Last night, I went and watched Inception. Without saying too much, I really liked the movie. I enjoyed the cast of the movie; I’ve never really been that impressed with Ellen Page, but this one, I thought she was alright. The story was okay, kept the viewer thinking and guessing, and there was a surprising amount of action than what I was expecting.
But anyway, despite the fact that I enjoyed the movie, not quite so much the venue. Atlantic Station, quite literally in the heart of Midtown Atlanta was built to be this mixed-live/shop kind of development that I’ve grown to call SimCity Commercial Zones these days, since these kinds of establishments have literally popped up in cities all across America, must like as if they were plopped down from the skies at the mouse click of the user, like in SimCity.
Atlantic Station is no different from the commercial zones that I’ve been to in Virginia, Nevada, Kentucky and Florida; same crappy stores, same inflated prices, very rarely any actual redeemable restaurant selections. The clientele is mostly nose-in-the-air money flaunters who dress like tools and sluts, just like everywhere else. However, the one difference that Atlantic Station has that the other commercial zones I’ve been to don’t really have, is proximity to a prominent college. Subsequently, literally every time I’ve went to go see a movie at Atlantic Station, the gates of Georgia Tech open up, and the entire zone is filled with douchey, smarmy college kids.
And is often the case with college kids, the ones who are 21+ or have access to drinks all end up getting trashed on a regular basis while trolling the area. I’m thankful that they were relatively quiet during Inception, but the two choads sitting next to me in the packed theater were clearly drunk, loudly talking about basketball, and the odor of liquor was wafting off them throughout the entire movie.
Based on the general student admission of Georgia Tech, maybe on the weekends Atlantic Station should be called Indian Station. I swear, sometimes it feels like I’m walking around the set of Slumdog Millionaire. It’s not that I mind the ethnic flooding, but when they go around in groups of 15, walk in horizontal lines and clog up aisles and walkways, and then act like you’re inconveniencing them when you try to excuse yourself past them, then it’s a pain in the ass.
Honestly, as much as I like the freedom of being able to go in the city and feel amongst “the civilized,” I think I’m actually preferring to stay closer to home and watch movies at the theater, that isn’t within walking distance to eight different yuppie bars, amongst the country folk. Atlantic Station kinda sucks now.
