Ex Machina (2015) | Movie Review

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[sholderubber]

"Ex Machina", a great example of how nice guys finish last. Literally dead last.

[sarfaraz.hosseini]

I think the ambiguity is why this film remained with me for some time after I saw it. I wonder if Caleb is a hero, or selfish. If he is only using Ava to fulfill his own sexual needs, to be the hero, rescue the girl, and her to belong to him. Rather than appreciating that she is a sentient being. She after all has access to his entire life from his phone, desktop, and search entries so perhaps she arguably knows more about him, than we do. Are her actions a judgement on humanity? 

Is Nathan's driven to create a better, and better A.I each time because he's a perfectionist as he claims? Or is he looking to create the one that evolves enough to to defeat him. He does also state he doesn't see himself as a god, but an instrument of nature, in his eyes A.I is an inevitable step in evolution, and his excessive drinking may evoke a tendency toward self destruction.

And of course there is Ava, and even Kyoko, who I could go on about thrice as long so I'll stop here, but I will leave with this marvelous quote:

*Nathan:* _'I bought the painting for eighty nine million dollars. Then I made an copy, with canvas from Pollock’s estate, and each drip replicated to the micron. When my team delivered the copy, I had them randomly rearranged. Then I burned one. And I have no fucking idea if the painting on my wall is the original or the fake. In fact, I hope it’s the fake. It has all the aesthetic qualities of the original, and it’s more intellectually sound.'_

[gcrackerz]

Great review! I so appreciate that this film trusts your intelligence, something that I think it probably would not have done if it had a larger budget. It's for that reason that Interstellar bothered me. I loved that this movie asks many questions and answers few. The answers that it does provide are not always black and white. The beauty of this method is the experience from one viewer to another may differ with perspective. There are so many subtleties and nuances in the writing and in the performances. Ava's mostly Doe-like expressions had me looking closely for microexpressions which she provided on occasion.
*spoilers below*





-Things like a slight smile as she goes outside and its tie in to earlier conversations between the two men. There was nobody with her to witness her smile, it was not for anyone else's benefit, therefore she was showing organic emotion. Some of the dialogue in this movie had me coming up with questions of my own that it does not directly ask. I've been pondering these questions for two days now. Outside of plot I absolutely loved the cinematography and the very deliberate movements of Ava. Paying attention to when the camera is inside or outside of the glass box, watching Ava pace around the edge like a Tiger in a cage. You knew there was just something off about her as tensions built, but I personally still found myself falling in love with her and sympathizing with both of them as I felt I was in his shoes. The random dance scene that came out of nowhere, made me laugh for a second and I thought it was an amazing and ballsy choice to include it. It felt random when it happened but it served a purpose to relieve the built tension as well as improve Nathan's character to make you further question who this man is. I loved every one of these characters and the simplicity of such a small cast.

I'm going to stop myself now because I could probably write an entire book about this movie. I LOVED it. One of the best movies I have ever seen.

[joelbeats]

Awsome Performance by Alicia Vikander as Ava the AI and also Oscar and Downhall was great. The script was great but I noticed some minor incorrect details that took this movie from a 10 to a 9...A must see for computergeeks.

[mtart]

This is the first time I've ever came to your channel and I must say, you just might be my new favorite reviewer. Your quick to the point, yet you articulate so well and explain things beautifully to the point that understand comes at ease. I've been so curious about this movie. I am craving a film that touches on artificial intelligence in a unique way, and after seeing Chappie(which was disappointing) I wasn't too sure if I'd get that this year. I will have to watch this. Thank you!

[SteveSpears-Kuhlah]

THIS MIGHT BE A SPOILER!!
 I think there is something subversively misogynistic about the arc of the plot, and I'm not referring to the relationship between the owner and the owned. It is the symbolism of her as the feminine whose only values are grounded in sociopathology. Of course, that would make sense given who created her, but the tastefulness of it is somewhat, questionable.
I welcome disagreement.

