WOKE UP THIS MORNING // A SHORT FILM REVIEW OF "FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION"

BY MATEO MORENO

The vapidness of Hollywood and the quest to be relevant is brought to the light in Poppy Gordon's new satirical short film FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, a stylish take down of the Instafamous rich celebrities of the moment and their quest to stay relevant, despite not doing any of the real work. The plot is this: a group of entitled rich and mostly white superficial influencers get together at a private club in LA and decide they want to make a film and win an Oscar. So they have a brainstorming session on what it could be. The things they decide they need are: A Mexican woman and her baby, a story about the border crisis, a really sexy guard, a ghost writer so no one will know they didn't write it... you get the point. Privileged and clueless, these rich girls are truly terrible people, and that's the point. Heather (Samantha Robinson) is the ring leader and shuts down any idea she deems isn't good enough. The rest seem to fold in as if they're her fellow Heathers; obedient, faithful and barely giving any pushback. They are collecively excited over the dumbest of ideas. Set to an sunny soundtrack, the film aims to bring satire to those who are famous for being famous.

Poppy's film is a timely and brutal takedown of the elite. Nearly every word out of the group of women's mouths are cringe-inducing ridiculousness yet they are sure they will be creating the next great thing. At a running time of only 13 minutes, FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION is really only a tease of what could be a truly glorious feature. From the visually interesting cinematography to the soundtrack and the cast, everything is spot on, welcoming us into this horrible, vapid world. The plot continues its takedown into the credits as the girls get their first real reactions, which may not be exactly what they were hoping for. Hollywood is full of Heathers, with their fake "wokeness" trying to take advantage of the pain of BIOPOC people and real life crisis around the world. With a longer running time, I'm quite certain that Gordon (and her co-writer Aido Arias) can burn them all to the ground. Let's hope we get to see that real soon.

GRADE: A

WRITTEN BY Aldo Arias, Poppy Gordon DIRECTED BY Poppy Gordan STARRING Samantha Robinson, Juliette Goglia, Ava Capri, Tess Trotter, Skyler Maxon. NOW AVAILABLE TO STREAM ON YOUTUBE, OMELETO AND VIMEO

CAN'T HOLD HIM DOWN // A FILM REVIEW OF "EMBATTLED"

BY MATEO MORENO

As Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has continued its climb as one of the most profitable forms of entertainment, the film industry has responded in kind. From intense character dramas like Warrior to broad comedies like Here Comes The Boom, the interest of seeing MMA on screen is beginning to rival the classic Boxing film of yore. EMBATTLED takes its own step into the ring today, and takes on a battle of its own, fighting itself for believability while still having a prize fighters worth of believable drama, well-shot action and great performances.

Stephen Dorff plays Cash Boykins, a cartoonishly ridiculous MMA champion clearly based on the cartoonishly ridiculous real MMA fighter Conor McGregor. I saw "cartoonishly ridiculous" not in a negative way, but as in that's the character trait of this fighter. For anyone who has watched the antics of McGregor, you know that he's a larger than life character who's ridiculous persona translates to massive ticket sales. Then, once he gets in the ring, he's a beast of a fighter, often destroying his opponents in minutes, sometimes seconds. That's exactly who Cash is, and Dorff hams it up perfectly. Cash is toxic masculinity amplified; he's divorced but has reconnected with his eldest son Jett (Darren Mann). He married again and lives in a huge mansion with his new wife and child. It's unfortunate that Jett has let Cash back into his life, and as much as I wish there was more backstory building into him wanting his father back in his life, he's clearly a victim of an abusive relationship (he vaguely remembers the night that his Father beat the tar out of his loving Mother, played by Elizabeth Reaser). He wants a father, even if it is one as terrible as a Cash, who spits out racist, homophobic and ableist rhetoric easier than breathing. Plus, Jett is an aspiring MMA fighter and no one knows that world better than dear old Dad.

Jett is a sensitive and loving kid, struggling through high school but is a loving and nurturing sibling to his special needs brother Quinn (played by writer David McKenna's own son Colin McKenna, who just as his character was born with Williams Syndrome). Cash completely ignores his other son, simply because of his disability (As you can probably tell, there's not a lot of sympathy love for Cash written in the film). His MMA career is beginning to take off, thanks to his father, and he can feel his dreams in reach. The money is also clearly important to him, as he sees how hard his mother is working to pay the bills and take care of them (Cash himself has decided not to give them any money, insisting that he grew up struggling and it built character). All of this builds to the dramatic fight, clearly pitting father against son, but this fight isn't played like the typical final fight of a Rocky style movie. This is the cathartic final actor of a Greek tragedy.

The best thing that EMBATTLED has going for it is the performances. Stephen Dorff chews up the screen with glee and clearly put a lot of time into transforming into this character. He feels completely authentic and is a true movie monster. Darren Mann drives home the heart of the film and we never leave his side. It's a tender and power punch of a portrayal, one that has a Rocky style rooting going for it. The script by McKenna (American History X) is short on backstory and character building but amps up the action and momentum of the film. The characters are solid, but you do wish for them to be a bit more fleshed out. Thanks to Nick Sarkisov's intense directing, it's truly a thrilling film to watch and the MMA scenes feel as real as the real thing, even if we don't ever truly feel that we get inside the minds of the characters we're rooting for, or rooting against.

GRADE: B+

WRITTEN BY David McKenna DIRECTED BY Nick Sarkisov STARRING Stephen Dorff, Darren Mann, Elizabeth Reaser, Colin McKenna, Ava Capri, Karrueche Tran, Donald Faison, Saïd Taghmaoui, Mimi Davila. In Theatres and On Demand Nov. 20th. For more info: https://www.embattledmovie.com/