TinyTimes3isa2014ChinesefilmwrittenanddirectedbyGuoJingming.Althoughbyfartheworstfilminthefranchise,ithasprovedtobeimmenselypopularamongyounggirls,andearnedmorethan100millionyuanonitsfirstdayattheboxoffice.

　　ThelasttimeIgotangryinacinemawaswhenWongKaiWaireleasedhisincompletemartialartsdramafilm"TheGrandmaster".Heshowednorespectforcinema-goersandthemoviebusinessashepeddledanunfinishedproduct.

　　ButthatsentimentwasnothingcomparedtowhatIfeltwhilewatchingTinyTimes3.ThelatestoutingbynovelistandbusinessmanGuoJingmingwitnessedacatastrophicdowngradefromthepreviousinstallment,whichitselfbarelybreachedthelevelofmediocracyinthefirstplace.Thenarrativesinbothfilmsarepracticaljokesjustthesame,butatleastthecinematographyinTinyTimes2almostreachedanaveragestandard.Incomparisonthethirdinstallmentisjustacircusfreakshowsufferingfromtheincurablediseaseofoverblownslowmotion.

　　Thesymptomsstartshowingrightfromthebeginning.ThemovieisabouttherelationshipbetweenfourfemalefriendswherethegirlsgoonabusinesstriptoRome.NothingofrealbusinesssignificancehappensintheItaliancapital,butthatdoesn'tstopthegirlsfromdressingupinelaborateoutfitsastheyinvadetheancientcitywiththeirposingandflaunting.Ithinkthedirector'smessageis:look,IcanaffordtoshootthisfilminRome,atleastsomepartofit.

　　Thegoodfornothingopeningisfollowedbyamake-believebusinessespionagestory.Itseemsasthoughthedirectoristryingtomakethispartfunny,butheonlyachievessilliness.LikeIsaid,thenarrativeisajoke,whatcanyouexpect,exceptforplentyofslowmotionshotstohighlightthenot-so-intenseaction?

　　Afterthat,thedirectordecidestodrownhisbelovedaudienceinshotsaftershotsofslowmotion.Whenthegirlsgetmadateachotherforvariousunreasonablereasons,justashappenedinpreviousinstallments,onlyendlessslowmotionshotscanexplainthemagnitudeoftheirheartbreak,andhopefullydistracttheaudiencefromthescantstory.

　　Assomeonewhocertainlyhaven'tbeenconvertedtoGuoJingming'sstyle,Ibegantolookaroundinthecinema.OnaMondayafternoon,thescreeningroomwassurprisinglyfull.Theaudiencelargelyconsistsofyounggirls,whoweremostlikelystudentsontheirsummervacations,andapparentlytheywerehavingagoodtime.Somecouldevenpredictwhatwasgoingtohappenonscreenbecausethey'vereadtheoriginalnovel.

　　Foramoment,Iwasunsettledbythefactthatouryouthisbeingmanipulatedbysuchnonsense,butthenagain,eachgenerationhastheirowndragonstoslay,perhapsbattlingthebadinfluenceinthesubcultureistheirwayofbecomingresponsibleadults.Andwehavetolivewiththefactthatsome,likeourdeardirector,nevermakeitthrough.