Title: Ex Machina
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Alex Garland
Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins

What It Is: When Nathan (Isaac) the creator of search engine Bluebook has a compnay wide lottery and programmer Caleb (Gleeson) is selected to meet with the elusive Nathan on his private shack in the middle of nowhere. Upon arriving he is introduced exactly what Nathan has been up to (pending the signing of a non-disclosure agreement). It appears he’s been working on an artificial intelligence, and needs to find out how effective it is. When Caleb meets the A.I. named Ava (Vikander). Caleb may have his hands full with Ava though, and we are a witness to all of it.

What We Think: This is pure scifi brilliance. Not only that, but there is an interesting theological undertone about this film. For me it’s a battle for Caleb’s soul. A push pull for the modern age. One thing I am adoring is the chemistry between Gleeson and Isaac as they will be in the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. I think Alicia Vikander deserves a huge thumbs up for the nuance she brought to a robotic character. She fails to fall into that character that has to rely on crisp and precise movements and is instead portrayed with a humanity and pathos that warrants the feature she is in.

Our Grade: A+, This is only the second film to recieve an A+ but it’s worth the grade. This is deep scifi with themes that go beyond a simple robot story. It has some heavy stuff to chew on. This is the type of movie that doesn’t leave your mind after you leave the theater, in fact you’ll probably be thinking about some of this stuff the next day. GO AND SEE EX MACHINA! That is the only thing you need to know. This is a master stroke from Garland whose written some of the 21st centuries best scifi films including Sunshine, and 28 Days Later. I really look forward to more from him. If you need any indication as to his skill there is a scene I’ve discussed with a good buddy of mine in which a question is asked and the answer matches the assumption strictly based on the editing. Brilliance!

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