On Sunday I sat down with the directors and subjects of the SXSW in-competition documentary Pelada, about one couple’s journey around the world examining the regional differences and similarities in soccer pickup games across the globe.

There’s something significant about my notes situation as the credits rolled Matthew Vaughn’s high-energy comic adaptation. There was only one note to be written, and it came only at the end. My Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles notepad was blank, except for three words: “That was fun.”

Like his films, Harmony Korine himself possesses a spontaneous, incomparable personality. I sat down for a phone interview with the filmmaker last week to talk Trash Humpers, ‘mistakist’ filmmaking, Ricky Martin, Jonas guts film distribution, and the nice rack on the state of Tennessee.

It’s difficult to know exactly what to do with Trash Humpers. It seems irrelevant and futile to take out my critical toolbox and attempt an assessment of character development, story, and visual style for a film that so clearly intends to pursue none of these things.

The Myth of the American Sleepover is a subtle, some would say simple film, that attempts to capture those impressions, those memories of moments that seemed so important at the time, chasing after them like a kid trying to catch a lightning bug.

Life 2.0 is a fascinating documentary about the world of Second Life. For those who may not be familiar with it, Second Life is a virtual world. The easiest description would be to call it a video game, and while it shares many characteristics with video games, it’s not really a game. There are no goals or quests, no achievements or scores kept.

I’ve gotten a bit tired of John C. Reilly doing so many comedies recently. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a damn funny man who elevates everything he’s in, but I’ve been increasingly afraid that a man with as strong of dramatic chops as he will continually fall into typecasting through the short-term memory of Hollywood. Enter Cyrus, the first high-profile, star-studded effort by those kooky mumblecore kids Jay and Mark Duplass.

Are you tired of negative hillbilly stereotypes in horror films? I didn’t know I was. As a southern-born gent and lifelong film geek, whether I’ve wanted to or not, I’ve continued to possess a keen awareness of how the people of my region are represented in film.

Non-fiction filmmaker Miao Wang was fortunate enough to be at a critical place during a critical moment. She was in Beijing in the months leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympics, and her feature documentary Beijing Taxi looks at the massive transitions the city goes through, as well as the major implications of the event on a global scale, from the perspective of the city’s taxi drivers.

It’s rare when documenting a famous subject who is no longer alive to speak about himself that one encounters a subject who said as much about his own life as Spalding Gray. Steven Soderbergh, who documented Gray’s last filmed monologue with 1996’s Gray’s Anatomy, thankfully chose the most natural and obvious approach that one should when making a retrospective doc on Gray by constructing it solely through juxtaposed snippets of the entertaining, insightful monologues that made him famous.

During SXSW I sat in with 9 other online film journalists for a roundtable discussion with actor-producer Edward Norton and writer-director-actor-producer Tim Blake Nelson as they discussed their new film Leaves of Grass. We covered an array of topics, including Menander, Zionist Tulsa Jews, why Rounders is a comedy, and noodling with Keri Russell (not what you think).

Some documentaries serve as a thesis, arguing for or against a given perspective. Others are critical or historical inquiries into a given incident or situation. Still others are character pieces detailing a portrait of a unique human being. It’s rare that one finds a documentary that serves all three functions, and does it well. But that’s exactly what The Canal Street Madam is: one-part character study, one part argumentative thesis and one part historical inquiry. Fortunately for us, all its parts are compelling.

Earlier today I was directed to the Vimeo page of filmmaker Joe Nicolosi. You may have never heard of him, nor are you likely to have seen his work. However, I’ve seen his work. Over and over and over again. In the form of this excellent SXSW bumper video.

As is the case every year at this time, we need to wrap things up. Much to our dismay, SXSW cannot go on forever. And while reviews will continue to post in the next week as we get caught up on screeners and anything we haven’t written up from the actual fest, we’re confident that we can present you with our picks for the 15 Best Films of SXSW 2010.

If you’ve never heard of director Shane Meadows, I highly suggest rushing out and renting, if nothing else, Dead Man’s Shoes. His films often employ a healthy dose of humor, but I don’t believe anyone would characterize him as a comedy director; enter Le Donk and Scor-Zay-Zee.

SXSW 2010 just won’t end. Sure, the final films screened Saturday night and the annual softball tournament took place yesterday, but work is still being done. Here at Reject HQ, we’re still watching screeners trying to find little gems that we might have missed during the week. Over at the HQ of the festival, they are still tallying up awards ballots. Today they announced the final round of Audience Awards for the 2010 edition of South by Southwest.

I knew very little about this film, or the subject of the film. Needless to say, I had no expectations. When I walked away from the film however, I didn’t have to think long to know that it was one of the more enjoyable biographical films that I have seen in quite a while.

It’s incredibly difficult to take a look at terrorism (especially Islamic terrorism) and laugh at it. Four Lions does just that, and does it with flying colors.

This is another one of those films with an interesting subject as well a title that isn’t so easy to pronounce. Neither of these facts keep The Taqwacores from being a coming of age tale that takes a fascinating look at a subculture that many people have never been exposed to.

With World’s Largest, filmmakers Amy C. Elliott and Elizabeth Donius have created an exhaustive look at the world of quirky small-town America. The kinds of towns you may never heard of, despite their best efforts. Places like Strawberry Point, Iowa, home of the world’s largest strawberry.