Creative Writing

HELLBOY(2004)

Hellboy is a mix of supernatural and action. The story came from Mike Mignola’s comic. The film has a way of saying things with mocking language and lots of slang. The movie starts with a scene from World War II. The Nazi’s trying to summon Seven Gods of Chaos but instead they bring a little red thing with horns and tail from the portal. Instead of where he came from Professor Bruttenholm raises Hellboy as a savior from hellish powers and as hero to be.

Hellboy grew up and live in a secret headquarter of FBI with Ape Sapien, who is an aquatic creature. When Sammael appears, they go to rescue world together and make an unforgettable adventure for us to watch in amazement.

 Hellboy is played by Ron Perlma’s unique style. He bring the character from the comic into real life and it is not an easy thing to achieve. Chomping on cigars, twitching his tail, and battling demons, Perlman makes an impossible character come alive. His chemistry with Selma Blair’s pyrokinetic Liz Sherman adds depth to the film.

With amazing directing skills Guillermo del Toro is the main person for the success of Hellboy. He made the film right out from the comic pages with camera angles and the aesthetic used.

Hellboy is a balance of action and humor but underneath its more than that. Hellboy is a demon and a hero. This makes a great opposition inside him and this I what the movie discovers, acceptance and judgement.

The villains are as deep characters as Hellboy. Grigori Rasputin is the one who opened the portal and helped Nazis with dark rituals. On the other hand, Kroenen who is in Nazi army is a long death modified to live person. He is the perfect one for the non-dying villain in the movie.

In the end we can say Hellboy is not just an another superhero film which ends with an hero accepted by people and live a prestigious life. Hellboy is more realistic than them and has a unique style. 

STAY (2005) ANALYSES

Stay (2005) is a drama thriller genre movie directed by Marc Foster. It is a movie that tells the story of a psychiatrist that tries to prevent one of his patient’s suicide while trying to maintain his own grip on reality. As the movie progresses we see the truth of the leading character Henry’s past and the truth of the events.

In the leading role, Ryan Gosling plays Henry, the patient who tried to commit suicide multiple times. Ewan McGregor, who plays the psychiatrist Sam Foster learns that his new patient Henry whom changed his psychiatrist recently is going to commit suicide on Saturday at midnight. Sam’s girlfriend Lila (Naomi Watts)who tried to commit suicide herself before offers to entice away Henry.

Henry claims that he killed both of his parents but he came across with his father and his psychiatrist goes to his mother’s house and sees that Hemry’s mother is alive and well. His mother offers Sam food but her fridge is empty. The events followed by the dog biting the psychiatrist, and Sam seeing the mother’s head bleeding. Sam then goes to the police station to report what happened but they tell Sam that the women that lived in that house is dead. Later, Sam reaches out to a waitress named Athena (played by Elizabeth Reaser), whom Henry has mentioned and fallen in love with. Athena is an aspiring actress, and Sam meets her at a script reading where she is reading lines from Hamlet with another man. She agrees to take Sam to Henry, but after a long trip down winding staircases, he loses sight of her. When Sam returns to the rehearsal room, he finds Athena there, reading the same lines as when he first met her. Sam finds a painting that Henry had painted and bartered for books about Henry's favorite artist at a bookshop known to have been visited by Henry. He finds out that the artist had killed himself on Brooklyn Bridge, on his twenty-first birthday. Henry's twenty-first birthday is Sunday, and Sam realizes that Henry plans to commit suicide on the Brooklyn Bridge in the name of imitating his favorite artist.

Sam finds Henry on the Brooklyn Bridge with a gun in his mouth. Later we saw the scenes of a car crash and found out all of these were a dream that Henry saw while he is dying, which explains the movie’s progression and overwhelming atmosphere. However, some theories said that the people around Henry were drawn into some kind of world. For instance, after Henry dies and is put into a body bag, Elizabeth tells her name to the police and because Henry died before hearing her name there was no chance he could’ve known her real name in his dream. Likewise, Sam reminds of his and Lily’s memories from Henry’s dream and asks Lily out afterward.

All of the leading actors perform an excellent performance. They all reflect the theme of the movie and the psychological state of their characters very well. The movie makes you question what is real and what is fake in every step of the characters. The ending also satisfies the audience and leave them speechless. Even though it is not categorized as fantasy film there are events that cannot be explain by logic, so I think we can say that it can be categorized as fantasy.

The cinematography really captures the weirdness and the suffocating vibe of a dream. Color palette of the movie is mostly dark and cold colors which shows the characters mindset and emotions. Stay is an excellent movie, ahead of it is time. I could not describe this movie other than perfect.

Once was old

This was lot

A time not,

one that you can know.

A man lost a wife

While girl lost all.

