Friday, April 17, 2015

Ex Machina Movie Review

Domhnall Gleeson & Oscar Isaac (r) star in Ex Machina

First Prize

Rotten Tomatoes Plot: Alex Garland, writer of 28 Days Later and Sunshine, makes his directorial debut with the stylish and cerebral thriller, EX MACHINA. Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), a programmer at an internet-search giant, wins a competition to spend a week at the private mountain estate of the company's brilliant and reclusive CEO, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). Upon his arrival, Caleb learns that Nathan has chosen him to be the human component in a Turing Test-charging him with evaluating the capabilities, and ultimately the consciousness, of Nathan's latest experiment in artificial intelligence. That experiment is Ava (Alicia Vikander), a breathtaking A.I. whose emotional intelligence proves more sophisticated--and more deceptive--than the two men could have imagined.


"You wanna see something cool?" Boy, do I. Ex Machina isn't just cool, it's "fucking awesome." It's also aesthetically gorgeous, well-acted (Isaac is a bonafide star) super-creative and hands down, the best movie of 2015 (so far.) And I haven't even gotten to Vikander, who hypnotizes throughout. Like it or not, this is the future; and it's appropriately scary (at times.) Isaac is a joy to watch... fresh off "the mother of all hangovers," or while tearing up the dance floor. Plenty of tension, but decidedly male-oriented. "If a search engine's good for anything, right?" Good? Fat chance: Try extraordinary.

GradeA