I guess this show tries to stay away from that ultimate storytelling cliche - the redemption arc - as much as possible. After all, its comedy and freshness relies on the girls being *repeat* failures, never rising far above bare minimum in acts of decency or ambition.

What bothers me is that Marnie and Jessa have the potential to be both complex and engaging. They both operate by a pretty strong blend of attitudes, which are interesting to explore. When Jessa was taking care of the woman at the beginning of the season, or when Marnie had her fling with Ray, for example, their…

The episode has a male writer and - director, wonder if that's why the male-centric stories are more potent.

Hmm, it's so bad, but it's so compelling - near irresistible…. that reminds me of something.

I'm still hoping the third movie will somehow pull the Hobbit trilogy out of its nosedive… but it's all about the money now, I guess. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

I can say the exact same, and it's so sad - was looking forward to endless Tolkien marathons, now with the splendid addition of the Hobbit movies - and then, this happened.

You can think whatever you want, so can I. We like some movies and dislike others - neither opinion is more elitist than the other. I didn't personally enjoy Pan's Labyrinth, but that has no relevance to the conversation whatsoever. Not going to reply to this thread any further now.

Who's "you people"? And what does Pan's Labyrinth have to do with anything?

Agreed.

So does McDonald's, doesn't mean it makes quality food. How much money something makes is not a reliable indicator of quality, and this thread is a discussion of the quality of movies watched.

Yes, in the sense that they make a lot of money. No, in the sense that the end product is rarely very good.

The lowest common denominator is the creators' idea of what the average fan wants to pay for.

This one's probably not my worst ever, but the most disappointing. I've just gone to see the second Hobbit movie, and it was absolutely pandering to the lowest common denominator. I loved that franchise for what it did with the LotR trilogy, but now it's just devolved to overabundant CGI effects and regurgitated…