Your thoughts on EX MACHINA?

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BearSkinBathRobe's Avatar
"That may be, but I've got the Falcon."
Figured I'd return and ask about this movie. I had interest in seeing it since it won the SFX Oscar, and finally watched it the other night on Vudu.

...I really dug it! It takes a certain kind of movie to make me go "I want that in my collection" and sure enough I've already bought the blu ray on Amazon.

Alicia Vikander? Hello! Funny, I swear it's her eyes or brow but she made me double-take a few times thinking it was Natalie Portman. I knew it was Alicia, but they look alike to me. Got a Closer vibe from her look, sans the pink wig, especially the ending, ha.

I really liked Oscar Isaac's performance. Not sure if he's like that in every movie, but it was charming and interesting, a refreshing character. The lead was serviceable I guess. Reviews I saw said "three great performances." I would say definitely that is true for Alicia's and Oscar's, but lead's was definitely the weakest of the trio. But not a deal-breaker for me. Character's pathos was sympathetic enough. Nothing really deep so as to make them hard to identify with. But that means less to work with as an actor, I guess.

The set design was really neat, the musical score was so chilling, and obviously the SFX were pretty awesome. I really liked the darker-style ending, too, and the chilly outdoor camera shots between the sessions.

It was a pretty slick flick, y'all. As I said, I really want to watch it again as part of my collection. Glad it got good reviews. I read up on it a bit and cool how it was born from a "neat idea" the writer/director had years ago. I like that he wanted it to stay an "indie" flick too. I don't think it turns "slasher" toward the end, as I felt the movie was clearly building toward it.

As far as sci-fi goes, I'm not sure how "classic" this movie is. I know it got mostly good reviews. It's a little trope-ish, I guess, but I really liked it. The pacing was perfect, the colors, the visuals...a very enjoyable experience. Some people I know thought the nudity was excessive, but I thought it worked really well for the story elements of sentience. The coding/hacker stuff was lost on me, but glad they didn't need it to the point of having to explain terminology meanings like in The Big Short (which I liked, but it was a bit of a "huh?" experience for me).

8/10 for me, and I can't wait to watch the blu ray version!

What would you say you least liked about it? Or most liked? If I had to pick, it would definitely be Alicia's performance and her character. Least favorite element would be the length. I felt another session or two could've really made this masterpiece-level stuff. I might've found the lead's emotional discovery more convincing. But it was not a drag, either. Second vote would be the trailer, which got me more excited for it and prompted my rental.
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I might've found the lead's emotional discovery more convincing.
It's not really an emotional discovery,
WARNING: "Ex Machina" spoilers below
the whole point is that he learns all the wrong lessons and that he isn't really any different than Nathan. In the end he thinks he's being the hero by saving her and by doing this she's "his".


I thought the first answer here was well said:

https://www.quora.com/At-the-end-of-...ay-in-the-room

Like this is a much better way of saying what i was:

WARNING: "Ex Machina" spoilers below
"His relationship with Ava develops entirely based upon the popularized video game concept of "rescue the princess and win her love" that has given rise to a sense of entitlement among a generation of young men who think they "earn" women as some sort of trophies by doing the super-duper-amazing-heroic thing of letting women out of cages. And his interest in "rescuing the princess" transpires parallel to his disinterest in "rescuing" a different woman, and the film uses these events and distinctions to drive home its point."


I thought it was excellent but haven't watched it a second time. Agreed that Vikander and Isaac are alot more impressive than Domhnall Gleeson.



I'm guessing the bait and switch in terms of the story the film was actually telling against what it seemed to be sold as resulted in some of the more mixed reactions to it.

WARNING: spoilers below
I would not personally say it judges Gleesons character as "equal" to Isaac's(I mean the latter ends up dead and the other merely imprisoned) but it does still judge the his white knight style fantasy negatively.



The Bib-iest of Nickels
I haven't watched the film in a while, but I thought it was alright. I thought the themes had already been covered a lot before though, and that diluted my enjoyment, however. I'd call it a pretty simple concept done effectively.



Keep your station clean - OR I WILL KILL YOU
I love Ex Machina! It's on my bluray collection!! I thought it was thrilling from beginning to end. The dialogue between Eva and the lead were fascinating to watch. It's just a movie where you feel intellectual watching it lol. It does pretty cool things with shifting roles of characters around and it just leaves you thinking for a while!



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
@Camo
It has been a while since I've seen this one. I remember loving it, and sharing it with a good friend for a second viewing. Please remind me though:

WARNING: "rambly wamblies" spoilers below
Who was the other woman that he did not rescue referenced by "...transpires parallel to his disinterest in rescuing a different woman." Do you mean the assistant slave character dancing up there in Gangland's gif?