[tortoisedreams]

Just saw this on DVD & thought your review was spot on. This was so subtle, intelligent, thoughtful and enthralling. Also had another thought: I haven't seen any Youtubers do this, but just wondered if you might want to somehow revive, or remind viewers of, your past reviews when the DVD (or cable) comes out. Like, "Hey this is coming out on DVD or cable and I did a review of it seven months ago." Does that make sense? Not everyone might patiently look through your back videos for the review. Not being pushy, just a thought.

[edgard.]

I was looking through your videos to see if you had done a review to the film and you did! Anyways, I watched this over the weekend and I was amazed by it. That scene with Nathan getting down on the dance floor with Kyoko had me going "The hell!?" Haha! It was just so random, but you have to admit Nathan had some moves on him. haha. Now I understand you putting this on your Top 10 movies of 2015 list. Great review!

[mollytherealdeal]

I just watched it yesterday. It was a well written, acted, and directed movie; a gradually paced thriller that asked philosophical questions. It was so beautifully shot that it did not seem like low budget independent work. Even though I enjoyed the Avengers sequel, Ava seemed much intelligent and scarier than Ultron.

[squamish]

I also would have liked more of an explanation of how Nathan designed Ava and what the implications of that were, although I thought what we got was brilliant and I liked the Jackson Pollock moment. I don't think Alex Garland knows enough about AI to go into too much detail, although he did talk to leading experts in the field, and he didn't want to lose the audience.

[vecda]

Thank you for your even-handed reviews. I find it difficult to find movie review people whose reviews are aimed at the average viewer. I don't know much about the technical aspects of making movies, and really don't follow specific actors. The short story is I enjoy your reviews. I have seen District 9 and really enjoyed that movie. I'm looking forward to seeing Ex Machina. Once again, good job. Keep those reviews coming. Ben Price - San Antonio

[detectiveassassin]

1:18 Watch The Babadook, that is an even more impressive debut .

[efresh]

Just saw this movie on my VUDU app. I'm usually not big on Sci Fi film but I really enjoyed this. It was simple but very complex. Some of the topics brought up in the film had me thinking a bit. Also, I thought the pace of the movie was perfect for what the film was presenting. Of course it's not a fast pace action flick but it also didn't drag either. It was very simple and to the point. The little twist at the end was nice and Alicia Vikander did a great job in playing Ava. Overall I give this 8/10

[vincentcastor]

An absolute brilliant film on many aspects. I found myself truly engaged in the thoughts and ideas of its premise even long after I left the theater. And I so much wanted to be Oscar's buddy and test Ava myself.

[mladenkulic]

I'm new to your channel and i like what i see, it really warms my heart when i see a girl talking about movies.
I saw the movie couple of days ago and i fucking love this film, excuse my french.
The performances and the cast were great, the dialog is the best dialog i've seen this year in a movie, the ending is a little predictable.
But the whole movie is fantastic, it never drags and its entertaining from start to finish.

[LetsReadSFF]

Wanting to see it but not sure when it will be available here. Looks fascinating with some great actors.

[lindsayweimer]

This sounds really interesting. The premise reminds me of Her or Alex + Ada, but sounds like it's going to be a lot darker. Just from the screenshots you added into this video, it looks really beautiful! Jordan and I are both interested in seeing this, so I think we will this week or next weekend :) Great review!

[chasesprague]

As someone who is currently getting their MS degree with a focus on on AI, I really need to see this.

[jacobellis]

I just wonder why key cards were a thing when facial recognition was a clearly established technology! Super cool movie though, somehow telling 3 stories at once in every scene. But it's actually Kyoko that I really want to understand better

[binaryg]

I saw it today, the first day available in my area, and I loved it. I want to see it again ASAP.
I love your assessment, "the movie doesn't think for you, it trusts your intelligence". I want to see films that challenge me, that want to make me think. Ex Machina is one of those.

Great review. Thanks I'm a subscriber.