of joy.

Chen Fei tidied up the house briefly, glanced at the time, and waved his hand, "Let's go, the movie's about to start."

As soon as the car drove out of the alley, Little Stone peeked out the window and counted the red lanterns along the roadside, humming the theme song from "Boonie Bears".

Looking at her son in the rearview mirror, Liu Yifei couldn't help but laugh: "He can only be so well-behaved while watching this movie."

“Of course,” Chen Fei said, turning the steering wheel with a helpless tone. “Bald Qiang is much more charming than me. I usually have to beg him three or four times to get him to eat, but as soon as I mention that I’m here to see Xiong Da and Xiong Er, he eats breakfast faster than anyone else.”

When we arrived at the cinema, there were still ten minutes before the show started, and the waiting area was full of parents who had brought their children.

Little Stone spotted the bear doll standing at the door at a glance, broke free from Chen Fei's hand and ran over, hugging the doll's leg and refusing to let go.

Liu Yifei took out her phone and took a few photos of him, while Chen Fei went to the automatic ticket machine to get his tickets and also bought a bucket of popcorn.

As soon as they entered the theater and the lights dimmed, Xiao Shitou sat up straight, his eyes wide open.

When the familiar Bald Qiang appeared on the screen, he cheered softly and popped a piece of popcorn into his mouth.

The movie tells the story of Xiong Da searching for his mother, and it has both funny scenes and tear-jerking moments.

Little Stone would giggle along with the storyline, then secretly wipe away tears. When he saw the scene where Xiong Da protected his mother, he quietly snuggled closer to Liu Yifei and said, "Mom, when I grow up, I want to protect you too."

"Haha." Liu Yifei tapped his little head. "Alright, I haven't spoiled you for nothing."

Chen Fei sat beside his son, watching him engrossed in his work, and then glanced at Liu Yifei, who was smiling beside him. He suddenly felt incredibly satisfied.

My life, which is usually filled with projects, box office revenue, and meetings, is now replaced by the laughter of children and the heartwarming story on the screen, making it simple and reassuring.

The movie lasts for more than an hour in total, with intermissions in between.

Liu Yifei took her son to the restroom, while Chen Fei took out his phone to check the film schedule for this year's Spring Festival.

Open the ticketing app, and the Spring Festival movie schedule is clearly displayed on the screen.

As expected, "The Wandering Earth 2" had a significantly higher screen share, with almost every prime-time screening sold out and an occupancy rate exceeding 80%!

He casually scrolled to the trending topics list. Hashtags such as #HowShockingIsTheSpaceElevatorInTheWanderingEarth2#, #LiuDehua'sCryingSceneInTheWanderingEarth2#, and #LiXuejianSaysOurPeopleCanDefinitelyDoIt# dominated the top five spots, with hundreds of thousands of comments under each one.

Not to mention short video platforms, there are montages of the space elevator, Zhou Zhe's famous scene of slapping the table, and analysis of the lines from the "Mountain Moving Project". You can find related content almost every three videos, and the number of likes often reaches millions!

Opening Douban, "The Wandering Earth 2" immediately shows a score of 8.5, with the short review section almost entirely flooded with five-star reviews:

"It's on a much larger scale than the first one! From personal fate to human civilization, the sacrifices of each character are heartbreaking, especially the moment when Tu Hengyu takes a risk for his daughter's data life, but ultimately chooses to press the detonator. I couldn't stop crying."

"Holy crap! This is amazing for science students! The quantum computers and space elevator dynamics in it are all top-notch stuff. I did some research and found out that the production team actually hired astrophysicists as consultants, and even the jet angles of the planetary engines were calculated. This is what science fiction should be like!"

"Liu Dehua's performance was amazing. From a gentle engineer to a paranoid father, his eyes were full of acting. Li Xuejian's performance was even more amazing. Just the line 'In the face of danger, there is only responsibility' was enough to make him a legend."

Chen Fei checked the real-time box office data again.

Including pre-sale figures, "The Wandering Earth 2" grossed over 3 million yuan in just half a day after its release, far exceeding other films released during the same period.

Some professional film bloggers predict that, given this momentum, the film is very likely to become the box office champion during the Spring Festival, and may even challenge for a place among the top three highest-grossing films in Chinese film history!
Just then, Liu Yifei returned, leading Xiao Shitou.

"What are you looking at so intently?"

"Let's look at the box office results for 'The Wandering Earth 2'." Chen Fei put away his phone, smiled, and patted his son's face.

Little Stone looked up, seemingly understanding but not quite: "Dad, is Bald Qiang more powerful, or is The Wandering Earth more powerful?"

Chen Fei raised an eyebrow and said, "They're all amazing!"

In his view, whether it's an animated film that makes children laugh or a sci-fi film that excites adults, the most authentic meaning of a movie is to bring joy and emotion to the audience.

However, in the film industry, there are always people who want to take shortcuts.

For example, Lu Chuan's "Bureau 749"!
This film, which had been in preparation for five years, whetted the audience's appetite with its mysterious marketing tactics of "zero premiere" and "completely keeping the plot a secret" before its release.

With the added boost of Wang Junkai's popularity, the pre-sale results once surged into the top three of the Spring Festival film season!

Many fans, in order to support their idols, have been clamoring to book out the entire venue, raising their expectations to the heavens.

But when the movie officially opened on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the first batch of viewers walked out of the theater and their expressions were not right.