If so, I might argue against that being proof of the "male gaming" mind for the character. When first introduced to her, it was implied that she was an employee who freely chose to work under an abusive dick. I think a lot of people can relate to that dynamic. At least I know I can! In one case it is easy to first feel bad for a person who has made poor choices and then not feel obligated to act as some sort of liberator. This is our society, and I think once the lead character assumed that, then social norms took over and that was the end of that thought train. The other case was introduced with another context completely.

When he first met the (ugh I can't remember character names to save my life)...female AI that he was to test, it was assumed that she was AI based on introductions and the fact that this test was the whole point of his assignment. I think the closest this ever got to a gamer boy's need to rescue a princess was simply that he was a tech guy to begin with probably predisposed to becoming fascinated first by the tech, followed by a misguided sense of infatuation.

Personally, I thought he honestly fell in love with her because the AI was so good that he could not see the difference in what she truly was and his own desperate projections, that she of course made use of. Her escaping and trapping him, IMO, was proof that he was only manipulated by her only because he was so naive to believe her simulated emotions. He fell for her and paid for it.

Basically, it's like Family Guy's Stewie giving a girl a cookie on the playground and taking her affection for love instead of just wanting another cookie. Damn whore toddler tease.

Hm. I guess this whole movie was nothing more than a medium to character bash a jilted ex girlfriend! Hopefully the writer's ex was older than a toddler.




LOVED this movie.



loved the film and the whole atmosphere, definitely one of the best movies that year, i didn t know who was alicia vikander until that film tbh



You can't win an argument just by being right!
beautifully made, great looking, excellent acting and fantastic atmosphere but I didnt like it. Gave it a second viewing and still didnt enjoy it. I also didnt know who Alicia was until this.



@Camo
It has been a while since I've seen this one. I remember loving it, and sharing it with a good friend for a second viewing. Please remind me though:
I didn't write that ynwtf. I posted it from another site with the link, it was just saying what i felt better than i could. As i said i haven't rewatched it since it came out so i can't debate the particulars with you as i've forgot certain things. That part is addressed here though, you should read the full thing and see if you still disagree. The person is Kyoko who he doesn't think is an AI at first:

WARNING: "Ex Machina" spoilers below
Nathan is a man Caleb defers to despite the man's mistreatment of Kyoko, a woman Caleb believes to be a "human" employee who cooks and cleans and is used by Nathan for sex. Caleb sees Kyoko apparently can't speak English, and that Nathan treats her like a slave. But Caleb never applies the same questions -- "is she a human being, are her feelings valuable, does her life matter?" -- to that relationship, and it never crosses his mind to even complain to Nathan about the mistreatment of Kyoko. Caleb perceives Kyoko as Nathan's "property," or as someone whom Nathan has a "claim" to, and so Caleb keeps silent.

So compare Caleb's interest in rescuing Ava -- whom he is attracted to and cares about once he decides that she is worthy of his own affections -- to his disinterest in saying anything or doing anything about Nathan's behavior toward Kyoko.

So the women have to "earn" affection from the male "hero" in order to prove whether they are worthy of being considered "human" enough for him to be concerned about how they are treated by other people, and then in his mind it is a matter of him being a hero and earning her affections in return for his simple acknowledgment that she has value as a living thing. The mistreatment's "wrongness" depends on how he feels about the woman being mistreated, and the woman's affection is expected as an entitlement for him doing something so obvious as recognizing a woman is a person.


Here's the full thing, if you read further down there's other interpretations, i don't really think any of them are "correct" i just like that one best as it was similar to what i was thinking while watching: https://www.quora.com/At-the-end-of-...ay-in-the-room



I felt like it brought nothing new to the genre and explored themes that have been done before, I didn't think it was really bad but not memorable



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
I didn't write that ynwtf. I posted it from another site with the link, it was just saying what i felt better than i could. As i said i haven't rewatched it since it came out so i can't debate the particulars with you as i've forgot certain things. That part is addressed here though, you should read the full thing and see if you still disagree. The person is Kyoko who he doesn't think is an AI at first:

WARNING: "Ex Machina" spoilers below
Nathan is a man Caleb defers to despite the man's mistreatment of Kyoko, a woman Caleb believes to be a "human" employee who cooks and cleans and is used by Nathan for sex. Caleb sees Kyoko apparently can't speak English, and that Nathan treats her like a slave. But Caleb never applies the same questions -- "is she a human being, are her feelings valuable, does her life matter?" -- to that relationship, and it never crosses his mind to even complain to Nathan about the mistreatment of Kyoko. Caleb perceives Kyoko as Nathan's "property," or as someone whom Nathan has a "claim" to, and so Caleb keeps silent.

So compare Caleb's interest in rescuing Ava -- whom he is attracted to and cares about once he decides that she is worthy of his own affections -- to his disinterest in saying anything or doing anything about Nathan's behavior toward Kyoko.

