Austin film lovers (and SXSW loyalists, like yours truly) have been eagerly awaiting the opening of the new Alamo Ritz, which replaces the old Alamo Drafthouse on Colorado Street as downtown Austin’s Mecca for people who like to simultaneously watch movies and drink beer. The Ritz had its grand opening last night; bloggy reactions after the jump.

photo via Austinist.

First, the overwhelmingly positive. Jette Kernion’s husband arranged a special sneak peek of the Ritz as a surprise for her birthday, and she’s got an excellent, fully-illustrated, “obviously gushing” writeup:

I loved the downtown Alamo on Colorado, but wow. The Leagues and the Alamo staff, and everyone else who worked on this theater, have made the Ritz a beautiful place inside. It’s quite different from the ratty theater where I watched Super 8 movies back in 1998. I was admiring details like the finishing touches on the side rails in the theaters. And yet, as Lars remarked to us, it feels like it’s been a real movie theater for a very long time, it has that authentic old-theater vibe.

Michael Barnes, blogging at Austin360, is a little less effusive. “Alamo at the Ritz opens — barely”, snarks his headline. He notes that “the carpet unfolds in places, and the moulding is missing in spots,” but his pic of Quentin Tarantino in the first night audience ultimately turns this into a positive clipping for the Alamo gang.

More photos at Austinist.