Free flick: American Grindhouse

Free for you to view from Hulu.com: American Grindhouse, director Elijah Drenner's 2010 documentary about the various disreputable subgenres -- everything from nudie cuties to sci-fi cheapies, blaxploitation melodramas to blood-soaked splatter flicks -- that define exploitation cinema.

As I reported for Variety while reviewing the movie at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival, "Drenner neatly balances wink-wink irony with enthusiastic affection while employing an extensive array of film clips to illustrate the sometimes serious, sometimes snarky commentary by film historians, veteran actors and moviemakers who have produced and/or enjoyed exploitation fare... Definitions are vague and lines of demarcation are smudgy -- there's even some debate over what a true 'grindhouse' really is, or was -- but the lack of precision seems altogether appropriate for a pic about such unabashedly slapdash product."

Among the interviewees: Directors Jack Hill (The Big Bird Cage), Don Edmonds (Ilsa: She-Wolf of the SS), Jonathan Kaplan (Truck Turner) and Larry Cohen (Black Caesar). But wait, there's more: A few "expert witnesses" -- including filmmakers John Landis and Joe Dante -- pop up now and then to express their unabashed appreciation for these and other schlockmeisters. Indeed, Landis goes so far as to suggest that Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ is no better, and maybe worse, than any exploitation movie he's ever seen. No kidding.

SXSW XVII: Final wrap

Mark Landsman's spirited Thunder Soul offers a heaping helping of uplift while documenting the past triumphs and recent reunion of a predominantly black Houston high school's singularly accomplished jazz stage band. The movie is a celebration of that ensemble, a group of African-American teens from a high-risk neighborhood who, during the 1970s, won nationwide competitions -- and even released popular records, including a top seller titled  "Texas Thunder Soul" -- under the guidance of their indefatigably inspiring teacher/bandleader. You can read my Variety review here.

Jeanette Maier's real-life misadventures have been so borderline incredible -- she was busted by the FBI in 2001 for operating, with her mother, an upscale New Orleans bordello where she employed her daughter -- that she already has inspired a sensationally titled TV movie (The Madam's Family: The Truth About the Canal Street Brothel, which CBS aired in 2004 on -- no joke -- Halloween). In The Canal Street Madam, documentary filmmaker Cameron Yates pursues the story behind the story in a sympathetic account of Maier's life and crimes. You can read my Variety review here.

Not so much an authoritative study as an avid fan's mash-up, American Grindhouse is a sprawling but amusing CliffsNotes-like history of various disreputable subgenres -- everything from nudie cuties to sci-fi cheapies, blaxploitation melodramas to blood-soaked splatter pics -- that define exploitation cinema. You can read my Variety review here.

At least twice during The Ride, documentary filmmaker Meredith Danluck's behind-the-scenes look at competitors, entertainers and other participants on the Professional Bull Riders circuit, announcers warn cheering crowds: "This is not a rodeo!" No bull: The man-vs.-beast matchups depicted here appear to be, quite literally, death-defying encounters -- for the riders, if not the bucking bulls -- and even audiences who neither know nor care anything about the sport will be enthralled. Outside the arenas, however, pic often dawdles as Danluck spends too much time with some subjects, not enough with others. You can read my Variety review here.

Coming soon to SXSW: Kicking and grinding

OK, I have to admit: There are some movies I'm looking forward to more than others at this year's SXSW Film Festival in Austin (which, by the way, kicks off with Kick-Ass next Friday). Naturally, I'm eager to see The People vs. George Lucas, because one of the "experts" interviewed in the documentary is... well, me. And, of course, since I'm a New Orleans native, I can't help being intrigued by any movie titled The Canal Street Madam. (Who knows? If they display pages from her address book, I may see the names of old friends.) But American Grindhouse appears to be the SXSW offering most likely to redefine the term "guilty pleasure." Indeed, it may wind up being a great companion piece for another guilty pleasure from an earlier SXSW Fest: The Independent.