Little Athens

It takes a bit for the development of each actors story but once that happens the movie takes right off. 2nd half is GREAT!!

I have to start by saying it took me a solid hour to figure out that Athens is the town the movie takes place in. That being said, this movie's got big intentions and they are realized. I saw it with a great crowd, so the mood was cool. I won't ruin it, but the scene where the Jimmy character steals drugs from his dealer is classic. Really really good, and the female characters are super real which is something I don't think most movies have. My friends and I talked about the movie for an hour afterward. The guys are great, especially Michale Pena and John Patrick Amedori. Eric Szmanda has some very funny scenes as well which is great after seeing him in the same role every week on CSI. I loved the way the movie looks.

Tom Zuber has great credentials in Law but seems to prefer to dabble in the territory of cinema. Having not seen his debut film LANSDOWN (2001) it is difficult to judge from LITTLE ATHENS (2005) if he is improving with age, but looking at LITTLE ATHENS on its own merits it seems a bit sparse in idea and in production.

Athens, Arizona is the bleak setting of this day in the lives of some fairly bored (and boring) youngsters, ne're-do-wells attempting to infuse sparkle into an otherwise glitterless place. Zuber creates four story lines, spottily interweaves them, and finally connects the dots in the last reel. The main problem is that comedy is funny because we care about the facilitators and here there really aren't any folks in which to invest. The cast tries hard and succeeds in giving us a taste of life in the flatlands of nothingville. D.J. Qualls (a character type who is very good, as in 'Hustle and Flow'), Michael Pena, John Patrick Amedori, Shawn Hatosi, Tory Kittles, Eric Szmanda, Jorge Garcia, Erica Leerhsen, and Michelle Horn are particularly fine and do their best with the material they are given.

Tom Zuber has a style, a sense of non-scripted spontaneity incorporating the gross with the sadsack, and given time he may make a fine little film. This one just misses. Grady Harp

Was lucky enough to catch LITTLE ATHENS last night and think we're looking at an exciting young director. The film is constrained by its small budget but punches largely above its weight due to the ingenuity of its Zyber and the talent in the young, and I have to say, hot, cast.

To compare it to the Outsiders perhaps puts too much weight on its shoulders and certainly the flavour is very different, but I felt like I was watching the beginning of a new set of burgeoning careers and it was tremendously exciting.

If you have seen this film, please add your comments, I'd be very interested to read them.

On a final note, the music on this project is phenomenal.

(I work in the trade but have no affiliation to this film - to allay the fears of some of the other critics here).

But don't listen to what I have to say, see it and make up your own mind.

KilledCat

This just sucked. The "day in the life" approach only works when there is something to care about. At no point are we interested in the characters, the location, or the void where a plot or storyline would be. I would just leave this here if there wasn't a 10 line requirement for comments. It doesn't deserve any more discussion. Do something better with your time than watch this movie. Read a book. Learn a new language. Build a bird feeder. Take a nap. Clean your fridge. Masturbate. Go for a walk. Browse Wikipedia. Cook a new meal. Cook an old meal. See how many Crayola colors you can name. Balance your checkbook. Mow the lawn. Floss. Pretend you're Batman. Clean out your closet. Go to bed early.