Consumerism

As Black Friday takes over Europe further from the United States of America, something struck with me; consumerism seems to be growing larger while natural resources such as oil are depleting further.
Unless scientific and technological inventions and innovations will rectify that, the future seems bleak.

While the rich West(and rich East for that matter) consume further, there is still much poverty, slavery and hunger to be found. Proxy wars including cyber versions are more increasing around the world, and I wonder when the next economic bubble will break in my country.

Developments such as 3D printing synthetic food, nano technology, machine learning and so much more keep me interested in the nearby future, and I still share the dream left behind by The Venus Project and The Zeitgeist Movement in their forms, about establishing a resource economy.

Consumerism drives capitalism and all of the crazy effects of the world. To consume is to achieve status, wealth and artificial happiness in order to satisfy society, competition and even national interests.

But if you do not counter it, karma will come in one form or another. Mother Nature is one of those, what with one of the biggest global discussions being the global warming and the climate changing, we are definitely living in interesting and dangerous times.

Perhaps next time you consider consuming an expensive luxury product, consider if you really need it, and it's personal and global consequence.

Furi

A rare boss marathon video game emerges featuring only intense boss battles, but also annoying walking simulating cut scenes in between, with a poor sense of direction and tanky controls. I get that they represent the slow break between fights but they could had been designed better.

Furi is an action game with gun and swordplay, as well as bullet hell segments. There is a goofy black man with a purple rabbit suit playing a role of narrator, split personality and unnatural presence, as he can warp anywhere pretty easily.

The cel shaded artstyle alongside the character designs are well met, and the fast paced action is very well programmed as each available movement is responsive, and boss attacks are varied, fluid and stylish.

Parrying in here is very satisfying, and sometimes you will need lightning reflexes in order to counter strike with massive damage. Your nameless protagonist is explained by the rabbit suit man to escape his prison, and after each fight, he will mumble philosophically a bit, and then brief you on the next opponent.

As observed by the special thanks section of the end credits, Game Bakers has very good taste with inspirations, thanking among others Hideki Kamiya, Shinji Mikami, Goichi Suda and Hidetaki Miyazaki for their very memorable products.

I’m sure they were referring among other products to Metal Gear Rising, No More Heroes, Dark Souls and God Hand then. Furi is a difficult journey with memorable boss fights in an otherwise non sensible presentation, and I recommend it for the hardcore gamers.

Rating: 7.7

Blade Runner

 

Welcome to the future, it's November 2019.

I have seen Blade Runner about 3 times between several years, and I was disappointed and not really impressed back in 2007. The same happened for the Remastered version in 2011. And now in 2019, I am starting to appreciate it more. It's definitely a movie that grows on me.

As perhaps the most well known and quintessential cyberpunk themed sci-fi movie out there, the plot is about a blade runner played by Harrison Ford who is tasked with "retiring" 4 replicants who have escaped from a colony and are wandering in a city on Earth.

The appealing visuals and the production values for the early 80's are outstanding and memorable whether you like the rest of the movie, or not. It's slow pacing means that only those with patience will be able to appreciate the overall picture.

Many themes play during Blade Runner, but one of the most significant ones is what it means to be human, and when rebellion is born once flawed creations and a slave system are put into place, while independent thought and free will manifest and shape them around.

Reploids and Mavericks of the Mega Man X series have no doubt be inspired by this movie, as have other kinds of stories after 1982. The late Rutger Hauer arguably plays his best and most well known international role here with a monologue speech at the climax which results into a poetic death.

The Voight Kampff opening scene, aside from the scenery of the futuristic Los Angles before that, always stood out for me, but several other scenes such as Roy's confrontation with his maker, and Rick testing Rachael on several levels, do as well.

From the beginning, I always wanted to appreciate and love Ridley Scott's Blade Runner as a movie more, but it's execution, cinematography and direction are not some of the best out there for me. But as I said, perhaps it will grow even further inside me, the more older I get.