"What the hell is this?" one viewer angrily gave it a one-star rating on Douban. "The 'mysterious events in unknown areas' advertised in the promotion are actually just high school students having puppy love and bullying. The so-called 'supernatural phenomena' are all made up of cheap special effects. Wang Junkai has a blank expression the whole time and can't even deliver his lines properly! How dare they call this a blockbuster?"

On short video platforms,吐槽 (tu cao, meaning to criticize or complain) videos become popular faster than promotional clips.

A blogger posted a clip from the film where "the monster effects look like Play-Doh," captioning it, "Is this what Director Lu was touting as 'a new height for domestic fantasy'?"

Some people also pointed out plot holes: "In the first half, it says the protagonist has mind-reading abilities, but in the second half, it suddenly becomes fire control. Did the screenwriter get it mixed up?"

What angered the audience even more was that the film's so-called "unconventional" approach was actually just a sign of their guilty conscience!

The special effects are terrible, the plot is fragmented, and they simply use "mystery" as a fig leaf. In essence, they just want to use marketing to scam a wave of box office revenue.

There is no harm without comparison.

Compared to "The Wandering Earth 2", Lu Chuan's creations seem like nothing more than a dissertation defense to the audience!
"I'm begging you, Lu Taro, stop promoting this 'years of painstaking work' nonsense. With something like this, is it possible that you lack the talent for procreation? That you're infertile?"

"Tsk tsk, a wavering protagonist, a plot that's predictable from start to finish, and special effects that's on par with 'Shanghai Fortress,' it's absolutely awful!"

"Wang Junkai is really unfortunate. With the movie '749 Bureau', he will probably be listed as one of the leading actors in an epic fraud sci-fi movie for a long time, just like Lu Han, who starred in the movie 'Shanghai Fortress'."

"Lu Chuan really makes everyone feel it's great value! With one ticket, you can see 'Life,' 'Under the Inhumans,' 'Arrival,' 'Superman,' 'X-Men,' 'Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe,' 'Shanghai Fortress,' 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes,' 'Avatar'... and experience the advanced AI face-swapping technology. He's amazing!"

"The Wandering Earth 1 opened the door to domestic science fiction, only to be kicked back down by Shanghai Fortress. Now, The Wandering Earth 2 has finally opened it again, only to be kicked back down by Bureau 749. Holy crap, I'm truly speechless."

Chen Fei almost burst out laughing when he saw the comments from viewers online.

He knew that Rikutaro would never produce any outstanding works.

Now that I see it, sure enough, they've produced another terrible movie. I wonder what Tencent Video thinks about it.

As he thought about it, he swiped his phone screen upwards, temporarily putting the farce of "Bureau 749" out of his mind.

"Man Jiang Hong" is doing very well, with positive reviews still piling up in the film review section.

"Holy crap! The part where the whole army recited 'Man Jiang Hong' at the end gave me goosebumps!"

"Twists and turns, and more twists and turns, until the end you realize that everyone is fighting for a belief. Zhang Yimou filmed the national sentiment in a way that is not deliberate at all."

"Thirty years of fame and glory are but dust and dirt, eight thousand miles of road are but clouds and moon—isn't this a true reflection of Director Zhang's 35-year directing career? He continues to seek change in subject matter, techniques, and scripts..."

Judging from the current situation, the film's popularity is growing with positive word-of-mouth, and its screening schedule and attendance are very close, showing signs of rivaling "The Wandering Earth 2".

And Feiyue Pictures' investment in "Boonie Bears: Accompany Me with the 'Bear Core'" did not disappoint.

As a benchmark for family-friendly animated films during the Spring Festival season, its reviews have always been consistently positive.

"I cried while watching it with my child. The part where Xiong Da is looking for his mother was so touching. Both adults and children can find resonance in it."

"The visuals are more refined than the previous films, the jokes are not awkward, and there is a discussion about 'female power' hidden within, which exceeded expectations."

"No wonder it's a perennial favorite during the Spring Festival season! Amazing!"

Looking at "Nameless" and "Deep Sea", the reviews are rather mediocre.

The former mainly relied on the acting skills of Tony Leung and Wang Yibo.

Some people think the cinematography is amazing and the atmosphere of the spy drama is perfect, but others think the narrative is too fragmented and non-fans can't understand it.

The "particle ink" technology in "Deep Sea" has garnered widespread praise, with many commenting that "every frame could be a wallpaper."

Unfortunately, the film's plot was criticized for being "dragging in the first half and having a somewhat contrived emotional appeal," making it a mixed bag and failing to achieve widespread acclaim.

However, the majority of comments in the review section were critical of "Swap Lives".

"The swapping of Lei Jiayin and Zhang Xiaofei is such an old joke. The whole film is just a bunch of bad jokes, so embarrassing it's like digging your toes in the ground."

"It was intended to be a family-friendly film, but the jokes were vulgar and the sentimentality was forced. After watching it, I just felt like I wasted my time."

"Damn, I'd rather watch 'The Wandering Earth 2' again. It's incredibly boring. Can Lei Jun please stop making bad movies?"

Chen Fei glanced around and got a general idea of ​​what was going on.

This year's Spring Festival film season was a mixed bag, with some films thriving and others struggling. Those that truly stood out were the ones that focused on crafting compelling stories and genuine sincerity.

If things can continue like this, there's really nothing wrong with it.

The winners continue to build on their success, while the losers learn from their mistakes, sincerely apologize, and seek opportunities to prove themselves again.

After all, with movies being such a high-risk investment, who can guarantee that they will succeed repeatedly?
However, some people think differently...

(End of this chapter)