Shameless Self Expression

Londoner Jessie Buckley needs a break after the death of her husband, so she rents a house in a small country village. Soon after, a disturbed and nude man tries to break in. Two things strike her as disturbing; 1) The rather disinterested attitude of the locals towards this disturbance, and 2) Said locals all seem to look alike. As in they all look a lot like Rory Kinnear in various guises. And that’s when things turn even more disturbing…and bizarre.   I seem to be on a lonely island of my own here, but this film from writer-director Alex Garland ( “Ex-Machina” ) is second only to Phil Tippett’s “Mad God” as my favourite film of 2022. I don’t think I’ve felt this isolated in praising a film so strongly since “Repo Men” was named as one of my favourite films of 2010, but this seems to be the one A24 film that people either were disappointed by or actively despise. That’s OK, I’ll have it. I really liked this one. If you like folk horror and/or you like psychological horror, ...

Ex-boxer and now drifter Otis (Ron O’Neal) defeats Louisiana Slim (Bill Cobbs) at a game of pool, in the latter’s own pool hall no less. ‘ol Louisiana Slim isn’t happy about that at all, so Otis makes a swift exit. Then he meets aging con artist Nathan (Adolph Caesar), who upon finding out what Otis used to do for a living, sees dollar signs for them both in the street fight caper. Sheila Frazier plays a hooker whom Otis romances, unawares that she’s also the squeeze of the already pissed off Louisiana Slim.   A small, overlooked 1978 drama from director Christopher Leitch (director of “Teen Wolf Too” , co-writer of “Universal Soldier” ), if you’re a Ron O’Neal fan you’ll want to check this one out. It’s got an archaic plot, and a bit of a mixed tone, but it’s a pretty entertaining watch. Ron O’Neal had enormous power and charisma as an actor, but was largely wasted throughout his career. “Super Fly” made him a star, and whilst he seems to think it also ironically ended his ca...