Movie Review - Ex Machina

Ex Machina

Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander, Corey Johnson, Sonoya Mizuno, Claire Selby, Symara A. Templeman, Gana Bayarsaikhan, Tiffany Pisani, Elina Alminas, and more.

Directed by: Alex Garland Written by: Alex Garland Music by: Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury Cinematography by: Rob Hardy

Premise: Winning a vacation prize at work, Caleb gets to travel to spend a week with the company's founder, recluse, and programming genius, Nathan, at his private estate. But when Caleb gets there, he's told he's there for something else as well. He is to be the tester of Nathan's latest creation. He will be helping to prove, one way or the other, if Nathan has created a true Artificial Intelligence. (Rated R)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Domhnall Gleeson made the perfect foil for Nathan and his test. The character Caleb is like an eager puppy, and Domhnall portrayed that, and some of the later changes, beautifully. Oscar Isaac also did some great work - he was totally creepy and hard to read as the recluse Nathan. Sonoya Mizuno was fab as Kyoko - the longer you watched her the more subtext she conveyed - nice. But it'll be Alicia Vikander that'll steal your heart and soul. She's fantastic as Ava. Tons of lovely facial expressions and nuances. Especially during her transformations - very nice.

(And both Domhnall and Oscar are going to be in the new Star Wars film! Sweet!)

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: The special effects in the film are not grandiose or flashy, but this just makes them ever so much more effective. The blending of Alicia and the CGI for Ava's body was fantastic. Much like Chappie in the movie "Chappie", Ava looks real in every way, and you believe she is an android, her body slimmer than a real girl's would be since it is missing a 1/2 layer of skin.

Ava's glowing innards and all the shiny metal and parts were just too darn cool. Loved the small peek we got into the fabrication area, too. The partially liquid brains were awesome!


3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: The film is more of a thought provoking thriller than an action film. Hubby thought from the previews it would be more action packed than it was (as it had minimal action) so it might be something to keep in consideration when deciding if it is for you.

Between the unusual setting, Ava, and all the weird vibes the audience will get from Nathan, the film moves along nicely and will snag the audiences' interest. Several roads of posibilities are presented, and you're never quite sure which one is the real one. So that was nicely played. There were a couple of good twists as well.

Unfortunately, right at the end, they bailed. Hubby and I stared at each other after the credits finished, our minds rolling in confusion. A trick is used by one of the characters. Yet five minutes later, this trick is totally forgotten about and leaves one of them in a situation that really did not exist. There's also a choice made by Ava that clashes with what she shows seconds later. She had no audience, so no reason to fabricate what we see unless it was real. Yet, if it was real, she would not have made the previous choice. So it left a bad after taste and gave us the impression the ending had been tweaked - and not well. Dark endings are fine, but they should also have substance...

It was also really weird that the reclusive owner of a vast empire and creator of this magnificient technology only cooked, spied, drunk, danced, and exercised the whole week. It was bizarre never once seeing him do anything actually techie. o.O

4) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: The countryside encompassed by Nathan's vast estate was gorgeous. A lof of the house was filmed in different areas of the Juvet Landscape Hotel - and they couldn't have picked a cooler venue. The main room alone, inside a sandstone hollow and covered in glass, was utterly amazing. (Reminded me of one of my homes in Minecraft. :P) Add in the waterfalls, woods, and other lovely views in the protected land area, and the perfect place for science and nature to meet was brought to the screen.

Conclusion: Ex Machina is a disturbing little psychological thriller with some amazing CGI work. The ending doesn't entirely jive, but the film is worth watching for the fun cat and mouse game between the pricipals as well as the location, acting, and CGI.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full of Admission)

Movie Review - Chappie

Chappie

Starring: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Ninja, Yo-Landi Visser, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver, Brandon Auret, Anderson Cooper, Jason Cope, and more.

Directed by: Neill Blomkamp Written by: Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell Cinematography by: Trent Opaloch Music by: Hans Zimmer

Premise: A scientist working on artificial intelligence takes a chance and steals a broken scout robot, but is in turn kidnapped. To placate his captors, he offers them the use of scout 22 once he's implanted him with his new AI program. Desperate themselves, the kidnappers take Deon up on the offer, hoping to use the scout for a big heist to get them out of trouble with their boss. But as soon as the scout robot is rebooted, it is obvious scout 22 is more than they bargained for. (Rated R)

Review:

1) Acting - Thumbs Up: Dev Patel was perfect as the geeky Deon Wilson. His emotional fervor shone through as the lamb became the lion. Hugh Jackman easily brought home all the frustrated emasculation of his character Vincent Moore. Sigourney Weaver was once more sadly underused.

Outshining everyone, whoever, was Chappie, played by Sharlto Copley. His vocal deliveries, and even more, his captured body movements which were transferred to the CGI character, made Chappie more human than the real thing. Really amazing.

2)  Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: The CGI work on this film is utterly fantastic. It's hard to think of Chappie as a created image, he looks so real on the screen. The physical interaction between him and those around him totally complete the illusion. Truly some incredible work.

Even the big brute Moose, when finally used in the film, was darn impressive. Add in the explosions, rivers of bullets, and damage of all kinds, and the virtuous efforts of the special effects team are everywhere you look.

3) Plot/Story - Neutral: Though the whole concept of Chappie and his evolution is quite fascinating, the overall plot sadly suffers from all sorts of inadequacies.

Chappie as a character is developed with a lot of detail. But almost everyone else are cookie cutter cutouts. Hippo, for example, is the typical power mad, trigger happy, unthinking thug, putting pressure on his underlings for failing to meet his demands.

The theme of bullies is explored from several directions, which did add some interest and color, if you caught on. Lambs turning into Lions was another motif lightly explored.

Most of the science seemed viable - aside from putting your entire consciousness in a thumb drive, that is. And how secure is your programming when you only have one viable special flash drive and it requires no password? Those issues and some other items appeared somewhat contrived. And to be honest, for most of the film, 90% of the characters involved were not in anyway likable. The effort at the whole "being made better for those you've met" theme was hard to swallow after the ferocity evidenced by one or more of the characters.

And while Chappie gets some physical satisfaction against Vincent, nothing ever comes out about what he did, and all the people he endangered and who died because of his self serving actions (not to speak of the outright attempted murders of two unarmed men). The fact that at the end of the film they mention the scout robots would never be used again made no sense whatsoever. The information and videos of who and what crime was perpetrated at the factory easily available and what made Chappie, Chappie, not having anything to do with the standard scout class programming.

The R Rating should be taken seriously for younger viewers. Not so much for the physical violence, but the emotional ones. Chappie's first night away from home was pretty brutal.

They did move me. I'll give them that. But again, that was all Chappie and Deon for the most part.

4)  Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Lots of action, violence, bullets, and explosions. They fill the testosterone quota quite nicely - especially the awesome fight at the beginning of the film. I wanted to see more of that!

5) Locations/Cinematography - Thumbs Up: You see enough sci-fi films and some locations start becoming somewhat familiar, even when dressed up a little. A towering building used in Judge Dredd and the shantytown used in District 9 make appearances. They did pick some rather iconic locations, and ones the director has used previously. Still, the cinematography was lovely. And the odd, childish decor in the abandoned building where Ninja and Yo-Landi lived speaked of a childhood they'd never had, even as it served as a unexpected nurturing environment for Chappie.

Conclusion: Some superb CGI work - so good you don't even realize that's what it is. On the down side are cookie cutter characters and made to fit items. You'll be moved, but not excited. Sadly, nothing new was explored in the AI theme. And while the ending was slightly surprising, it doesn't make up for the rest.

Rating: 3 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Better for Matinee)