Ex Machina(2015)

[RAMA]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470752/

A young programmer is selected to participate in a breakthrough experiment in artificial intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a breathtaking female A.I.

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYGzRB4Pnq8[/yt]

Highly rated critically, this movie opened in the UK already and opens in the US in April. Anyone in the UK see it?

RAMA

 

[Guy Gardener]

So it's not about the Worlds only Superhero becoming the Mayor of New York City?



If you're going to #### me that hard Rama, buy a bloke some dinner first.

(Hardly your fault, but I'm the only other person who can accept blame, and that is never going to happen.)

 

[Hugo Rune]

Probably the best SF film in the past few years for me. Played as a 3-hander for the majority of its runtime, it's quiet nature is utterly hypnotic and although the endgame is somewhat obvious, the manner in which it reaches its goal is believable, creepy and on reflection, like watching dominoes falling in slow mo.

It's also rather funny and filled with clever applications of high brow AI theory that is exceptionally relatable and grounded for non scientific bods like me.

The three stars are utterly perfect, but Alicia Vikander has a HUGE career ahead of her.

MVP though goes to Alex Garland. He's written some fine material for film in the past, but this is a true calling card. Such assured and clever direction for a first attempt. Remarkable.

Can't recommend it highly enough. High brow SF made available to the masses.

Which means no-one will go and see it, no doubt.

Hugo - I am God....

 

[theenglish]

So it's not about the Worlds only Superhero becoming the Mayor of New York City?



If you're going to #### me that hard Rama, buy a bloke some dinner first.

(Hardly your fault, but I'm the only other person who can accept blame, and that is never going to happen.)

That's what I thought too.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

So it's not about the Worlds only Superhero becoming the Mayor of New York City?



If you're going to #### me that hard Rama, buy a bloke some dinner first.

(Hardly your fault, but I'm the only other person who can accept blame, and that is never going to happen.)

That's what I thought too.

Yup, me too. Which in turn gave me hopes for Yorick, too if they were able to make this.

What goes in a hopeful nerd's mind in an instant, eh?

But it still looks pretty cool!

 

[Gaith]

The three stars are utterly perfect, but Alicia Vikander has a HUGE career ahead of her.

Aye, she was amazing in her breakout role role in A Royal Affair, and cute as heck in The Fifth Estate. I see she's going to be in this August's Man from U.N.C.L.E. movie, so maybe she'll gain US stardom then.

In any case, I definitely look forward to renting this one. It sounds sort of like Her, if Her were actually interesting, and not suffocatingly hipster-cute.

 

[RAMA]

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ex_machina/

88%
Average Rating: 7.9/10
Reviews Counted: 118
Fresh: 104
Rotten: 14




Critics Consensus: Ex Machina leans heavier on ideas than effects, but it's still a visually polished piece of work -- and an uncommonly engaging sci-fi feature.




This movie is getting great reviews and is set to open in select theaters, going wide soon after.

 

[RAMA]

Article on ExMachina. Spoilers

http://io9.com/from-maria-to-ava-why-are-so-many-artificial-intellige-1699274487

 

[Kelso]

I liked it a lot.

 

[Starkers]

I saw this earlier in the year and reviewed it on my blog but if you haven't time to read that I'll just sum it up as V good

I've just watched The Machine tonight, there are some similarities (An AI who looks like a beautiful woman, in fact her appearance is based on a woman named Ava!) but it isn't anywhere near as good (but in fairness it was made on the 10th of the budget!)

 

[Unicron]

I think one of the best elements was Ava's design. It's very well done and cool looking. I'm not sure I entirely agree with some elements of the ending, but it's a good movie overall.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Seems really familiar, haven't there been a couple of recent films with a similar vibe with the female AI/robot?

 

[DarKush]

I saw this today. I enjoyed it, particularly the ending. It didn't go the way I expected and I really liked that. I thought the FX were good, as was the design of the house/lab.

 

[Unicron]

I'd like to live in Nathan's place.

 

[sidious618]

Hope to see it this weekend. Supposed to be great. Matt Zoller Seitz, one of my favorite critics, was raving about it.

 

[davejames]

Saw this last night and thought it was really good... although not quite as great as I was hoping, or as many of the critics seem to be saying. The movie was certainly beautifully directed and had a nice sense of mystery surrounding Oscar Isaac's character and just what the heck was going on in his research center. And I appreciated how Gleeson's character was a heckuva lot smarter than your typical main lead...

But unfortunately it didn't feel like the movie really did enough with the Ava character herself, or asked enough questions about what she truly was. The focus seemed to be more on how she looked and her design more than anything else (which, yes, I realize was a part of the storyline).

But she still just didn't seem nearly as fascinating to me as David did in A.I., or the Replicants in Blade Runner, or even Data in TNG. Characters where you watched them and it was a little more ambiguous whether you were watching an android with a true "soul" of some kind within, or if it was just some very complicated programming at work. With Ava, it almost seemed from the outset that she had emotions and a soul, which removed a lot of the mystery of what she was for me.

She was definitely very nice to look at, but beyond that I just didn't find her all that terribly compelling.

 

[sidious618]

I was really sold on the film. I loved how it took its time and allowed us to linger over images. I don't want to spoil anything so all I'll say is you should go and watch it.

 

[Dream]

Wow, I loved the movie.

I just love these minimalistic low budget small cast Sci Fi films. I wish more of them were released every year. Three characters locked up in house while something is going on. We have Caleb the dorky main character, Ava the pretty robot who is more than what she seems, and the brilliant jerk inventor Nathan. The actress that played Ava was a standout. I really loved her in the role and was memorized whenever she was onscreen. She is already one of my Sci Fi characters.

The movie takes its time to reveal more and more of the story. We are pretty much along for the ride. The visual effects were nicely low key.

The only thing I thought was odd was Caleb's cliche plan at the end with Ava. Thank god for that final twist which made the movie a thousand times better. The ending with Ava was so open. Not really a happy ending since the future is so uncertain.

 

[Unicron]

Interview with Alicia Vikander. I haven't yet seen her in other works, but I'd definitely be interested in seeing more of her skill. I think she did very well in Ex Machina and was clearly the right choice for the role.

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYqfqMtr_qA[/yt]

 

[RAMA]

Wow, I loved the movie.

I just love these minimalistic low budget small cast Sci Fi films. I wish more of them were released every year. Three characters locked up in house while something is going on. We have Caleb the dorky main character, Ava the pretty robot who is more than what she seems, and the brilliant jerk inventor Nathan. The actress that played Ava was a standout. I really loved her in the role and was memorized whenever she was onscreen. She is already one of my Sci Fi characters.

The movie takes its time to reveal more and more of the story. We are pretty much along for the ride. The visual effects were nicely low key.

The only thing I thought was odd was Caleb's cliche plan at the end with Ava. Thank god for that final twist which made the movie a thousand times better. The ending with Ava was so open. Not really a happy ending since the future is so uncertain.

Web shows and movies are taking their place. Without the need to make BO grosses that often makes them better than the schlock that was made as "B" films.

RAMA