Locked Down Beach At Ward

The tide was at war with the beach today. Wind carried fresh sea air onto the battlefield. Thundering could be heard from the harsh rolling of rocks as they were dragged into the depths. Each wave higher than the last, with a theatrical curve and a plummet that devastated. With few onlookers, the stark beach could battle undisturbed. Don't even think that this could be your fight, that you could stand a chance on that battlefield. Leave it to the elements and enjoy the view, for no longer than the walk that brought you.

The Shack And The Will

Now where did he put it? Under a floor board? Behind the wall? In the fire place I bet. That old fool knew I would show up here as soon as he popped his clogs. This place just outside his estate was where he would come to get away from mum. He would sit infront of the fire with his dog and smoke a cigar in privacy. It was his solace. Mum hated this shack and as soon as he got too old to leave the house and the dog died she made sure no one kept it in good order. When I was younger I took some friends to the shack and found a bottle of whiskey under the floorboards. It was a good night, I was thrilled to share this secret hideaway with my friends. We drank the bottle between the three of us and went inside to fall asleep infront of the fire. I should have known he would find out. Dad woke us up by kicking the door in and shoving his rifle in our faces, he must have thought we were hippies or bums coming to squat on his land. He never forgave me for that.
Perhaps its under that floor board, in the same place he kept the whiskey.
Yes.
I knew he had cash, that he wouldnt trust a bank with his tax payers money. There was nowhere near enough inheritance. What I got from him didn't even scratch the surface. I think even mum knew he was hiding something.
Time to spend something on a quite place of my own. My very own solace. Thanks old man.

MorganMurphyWritingsPod A Podcast

Hello readers,


You can now follow some of my stories and poems via my new podcast
search MorganMurphyWritingsPod on your podcast app and you might just find it.

https://castbox.fm/channel/MorganMurphyWritingsPod-id2230552?country=gb


Hope you enjoy. If not, don't worry.

Cheers,
Morgan

1913 ELECTRICITY WORKS

I punched in at six minutes past seven, the bus was the late, once again. The journey is like no other. Out the door, down the street on the bus into that musty town. Across the bridge over the canal through the yard and into the factory. The foreman knows me well, he knows my route and the lateness of my bus. He is always understanding and as I am young I think he sees something of himself in me. Today is different and my tensions are high my brow is sweaty and my shirt is clinging to me in the most uncomfortable way. I punched my ticket and headed to the factory floor. I smoked my cigatettes and drink some coffee before reaching my desk. The lads make fun of my abhorrent uncleanliness, if only they knew. My desk has the bare minimum of equipment which my role requires, the main device I use simply tests the strength of household electronics. I test these items and provide data for the company in order for them to keep track of the industy. My father would have never been able to conceive the idea of the work I do here. My job is very much of this century. The war puts it all into perspective, the tensions are higher than ever and I dread the inevitable drafting I will receive. But until then my job in the Electronic Works will suffice. I studied for years and buried my head in books at the library. Which is where i met my wife. She would always ask me questions about my studies and about my life. I never even knew she was courting me until we met one night at the alehouse. She was by far the best vision in the room, truly radiant. I lit my cigarette in the corner of that dirty pub and removed my hat in her direction. The lads ribbed me as usual and goaded me into buying her a drink. I did and before I knew it we were buying a house around the corner.

As I began my usual rhythm of work the foreman paced quickly towards me, as I saw him coming I switched my device back to manual.  He had a serious look on his face which made me fear the worst.

He told me that there was a phone call for me, to which I shot up. My heart in my throat with the fear of what this phonecall would bring. I ran without knowing across the factory floor, papers flying behind in my wake. I reached the phone and blurted out the nonsense of a madman, demanding the reason for this interruption at work.

And I wager that you imagined me receiving  my summons, getting drafted to fight?

Walking home, packing a bag and kissing my wife goodbye. But that was not the case this day. My nerves were high my body a wreck but what I heard through that telephone was the greatest news I could possibly have hoped to receive. 