Rating: 7.5

The long awaited sequel towards the former, Blade Runner 2049 manages to surprise older and newer fans with a fine balance of storytelling, cinematography, themes and overall setting.

Ryan Gosling now leads as a blade runner named K, normally tasked with retiring older generations of replicants, but as the plot unfolds, he stumbles upon a huge secret igniting a potential revolution and war.

The visuals are even more striking to behold here, as the dystopian bleak colors of high tech and low life continue to manifest and evolve if you will, further. Loneliness is a major theme playing, as the AI hologram called Joi, played by the lovely Ana de Armas, fills up K's void.

An ever slower pacing combined with a longer running time means that arguably, this movie is even harder for normal folks to delve into and to "get", but on the plus side, it takes time into it's own hands, managing to engross and engulf you into it's world.

The established lore expands here in world building, as replicants and humans manage to fuse further, while reproduction and interstellar colonization are other major themes playing, as uphold by the CEO of Wallace Corporation, Niander.

The supportive cast is compelling and convincing, as Jared Leto, Robin Wright, Sylvia Hoeks and others give something of a personal spin and character towards the movie. Harrison Ford returning as the original blade runner is done so in a clever way, respecting both movies by acting as a bridge between them.

Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049 is in some ways, even better than the original. In any case, you can't go wrong with either of them, and for me, they are definitely movies which can be re-watched, so that each time, you will pick up and interpret, or learn something new out of it.

Rating: 7.5

Fitness

You know, I have accomplished something pretty decent this year.

Looking and reflecting back on my sport past as well as my previous blog post Losing Weight, I started recovering and picking up my food and fitness movements. After another occurrence of gaining weight later this year, I drastically changed my mind about this.

In October, for the whole month, I went to perform 1 hour of cardio at the gym, each day. And I am happy to say I accomplished that. Never before in my life did I go to sport so much as during that month. As for November I lowered that quantity, and slowly starting switching towards lifting.

Going to the gym alone isn't perhaps the most social sport out there, but hell, I've got enough friends to hang out with already, and besides, that's definitely not the main goal for being there. Perhaps however, this could change, depending on situations happening, or my presence growing larger.

Watching specific YouTube channels out of the numerous amounts available when speaking of fitness, healthy foods, diets and general tips, I learned how some of my heroes approached all of this, such as the legendary and one of a kind, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Combining that while reading general articles on websites, and still checking out my daily consumption of calories on my workout and food apps, I have been more conscious and aware of this healthy lifestyle than ever before.

It even has become satisfying and fun when I discovered that I still could eat hundreds of calories left over on certain days, or still perform more activities after having done cardio or lifting workouts. I will never underestimate the negative consequences that come with this, or the perseverance and determination needed to keep going.

Because once I do accomplish my initial goals of losing weight until I have 83 kilograms left, as well as getting a flat belly, the hardest part is most likely protecting and keeping these goals alive. If however, I would be able to accomplish greater achievements such as muscle growth and a sixpack, the ambition would be ascended.

But until then, I am proud of myself for changing my mindset about this whole matter, doing lots of research about it, and realizing that it's all for great causes to happen and arguably to have already happened.

Here's towards an even healthier and more fit 2020 already!

REmake 2

This is excellent, Capcom outdid themselves, and my respect and thankfulness for that are vast.

A plan which has been talked about for years, Resident Evil 2 has finally been remade, and the result is an astonishing modern take on a classic sequel which arguably, and in my opinion, is ultimately better.

The old cast returns, with new facial models to give them new, but faithful looks. The scenario's of Leon and Claire are still there as a concept, but it's not really A and B anymore, but more like, you finish the short campaign first, and then you unlock the longer one.

Item management has been remixed and returns partially from Resident Evil 7, and there are new puzzles to discover and figure out. The overall layout of the Raccoon City Police Department is the same, but there are definitely new area's and rooms to discover.

