I read in a few places that Grindhouse was having problems with people not realizing that there were two movies. I did notice this when I saw it in Austin this past Easter weekend. Some people even left before the second movie started. I think the problem is that since there was little advertising for the movie nobody knew the deal and that when the credits actually started rolling for the first film, it confused people.The movies (both of them) were a lot of fun. It’s refreshing to see someone have fun with film, which Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez clearly did.
Since Austin loomed large in Grindhouse, it made me miss being there, the city where I spent so much time and created so many fundamental memories. But, I was also simultaneously annoyed. It’s like if you were a regular at a small bar or diner, paying your dues over a decade, then a bunch of happening people come in and quickly claim it as theirs and start dancing around like they own the place. This must be how the Indians felt when the white man showed up: “Hey, America is rocking! It’s fierce! Way better and less crowded than Europe. Isn’t it awesome that we discovered this place before anyone else? We are the coolest!”