Man found a new wife

Girl became all alone

Woman had daughters,

Beautiful as roses in outside,

Cruel as thorns inside.

Evil began to rule as they live inside.

They named the girl Cinderella,

Made her a slave.

Surrendering in the house now.

When laughing not long ago.

Pearls, dresses and a twig,

How long will be it?

Twig turned into a tree

Tree to a breathe.

She wanted,

Tree gave.

She wanted,

Doves flied her way.

King invited all girls one day,

To find bride for the prince.

Cinderella had to ask help,

To have fun in peace.

Cruel didn't end,

Cinderella cried.

A gown of silver and gold appeared,

Under the tree for her.

She went there, danced,

Mesmerized the prince who wanted her,

She escaped, he followed,

Until the slipper fell down.

Prince used the gold slipper,

To find the girl.

Sisters chopped their feet,

To be the girl.

Lies won't last long,

Cinderella was found.

When everything end,

Birds took her revenge.

Long live queen Cinderella,

It's time of the good.

Bad will surrender,

Like they deserve.

The end is the beginning,

Happy life is a story,

Don't forget to be good,

If you want a twig.

The freshly baked cookies smelled delicious, Little Red thought. “Do you think Granny would give me some of it?” Mom nodded. “Just don’t be late, you are going to be late for the bus if you don’t go now.”

They lived in a small village and her granny lived a little high up the village. Little Red rushed to the door but missed the last bus and the next one was 3 hours later, her mom was worried about her Granny so she decided to walk. She hoped that she wouldn’t come across the village’s ‘Wolf’.

“Hello again, Little Red.”

“Hello, Mr. Wolf.”

“What’s the rush?” He had a disturbing smile on his face.

“To my Granny.”

Just as the Wolf made a move towards the Little Red he heard sirens.

“I should be going now.” Little Red left. But she got distracted by the beautiful flowers and she decided to make a bouquet for her sick Granny. And this give enough time for Mr. Wolf to get to Little Red’s granny’s house.

Little Red reached her Granny’s house. She knocked the door. “Granny, your Little Red is here!”

“Open the door, sweetheart. I’m too tired to get up.” Her voice is kinda weird, Little Red thought.

She opened the door and went inside. “I brought some cake, cookies and food for you.” She walked to her Granny’s bed.

“Granny, what happened to your ears, it is much more big than last time I saw you.” Mr. Wolf wore Granny’s clothes waiting for Little Red’s most vulnerable moment to hit her.

She coughed a little. “Probably because of my illness but now I can hear you better my love.”

“Your eyes are also very big.”

“To see you better my dear.” Little Red believed that it was because of her illness.

“Your hands, they are bigger now.”

“To hug you better my dear.” Her Granny got up and started to walk towards her. She was taller. Little Red started questioning. She saw her face.

“Your teeth-“

“To better eat you with.” With Little Red’s scream, they heard a gunshot. It was the gendarme.

After they arrested Mr. Wolf for attempting cannibalism they rescued Granny and Little Red. And no one ever harmed them ever again.

David was running late but needed to grab a coffee and a sandwich to stop his growling stomach. He started to eat and drink while running to the work. Then he collided with Debra and splashed his coffee onto her white sweatshirt.

“I’m so sorry let me fix it.”

He took a wipe from his pocket and started to wiping the stain but it got worse and spread around. Debra laughed.

“Don’t worry I survived worse.”

David noticed that he needed to rush more than ever now. He extended his coffee spilled hand to Debra.

“I’m David and here’s my card. I need to rush now but please message me I want to compensate for your sweatshirt. Goodbye.”

David rushed to the office but he was already so late that the meeting ended with disappointment. He was so ashamed by his fault. When his phone ringed he thought that it was about the meeting and his time management but it was a text from Debra.

Hello 😊

I’m Debra

Are you free for lunch?

You said you wanted to compensate my sweat

                                                 Yes! Send me the location and I’ll be there

David took his jacket and went to the location Debra has sent. It was Whole Foods. He looked for Debra but Debra was behind him. Debra took the chance and scared David from his back.

“Boo!”

“Aaa!”

Debra laughed. David was shocked but the way of Debra’s laugh made him smile. They grabbed their lunch and sat down at a table.

“What was the reason of the morning’s hurry?”

“I was late for work, as always.”

“So? They need to set more reasonable work hours for this. It’s not your fault.”

“Thank you but it is my fault that we lost our client today.”

“How come?”

“I was the one who going to do the presentation and the client didn’t want to wait for me. My secretary woke me up and told me to hurry but I stepped on my glasses and went to buy another pair and…”

“So? It is still not your fault.”

“Thank you for the conversation. I needed it.”

“You can contact me all the time. You have my number.”

They became really good friends after the long conversation.

