There are certain movies that should only be seen with real audiences
, paying crowds, people who have showed up and put down their hard-earned money with some expectations. "Machete" is one of those movies. I went to a midnight screening of the film in Woodland Hills tonight, and the theater was about half-full of people who were there to be entertained. And I'd say based on their vocal approval, roared after most of the movie's big punchlines, they were entertained and left feeling like they got their money's worth. More than "The Expendables," and even more than "Piranha 3D," this is the 2010 summer movie that understands and emulates the charms of the classic exploitation picture. "Machete" isn't just pretending to be classic Mexploitation it is a genuinely angry movie that has something on its mind in support of all the mayhem, and it offers up an unlikely lead role to Danny Trejo, who does as good a job of navigating the tricky shifts in tone here as Michael Jai White did in last year's "Black Dynamite."