So the women have to "earn" affection from the male "hero" in order to prove whether they are worthy of being considered "human" enough for him to be concerned about how they are treated by other people, and then in his mind it is a matter of him being a hero and earning her affections in return for his simple acknowledgment that she has value as a living thing. The mistreatment's "wrongness" depends on how he feels about the woman being mistreated, and the woman's affection is expected as an entitlement for him doing something so obvious as recognizing a woman is a person.


Here's the full thing, if you read further down there's other interpretations, i don't really think any of them are "correct" i just like that one best as it was similar to what i was thinking while watching: https://www.quora.com/At-the-end-of-...ay-in-the-room

Perfect. Thank you so much for the reference! I will take a read now. And yeah, It's been a while since I've seen it so I could totally be mixing memories up with any one of a hundred other movies fading in and out of my psyche.

thanks



Movie Forums Squirrel Jumper
Thought it was a good sci-fi movie but had the potential to be a great one, if it explored it's themes further maybe but still good.



I didn't watch Ex Machina, but I did see the ending. That combined with the trailer and a few clips, and the fact that Oscar Isaac is in it, all make me cringe.



Hellloooo Cindy - Scary Movie (2000)
Here are my thoughts....lol...i watched it not long ago and was not impressed. Here’s what I posted to the rate your movie section. Ex-Machina

This movie was so plain and predictable. Humans are simple and make mistakes, that we are held back by our vices and emotions, was this the message? True to an extent but we can be more than that. You'd think the person who was able to create AI would be less prone to idiotic mistakes including excessive drinking. The "brilliant" man, played by Oscar Isaac who drinks, who works out, who spouts superficial year one College AI philosophical ideas was not very convincing.

Ironically, again if I'm missing some kind of subtle point, then I have missed it indeed, the other main male character lacked personality. Dull lifeless and easy to manipulate, like a robot.

So this happens, that happens, all slowly, without much emotion or great intrigue. There's some odd camera angles that seem artsy and break the tone, first time Director choices? There's a great nude scene and my favourite scene was Isaac having a dance off, he has some cool moves.

Like I said pretty predictable and plain. But what stayed with me was the cold. The cold ending, the "leaving" we shall call it and the cold characters, all of them I never warmed to.

2/5

PS: Bit unfair to compare it to a fully fleshed out TV series like Westworld but if you want depth...robot depth, ponderings and philosophy that is the show for you.



Welcome to the human race...
^I thought it was pretty much revealed towards the end that

WARNING: "Ex Machina" spoilers below
Nathan's excessive drinking was a deliberate ploy to trick Caleb into helping Ava escape - he does it enough to make Caleb think that he can use it as part of the escape plan but gives it up on the exact day that the escape is supposed to happen, suggesting that he anticipated that outcome.


Besides, just because a person is really good at doing one thing that requires considerable intelligence and skill doesn't mean that he's bound to show intelligence or development in other areas (especially on an emotional level).
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BearSkinBathRobe's Avatar
"That may be, but I've got the Falcon."
It's not really an emotional discovery
I read your links. Not a big fan of Quora, cuz people tend to think too far into things like a movie, but it's possible. Thanks for the commentaries.

I think there is some of that gender commentary going on possibly intended by the writer, but I think it's more about the AI and emotional discovery is not really what I meant. What I was saying is how quickly Caleb goes "all-in" for this robot. It's actually a 7 day transformation, but the film doesn't even show all 7 days. And I'm not really convinced that 7 days is enough time for someone to start slashing their wrist open and plot against this guy that let him come live in his house and see his really cool robot and property. It was farfetched to me, is all. Who knows, maybe people change that quickly and maybe there's evidence for it, but as a movie, it definitely felt rushed. Movies, you typically have to suspend disbelief. I think there was not enough suspense of disbelief from Caleb. Instead he was nearly gushing like "ooh a sentient robot" from the outset. Kind of unrealistic, as opposed to a critical person that would resist until the AI actually won them over, if possible of course.

I thought it was excellent but haven't watched it a second time. Agreed that Vikander and Isaac are alot more impressive than Domhnall Gleeson.
Yeah, Gleeson showed flashes. I think it's mostly the script.



BearSkinBathRobe's Avatar
"That may be, but I've got the Falcon."
Me, too. I feel like it's been done similarly before, but I'm on a sci-fi kick right now and I don't get those often, so it was pretty fresh for me. I'm probably gonna watch it again soon and check out how they made it.



BearSkinBathRobe's Avatar
"That may be, but I've got the Falcon."
It tore up my mind.

Now watch me tear up this ****ing dance floor, dude. Check it out.

I really, really liked O. Isaac's performance! He was a real mind-f^ck of a character himself! Caleb was probably like "WTF dude I'm trying to talk to you" haha...