The smell of the coffee from the coffee shop I’ve encountered every time I go to work smelled the same fresh odor. It warmed my heart in this cold winter day. Lonely Day by System Of A Down was playing. It was the song I listened last night for over and over again hoping the next day wouldn’t be lonely as the day before. I looked at the grocery list that I held in my hand. It could wait for ten minutes, I thought. I’ve finally decided to enter after many years. The coffee shop was filled with books and beautiful fairy lights. It even had a photo booth for those who want to make a memory of a day they spent here. “Ice americano with an extra shot. David.” The same order I have every day in the office. Is it because I liked it? I wish. I ordered and drink it ‘till the last sip hoping I’ll like it or even get used to it. I can’t though. The only reason I have this order in the first place was to wake up, have energy, and do my  job once I was so passionate about. But I never got used to this bitter taste. “David.” I heard my name and I reached into my pocket to grab my wallet, I realized it wasn’t there. I panicked. “Sorry sir, I forgat to bring my wallet. So sorry to cause-“

“No problem. I can pay.” I heard a woman’s voice. She was smiling. I felt a weird  feeling I haven’t felt before, as I knew her for a long time. “Oh no, please don’t bother ma’am.”

“No please I don’t want anyone to ever enter this café and not taste its coffee. Especially in this beautiful winter day.”

“How’d you-“

“I’ve been coming to this café for 10 years now and this is the first time I’ve seen you enter here.”

She gave the money to the cashier and she gave the ice americano to me. “I’m Debra.”

I felt my heart flutter. “So how did you liked the place?” she asked.

“It might be the most beautiful coffee shop I have ever seen.”

“You should’ve visited here when it was Christmas. The lights, the tree and the gifts that we bring, it was just magical.” I took a sip from my coffee, it was nothing I had before. It tasted and smelled so much better.

“I saw it, I think I saw you that night with your friends. You seem so familiar.”

“Probably because I spent most of my time here, writing my book.” She reached for her bag on the table that was right next to us. She pulled out a notebook.

I took another sip. She quickly showed me the pages, she had a really good handwriting. But there was something I noticed other than the pages that were filled with words, there were drawings. So many drawings between the pages. Even though from outside it seemed all tangled it was beautiful and those drawings felt so familiar I couldn’t help myself but ask. “What do you write?”

“Everything. Everyone. Whatever inspires me. I…like to observe people. People who seem to have normal lives. They all have same but also different struggles, they all deal with it in so many different and some people never deal with it. Like you.” Me?

She opened a page and gave it to me. I felt a weird feeling in my stomach. What did she meant by ‘You’. And I looked at the page showed me.

“For ten years now you follow the same routine. You walk past here every morning, giving a glance but never a try to this coffee shop. Most of the days you run because you are late and it is all because every night when you come back from work you get distracted by the street musicians. For the first time ever you didn’t choose to go to grocery store and walk into this store. Why, David?”

Maybe if it was someone else in my position they would’ve been creeped out but I was enchanted. “The song.”

“So it took you ten years to enter this café and all it take was the song?” She giggled.

“I wish I knew.” I let out a small laugh too. “Who knows maybe today was supposed be that day.”

“Hmm okay then let me ask you a question. Since you made a difference today, changed your schedule a little bit. What would you like to do?” I looked at the photo booth. She turned her head to where I was looking. “Let’s go, then.” Without a word I followed her. We get into that booth and made silly poses. After that she made me try other coffees that I wanted to try for a time now. She showed me the drawings of me. But they were a little different. In one drawing I was playing a guitar with that street musician. In one of them I was petting a cat in this café.

“Is there anything else you want to do?”

“No, this is fine. Shall we order another drink?” She looked at me with a bittersweet smile.

“I don’t think we have time though.”

And if you go I wanna go with you

I remembered what I should’ve remember. I remembered a beautiful woman with the warmest smile smiling at me every day when I come back from work. I remember losing my courage every time I want to enter the café.

And if you die I wanna die with you

I heard my favorite songs for the last time. I heard my mom crying begging me to wake up.  I saw Debra’s face smiling at me. “You can rest now.”

“And then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like ‘I love you’…”  The dummy waved its hands like dancing to the song their creator murmured.

“…”

 “Oh yes, my dear dummy, this was the song that was playing when I first saw her, not knowing the only hope I had in this life would disappear. You already know I’m the unluckiest and hated person in this town. Just like my whole life my romance luck didn’t go well either. The classic, I loved her, and I thought she did it too turns out it was just all a pretend.”

“…”

“Well, that is the sad truth. The unavoidable ending for me in a town like this my dear friend. You are the only thing I have left and need perhaps. See, people of this town and this life, it is cruel and all of them are just bunch of liars and cheaters. Hypocrites!” The old man remembered it all again. He looked at his friend that he controls by strings and just like every ordinary day he started to tell his story to the puppet all over again not knowing it would be the last.

