Ex Machina
A24 Truther and ZEJ Class Clown Jord was shocked and shocked again when we told him E and I had never seen Ex Machina, and then reminded him shortly thereafter that we had never seen Ex Machina. But after seeing Civil War and Warfare, we figured it was finally time to see Alex Garland’s first feature film. Though, as E mentions, the sci-fi aspects of this are not as fantastical as they would have been upon its release in 2015, and that might have changed its impact on us. I enjoyed this, particularly the electric and MustWatch™ Oscar Isaac, and I didn’t think the plot was as predictable as E though. It has a few issues, one being that it doesn’t rise above a particularly good Black Mirror episode, like its scope and impact is just only 4/5ths of the way to profound. Regardless, would recommend. It’s a fun puzzle, despite its limitations.
-Z
What would it have been like to watch this when it came out ten years ago? I’m guessing that the AI technology would have felt unbelievably futuristic and creepy. Yet today, the conversations with Ava feel quite realistic, which is probably impacting the shock-value of this film for me. I found the story fairly predictable/not very surprising, but it still had a great energy and excellent acting. I still can’t tell if Oscar Isaac’s character was more of a crafty genius or a pompous idiot. A well-deserved Oscar for Visual Effects. Glad to have finally seen this!
-E
