ALIAS Was So Influential, We Forgot It

Last week, I started rewatching Alias (naturally I'm already on season 3). The show was one of my major favorites in high school. I devoured the first two seasons on DVD, then somehow caught up on season 3 before watching live. It was perhaps one of the most breathtaking shows my little unformed mind had ever seen. Twists, cliffhangers, wigs, gadgets--it was too much for me. The show was a cult favorite, always just bubbling up to the surface. It seemed everyone knew about it--and knew that its star Jennifer Garner was the hottest thing ever--but did people even watch it?

It's funny to think how much Alias anticipated the current era of TV. Had the show premiered in 2015 on one of the streaming platforms like Netflix or Amazon, it would have been the talk of the town. And more so than it was in 2004 or even in 2001 when it debuted. The cliffhanger-happy format was made for our "Are you still watching?" pop culture landscape. The season finales, which always offered a game-changing final twist, would land even better on Netflix than they did on network TV.

BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE is Incompetent, Reactive, and Hateful (Review)

At this point, hating on Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice seems unfair. When critics were allowed to release their opinions, the movie took a heavy beating in the media and on social media. The film has a 30% on Rotten Tomatoes, and its reputation was tarnished way before its public release on Thursday evening. I'm sorry to say the movie is as bad as you've heard. BVS stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Holly Hunter, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, and Gal Gadot. The film was written by David Goyer and Chris Terrio. And Zack Snyder returns to the directing chair after his controversial Man of Steel.

Normally this is the part where I give a brief synopsis of the story, but honestly I have no idea what happened in the movie. The storytelling is so incompetent, where plot points are implied without laying any foundation at all. Even something as basic as "why are Batman (Affleck) and Superman (Cavill) even at odds in the first place?" is never really discussed except in abstract. I don't need my hands to be held, but the film offers zero foundation for anything. Potentially I can imagine that Batman saw the destruction of Metropolis and was like HELL NO. And maybe Superman doesn't like Batman because IDK there's only room for one costumed hunk in the area. And then there's Lex Luthor (Eisenberg) who seems to instigate all this drama and murder for no other reason than he's Superman's nemesis.

SPOILERS BELOW, FYI (but honestly it doesn't matter)

7 Things I Want from BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

As I am sure you are all aware, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice comes out this Friday. My excitement level is at a solid medium. The movie is a big question mark regarding quality, box office potential, and longevity within the pop culture landscape. Man of Steel doesn't have the best reputation so the DC Extended Universe is really riding on this movie to be what The Avengers was for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (but without the groundwork laid by the MCU's Phase 1). All in all, there are 7 things I want from BvS, but I'm not quite sure if I'll get them.

1. Some humor, perhaps?
Would it hurt this movie too much to offer some genuine levity, some quippy character moments, and real laughs? Considering the melodramatic title, there's a chance this movie could be oppressively grim but I hope the film finds time to have some fun. Because then the movie will have a longer shelf life.