Did I mention my wife was pregnant?

Saint-Maurice-des-Lions

I've seen Paris at midnight and witnessed its feats. The busy cobbles and winding streets. The light that dances and glistens so bright the perfect European city at night.

I've seen the markets, the cheese and the bread. The wine so strong it contends with one’s head. While Paris towers with landmarks and bars, the tourists swarm and the roads strewn with cars.

I've found a true beauty away from the city. A village of sparseness and buildings so pretty. Where the streets have met only very few faces. I would choose this premise over many other places.

The fields so brown and the trees so green the barns so dry no effort to clean. A quaintness so subtle as though from the past. This rustic vision so different from the last.

Hellboy 2019 Review

Hellboy (2019)

“Who the Hell is this film even for?” 

 This film comes at us in a time where a Hellboy film is neither needed nor relevant. Just over 10 years later on from Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008) we now a have a full reboot of the Hellboy universe with a few differences. These differences are in no way an improvement on what we had before. Whilst I have my problems with the representation of Hellboy in the first two films, coming away from this new film I can’t help but look back the older two and appreciate what we actually got. I am going to forewarn anyone reading this that I may spoil the events of the film but to be honest if you have seen more than one trailer for the film then you have basically seen the entire thing anyway. I will leave out any major spoilers though (Character deaths, plot twists) so don’t panic. 

 I am no expert in the works of Mike Mignola but I have read my fair share of graphic novels and comics stemming from Hellboy and the BPRD. I personally didn’t think we needed a Hellboy re-boot. At the very least they could have made a BPRD film featuring Hellboy? Or an Abe Sapien standalone film? As we see from the comics there is plenty of source material in this comic book universe. Abe Sapien is a strong enough character to carry a film and then lead on into a Hellboy film. I can see the apprehension for this topic though as it has only been a few years since The Shape Of Water (2017) in which we see an amphibious male looking almost exactly the same as Abe Sapien. I think its common knowledge that Gulliermo Del Toro directed The Shape Of Water and also the first two Hellboy films. Not to mention Doug Jones playing the Amphibious Male in TSOW and also playing Abe Sapien in the first two Hellboy films. 

 BUT a BPRD film would have worked so well in the vein of an Avengers type of film, well not exactly like the Avengers but a team of supernatural characters working together and fighting horrors around the world would have been much more interesting than a Hellboy solo re-boot. While Hellboy 2 does feature a lot of BPRD content I still think a less Hellboy centric film would have worked better simply based on how well the comics flow without Hellboy even being present. Liz Sherman, Johann Kraus and Roger would made a far better impact on myself and many other fans of the series if they were to carry their own film. 

 The unexpected appearance of (SPOILER WARNING) Lobster Johnson was definitely welcomed. While anyone who hasn’t read the comics will have no affiliation with the character (at least I don’t think) this really is only a reference comic book fans will notice. Which brings up the question: Who the Hell is this film even for? Surely fans of the comics like myself won’t really enjoy the film we received? I actually like parts and had some fun with the film but to be honest this was not what I wanted at all. I don’t mind it when comic book films aren’t comic book accurate per say. I like it when they introduce new elements to the world or save the viewer the hassle of the huge lore in places to focus on the here and now of a film. 

It is virtually impossible not the make constant comparisons to the other two films because they are still so fresh in my memory. And this new film can’t be aimed at an audience that doesn’t hold people who have seen the first two right? Because the viewers are all well and truly old and experienced enough with these kinds of films to see that it’s the same but different. 

 David Harbour is a brilliant actor and I can honestly say I think I prefer his acting work (other than Hellboy) to the work of Ron Pearlman. In this role there are far too many similarities in the physical and sarcastic humor. Whilst Harbour’s character feels somewhat more jaded and serious, Pearlman was more sarcastic and juvenile (despite being played by a 50 year old man). To be honest neither of the versions really capture my idea of what the character is in the comics. Maybe it is impossible to get a live action version of Hellboy right? Because they have had enough attempts now and it’s getting weird. Even old Abe Sapien couldn’t avoid being made into a slightly camp fishy weirdo. In the comics he feels a lot more grounded. Perhaps the version we got in the films works better on screen? 