He made his puppet pet his shoulder like a friend who is trying to show that they are here for them, a friend he never gets to have in this cruel town. “I had this reputation since my childhood, that I bring bad luck everywhere-" The puppet shakes its head. This is what old man wanted to see for once in his life, someone standing up against the town saying he is not a curse, shaking their head. He never got to have that of course so he made his dear dummy do it, acting like it is not his doing, playing with its strings.

He went on and on he told his dummy that how much he pushed himself to work in the farm but never earned what he deserved, how when the outbreak happens, they all blamed him acting like he was the Satan’s curse to this town. And now looking back, after that all the hard work, only thing he was proud of was his dummy. He looked at the dummy and dummy nodded.

“…”

“Farewell to you too, my friend. Maybe after life would treat me better.” He made his dummy nod for the last time. The only fair thing in this life has ever done to the old man was make him pass out peacefully, next to his best friend.

Somewhere far away and forgotten by the townsfolk lives a wrinkled man with the presence of death on his shoulders. He knows his time won’t last long and hopes for a friend to share his loneliness. However, he lives in a place known as where wasted hopes and dreams abound and he knows this fact as well as his short time. He got up from his chair and looked outside of his window. He saw a bunch of wood pieces and decided to take them.

   He wore his coat and slowly walked to the pieces of wood. While he taking the pieces he found a long string under the wood pieces and decided to take the string along with the wood. When he got back inside, he immediately went to the woodwork table and started assembling the pieces. He made a dummy from the wood and strings to accompany him. But this made him sicker than ever. He slowly went to his bed and tangled the dummy’s strings around his fingers and tried its movements. The dummy was ready to use and he felt so happy that he now has a friend.

   He started to talk with the dummy as if dummy was real. He talked about his life and his misery.

“I was a cheerful child when I was little. I liked playing and especially living. When I was even a mere teenager the life gave me the sour side and took my happiness, my mom. With my mom, my dreams were also gone for never coming back. I tried so hard to earn a decent place in the society, succeed in life but when luck left your quarters misery begins to take you down.”

   Dummy nodded as it was understanding what he was saying and this act made the old man delighted because the controls was in his hands and he knew he could do anything and be understood. Maybe this was the thing he wanted all above anything else, be understood by others. He smiled and continued.

“Do you know the thing we humans call love is just a lie. Let me tell you my story about my first and only love and the heartbreak then you will understand why I said that. We were only thirteen when we first met. I immediately fell in love with her.”

   He took a deep breath and released it slowly. He remembered the painful memories and his regrets in this life. He regrated nearly every moment and every conversation he had except now, except this conversation with his only last companion in this lonely life. He continued to his story.

 “I said the most heartwarming things to her, I bought presents by her little mentions in our conversations. I made everything to see her smiling one more time. When the time came, I bought a ring and prepared to give her my all.”

   He smiled then he started laughing as hard as a deathbed patient can. He was full of anger now. All the regrets left his bones and the rage took over its place. He clenched his teeth and continued.

 “Unfortunately, when I arrived, she already said yes to another man. Then I learned that she never looked me the way I looked at her and always loved the man she said yes to. They were lovers when she smiled to me, gave me the hope then murdered my heart. I will never forgive her for this. Is this a thing I should be ashamed of or a thing I should cry out? Who knows, I only acted with rage towards them until this day. And the town, oh the understanding people in this lovely town, they blamed me for trying to steal another man’s woman. What a joke! She was the one to blame for making two men fall in love with her at the same time!”

   He released his teeth and took another deep painful breath.

 “I isolated myself since then. No one wants to speak with me nor do I with them. But I am okay without them. There are some people helping me in exchange for using my land for raising crops. They don’t talk with me either, they just leave a basket when they collect the crops every two week or so.”

   The dummy was still listening like a saint to this awful life story, patiently. The dummy nodded everything man said and talked through body language. He did what old man want because of his life lines, his strings, around the fingers of this old man. But even with just nodding and agreeing he filled the loneliness in this old man’s heart.

   This pantomime was like a never-ending theater. Last dance of a lonely old man with his last and only friend in this life. When the dummy’s arm stopped working properly, he stood up for the last time and collapsed immediately.

   After some time, the people from the town realized that the man didn’t took inside the crops they gave and decided to go in and look for the old broken man. When they broke the door, they found the dummy and his wooden friend on the floor. They took the lifeless body and gave it a proper funeral in the town. The girl came forward when they gave his coffin to the dirty soil and confessed all her sins. How she used him and then made everyone blame him because she was scared at that time. Then the people who found the man gave her the last friend he had with him as a punishment and left her with the burden of a lonely man’s dream that never came true.

THE END.