This easily showcases the best of survival horror in years for me because the overall package is of such a high quality, and I cannot remember any nitpicks or annoyances when I beat this on normal and hard mode.

I also cannot pinpoint a favorite scary moment as there are several factors to that. There is the survival aspect of scarcity, the sublime dark atmosphere, the gory zombie effects and perhaps my favorite, the frightening Mr.X chasing you around with intimidation.

I can only imagine considering the vast success of this, how REmake 3 will turn out with Jill and Nemesis returning, considering it would be an easy followup to do, what with the setting being familiar, and the impressive RE Engine rendering everything carefully.

The use of the third person perspective, the light and the shadows balancing out, the smoothness of the gameplay, the classic aspect of having to find certain key items to progress and of course the familiar storyline of the G virus returning, including the many forms of William Birkin, is stunning.

REmake 2 is my game of the year. I knew this already once I beat it back in january. It will fight for the top overall game in the franchise between REmake, RE 4 and RE 7, which all excel in innovative and groundbreaking ways.

Happy Halloween! It's time for a third playthrough!

Rating: 9.2

Joker

 

Smile

The most controversial movie of the year?

Joker is getting plenty of attention nowadays, and with this character driven feature directed by Todd Phillips from The Hangover movies, you would not expect such a change of quality of film making to be happening.

Loosely based on The Killing Joke from 1988, Arthur Fleck is a failed stand-up comedian with disturbing mental health issues, which is worsened as society trashes upon him and makes him feel like being non-existent.

Living with his mother in Gotham City, he attempts to make people feel happy by bringing them joy and laughter, but class-ism, bullying, mental healthcare and the tense political uprisings outside eventually bring out his alter-ego as The Joker.

This slow-burn moving story can be considered as kino, as the premise is relevant to what is happening today in the world in terms of protests, inequality, abstract obstructions, violence and despair.

Joaquin Phoenix brings an incredible performance with an iconic laugh that may or may not be consciously intended, as sometimes it is considered as a medical handicap, and sometimes as part of his clown act. Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score is uplifting, melancholic and sincere.

In the climax however, it doesn't matter, as he embraces his new state of being, presenting himself towards the city through the media in a live talk show in a memorable speech and a finisher that has to be seen to be believed.

Joker is a transcending beautiful wreck of filming, depicting a bleak setting with horrific outcomes, as bloody deaths will occur, but through that, as well as his delusions of fame and love, not to mention feeling betrayed, he at first ascends the stairs, and then spirals them into downfall, with full joy and madness. And the bliss is supreme.

At first, he considered life to be a tragedy. But then, he realized it's all a comedy.

Rating: 8.5

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Voyage of Promise

The spiritual successor towards modern Metroidvania's and Castlevania has arrived; Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

Kickstarted and produced by former main series man Koji Igarashi, ArtPlay has succesfully transformed the formula towards 2.5D graphics and a distinct art style. Set in the 18th century during the Industrial Revolution, the story begins.

Miriam is a Shardbinder capable of absorbing and using the abilities found by enemies throughout the huge castle to explore, which is similar to Soma in Aria and Dawn of Sorrow. From new projectile attacks, to summoning familiars, to unlocking new movements to get further.

Others joining the cast are the remaining former playable characters from the companion game Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, which are Alfred the alchemist, Gebel the vampire and Zangetsu the demon hunter.

In similar fashion, there is a bad ending, and a good ending, with the latter unlocking more areas and bosses in between, and eventually the true climax. It's your typical gothic story with demons done right, and each of them alongside the supporting cast brings a personality and style.

If you like Castlevania and Metroidvania games in general, you will feel right at home here. It's an action RPG with equipment, collectibles and platforming to be found. There is also a cooking feature that will let you cook using ingredients, and a craft mode letting you obtain new items.

The bosses are satisfying, and the enemy design in general is commendable. There are also secret rooms to be found, including one which transported me into an 8 bit world, which was a cute surprise.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is familiar and worthy to play, for newcomers and veterans alike.

Rating: 8.4