 When it comes to the practical and special effects there is an over the top amount in both versions. When Hellboy (2004) came out I was initially apprehensive of how he looked. A bit rubbery and clunky and the fist of Doom was sometimes animatronic and sometimes CGI. However looking back the Pearlman costume actually looked more realistic than what we got in the most recent version. There were shots in the new film where Harbour’s eyes are shut and he looks to one side, you can see where the eye and make up join onto the rubbery mask of Hellboys face. It’s just not as good and it’s hard to understand why and how all of this happened? There is a kind of man-jaguar like character in this film played by Daniel Dae Kim which you may remember from the trailers which gave everything away. This character was actually used quite well. The movement and effects worked and despite the character being a bit generic the charisma of Dae Kim was welcomed. Professor Broom is swapped out from John Hurt to Ian McShane who plays Broom as a less bookish and wise type of character and more of a younger badass dad who doesn’t really care about anyone. He’s less likable than Hurt in this role but I enjoyed his delivery of the role. 

 Being a Welsh/ English British person I felt physically ill when faced with the monstrous English accents attempted by the cast in this film. To be fair a lot of the actors are actually British but the only core cast member actually being British is Ian McShane, who does a fine job might I add. I’m not even slagging off actors who do accents in roles either, because there are stacks of English actors doing American accents in every film and TV show there is. It wouldn’t bother me so much if the script hadn’t played up to accents so ham fistedly. It’s not a spoiler to say that most of the film is set in the UK so it’s clear why there is going to be English accents flying around as standard. It’s just a shame that two of the main characters are Americans playing Brits. The worst of the two is Alice Mongahan played by Sasha Lane, who delivers lines written by some idiot who loves cockneys and Oliver Twist or something. I have never met anyone who has seriously and conversationally used the word “Todger” when referring to male genitalia. I am sure she was great in her other roles and I hate bashing people but this whole character was so dull and lifeless I cringed whenever she opened her mouth. Not only does she look unconvincing in the role she also lends no emotion to what could have been a really engaging and interesting character. 

 This film was given an R rating from the offset which didn’t really bother or interest me to begin with. I think one of the reasons this film went so badly was because of the constant gut wrenching gore and disgusting contortion of witchy characters. It’s no surprise that the gore and freaky stuff is featured in this film as we have seen more of the same from director Neil Marshall before. There is some pretty cool choreography and action set pieces in this film that I can’t really complain about but there are also some scenes with some brutal and foul dismemberment. Some really foul themes get tossed in the mix and I found it really jarring. When you have characters like Babayaga (The shit-scary witch) you kind of have to expect things to get horrid. I have to admit I found it hard to watch her scenes, hats off to team who designed her and the direction there, genuinely scary. The gore is immediately present with the opening scene which gives a bit of historical context regarding the films big villain ‘The Blood Queen’. I believe the ‘F word’ is used in the second sentence of the whole film. It doesn’t get any easier after the opening scene so buckle up.

 In conclusion (god this took way longer than I wanted it to) I had some fun with this film. I wasn’t blown away by the opening scene and the jokes fell so flat it was a bit sad. I was well and truly overwhelmed by all of the unnecessary gore. The swearing felt wrong in places and the audience for this film is so unclear. I just hope that if they ever do make a sequel they will put more effort into the casting, the tone and the characterisation. I still love Hellboy, despite how much this whole film made me want to blow my own todger off.

Brighton Lanes

A sea side covered in buildings. An intricate system of lanes ridden with shops, restaurants and bars. The gulls scream from above and avert your attention from the bazaar around you. The sky appears as a column of light, the air is fresher and the sky is cleaner up there. But down here in the hot lanes the air is close and humid. The sea will always await you, as long as you can find your way out of the maze.