Warsaw Film Festival 2017

Two years ago, the Warsaw Film Festival introduced me to the world of independent cinema. My pre-conceived expectations of unapproachable, difficult movies were quickly shattered - instead I’ve found myself easily engrossed in action on the screen and fell in love with all the different styles of moviemaking I’ve encountered.

And so, Bojack Horseman

Season 3 left a lot of questions. First of, who’s that young mare on the phone and what role will she play in the series? All Bojack’s friends have cut contacts with him, how will that affect their lives? And finally, what was Bojack thinking looking at those horses running, and what will he do with his life next?

(Well, if you don’t know already and would rather learn yourself, don’t read this!)

KPW: Zero Hour 2017

On August 12th, Gdynia Sport Center saw what was probably Poland's biggest independent wrestling show to date, Kombat Pro Wrestling Zero Hour 2017. According to organisers, the event drew 250 fans. Seems like the attendance exceeded expectations, as the ring-side bleachers couldn't fit the entire audience and some people had to sit way back. Perhaps it was also the reason why there was a big delay at the show, since it took longer than expected to let everyone inside. In any case, it warms my heart to see so many people giving indie wrestling a chance in my country.

Persona 4 Arena - case study on fighting games accessibility

Latest Core-A-Gaming's video kickstarted what must be the 67th debate about fighting games accessibility. And if there's one title that should get more attention in this discussion, it's Persona 4 Arena.

Parappa the Rapper

It's easy to see what makes Parappa stand out even today, but I'd like to emphasize just how unique and timeless of a rhythm game it is. Or rather I'd just like to gush over how well the theme cooperates with gameplay.

Revengeance

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance was the perfect title to remind me what I like about video games, which I sorely needed after ME2. I started playing it for the fast-paced intense action, but turns out it wasn't the only thing it's got in store.

Wrestlemania 2017

The Ultimate Thrill Ride is now behind us and it's time for me to share my 5 cents about everything that happened throughout it. OK actually not everything because there were matches I skipped to get a break, or was unaware were happening (I swear Pre-Show only had two matches!).

Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2 ruined video games for me. That may have to do more with my interests than the game itself, but also, I don't think it's very good. I might spoil parts of game's ending while explaining why.

Suicide Shop

"Suicide Shop" is a 2012 french animated musical based on the book by the same title. It shows life in a big city filled with sad, depressed people who seemingly can think of nothing but suicide. Everyone is so desentized that strangers give each other tips on taking ones life, and all the police cares about is giving tickets to those who break the law by killing themselves on a public street.

2017 in wrestling, part 1

Well hello there, welcome to my first post about performance art in which people pretend to compete in a fake combat sport. Since my post 3 weeks ago I have written down the matches that impressed me the most so far this year and I'll talk about them now!

Snore Snore Land

Here are the few things I knew about La La Land before watching it - it got called an Oscarbait, it received some noteworthy awards and pretty much everyone who watched it seemed to either like it or love it. So I imagined that the "Oscarbait" part related purely to the movie's theme and perhaps cast, suggesting it fit jury's preferences perfectly, but film also had a lot to offer to everyone.

The Last Guardian

When Sony re-revealed The Last Guardian at E3 2015, the game was already synonymous with term "development hell", seeing how we were 4 years past its initial release date. The game was now a PS4 exclusive, so if your decision to get PS3 over an X360 was in any way influenced by titles like this or Final Fantasy Versus XIII, you learned a precious lesson about trust. Me? The game barely existed in my mind at that point. This E3 trailer was my first real exposure to it, and I got excited.

On wrestling match ratings

A few weeks ago, Wrestle Kingdom 11 happened, the 2017 edition of New Japan Pro Wrestling's annual show. Over the last few years, WK has become a quintessential event for western fans of wrestling who venture outside of WWE-produced TV. People who like rating and discussing matches often put main events of WK on top of their "best of year" lists. This time the encounter between Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada blew everyone's expectations, receiving praise from virtually everywhere. There was almost no voice that it was anything below spectacular. Some argued that there were better matches on the show, but after a few days those voices died out and tone of discussion shifted towards answering the question "Just how good was that Omega/Okada match?" "Was it just match of the year, or match of the century?" One Dave "Tastemaker" Meltzer rated it 6 out of 5 stars, calling it the best match in decades.

"Zero Time Dilemma", or how a hack did something right

I was extremely disappointed with "Zero Time Dilemma", last year's conclusion to the "Zero Escape" trilogy of games/visual novels. Ever since playing it I have considered its creator, Kotaro Uchikoshi, a hack. However, there is one aspect of the series which I never see discussed and which I'm actually very impressed with, and that is how symbiotic the gameplay is with the story and its themes.

Needless to say I'm going to spoil important parts of the entire trilogy.

Top 10 albums of 2016

Well hello there, welcome to my first blog post of 2017 and my first top10 albums list. In 2016 I listened to more music than any year before, constantly trying out new bands and albums and trying to squeeze in more listening hours whenever I could. As many people do, I've formed my thoughts along the way about which albums I liked the most and why. And now I'd like to share them with you!