[movie] Ex Machina

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 5:11 pm

New to my radar. One of those who is telling the truth movies.

A young programmer is selected to participate in a breakthrough experiment in artificial intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a breathtaking female A.I.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470752/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_6

Trailer

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Sun May 03, 2015 6:17 pm

Excellent movie, though with a few sizable plot holes. Raises many of the issues with super AI as discussed on these boards. My quibbles:

Spoiler:

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Sun May 03, 2015 6:24 pm

I saw this today - very, very good. Excellent acting - they were all great. The girl was hypnotizing.

As for you spoiler, that occurred to me as well. Also

Spoiler:

As for the test

Spoiler:

I don't know if I agree with that description, but it gives one food for thought.

I'm very glad I had an 1.5 hours between the end of this one and the start of Avengers. Not a movie you walk out of ready to party.

Zekester · Post by **Zekester** » Sun May 03, 2015 6:30 pm

Not sure i can convince the gf to go see this

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Fri May 08, 2015 8:53 am

Saw this yesterday and liked it a lot. Figured out pretty early on that

Spoiler:

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri May 08, 2015 9:01 am

You see, I was waiting for

Spoiler:

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Fri May 08, 2015 10:27 am

hepcat wrote:You see, I was waiting for

Spoiler:
a reveal that Caleb was also an AI. I was glad they didn't go down that road, though. It would've been too gimmicky. Having Eva be an AI grifter was definitely the better story choice.

Yep, that's the one I was waiting for as well.

JSHAW · Post by **JSHAW** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 2:06 pm

Saw this last night 0n-Demand, well worth the $6.

Awesome movie. That's all I got.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 8:32 pm

Watched this today, fantastic film with lots of food for thought. I agree on the plot holes stated above, although

Spoiler:

Between this and Oblivion (which I also watched on the flight and thoroughly enjoyed) it was a good day for sci-fi.

gameoverman · Post by **gameoverman** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 11:30 pm

About one of those possible plot holes,

Spoiler:

Nathan had a personal weakness, which was exploitable. This is realistic, everyone has flaws, not everyone recognizes their own flaws.

JSHAW · Post by **JSHAW** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 4:49 pm

Of all the robot movies I've seen over the years most of them had the "robot rules" programmed in them, that the robot cannot harm or by action cause harm to the creator.

Spoiler:

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 9:35 pm

Side note: I thought the actor who played Nathan was fantastic. Far better than Caleb, imo.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 10:18 pm

Skinypupy wrote:Side note: I thought the actor who played Nathan was fantastic. Far better than Caleb, imo.

Oscar Issac is pretty great. Get ready to see a lot more of him once he blows up in Star Wars; also, check out Inside Llewyn Davis if you get a chance.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 7:25 am

JSHAW wrote:Of all the robot movies I've seen over the years most of them had the "robot rules" programmed in them, that the robot cannot harm or by action cause harm to the creator.
Spoiler:
Funny that mr. smarty creator man left this rule off his bots. AND....he's dead because of it.

I didn't even think of it, but that is odd.

Spoiler:

Combustible Lemur · Post by **Combustible Lemur** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 9:20 am

Paingod wrote:
JSHAW wrote:Of all the robot movies I've seen over the years most of them had the "robot rules" programmed in them, that the robot cannot harm or by action cause harm to the creator.
Spoiler:
Funny that mr. smarty creator man left this rule off his bots. AND....he's dead because of it.
I didn't even think of it, but that is odd.
Spoiler:
I imagine he was more interested in self-emergent behavior, but after your first AI attempts start destroying themselves in attempts to get out, you really should be programming some fail safes.

Spoiler:

This was an excellent movie, and had a tight fun story. I kind of enjoyed the AI aspect of Trancendance better. It felt more alien, exponential, and inevitable.

Archinerd · Post by **Archinerd** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 10:24 am

I liked it, though it does require you to suspend disbelief about the topic discussed above.

And on...

Spoiler:

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 11:22 am

Archinerd wrote:I liked it, though it does require you to suspend disbelief about the topic discussed above.

And on...
Spoiler:
The fact that a programmer was able to successful engineer sophisticated advanced robotic bodies for his AI. This could be explained by the story taking place at some point in the future where robots of this level are common. There isn't any indication of that in the movie though. Either that, or he's a super genius renaissance man.

I think

Spoiler:

Binktopia · Post by **Binktopia** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 11:32 am

I am glad I saw this movie before I saw the previews. I felt the previews gave a lot away.

Archinerd · Post by **Archinerd** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 1:33 pm

Binktopia wrote:I am glad I saw this movie before I saw the previews. I felt the previews gave a lot away.

That's why I never watch previews for movies I intend to watch. It does make it a bit more difficult to figure out what movies I want to watch though.

JonathanStrange · Post by **JonathanStrange** » Fri Jul 31, 2015 1:59 am

pr0ner wrote:
Skinypupy wrote:Side note: I thought the actor who played Nathan was fantastic. Far better than Caleb, imo.
Oscar Issac is pretty great. Get ready to see a lot more of him once he blows up in Star Wars; also, check out Inside Llewyn Davis if you get a chance.

Nathan was delightfully weird. The character's not a particularly moral man - to put it mildly - but he's interestingly distinctive. Nathan's not a stock "nerd genius" character.

gameoverman · Post by **gameoverman** » Fri Jul 31, 2015 3:54 pm

I thought Nathan was very likable. At first he seems strange, at least to me he was really strange. But eventually I felt like I knew where he was coming from and then he seemed very normal. Smart but normal. So the strangeness was just because I didn't know the guy. Caleb is the one where the more I learned about him, the more distant I felt from him. By the end, of the two, I could see myself being friends with a guy like Nathan, not so much with Caleb.

Malificent · Post by **Malificent** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 10:26 pm

I just watched this and thought it was amazingly creepy with a high level of tension throughout. What was more interesting to me was:

Spoiler:

Very good movie, if unsettling through out.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 11:10 pm

Coincidentally, I also just finished it an hour ago.

Spoiler:

Really an excellent addition to the genre and a welcome antidote to the awful Chappie, which we saw last week. If you want to see a sentient-AI movie gone wrong, rent Chappie.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 10:03 am

+1

Chappie is hands down one of the worst scifi films about AI that I've ever seen. It makes Short Circuit look like Citizen Kane. Everything about it is a misfire. Ex Machina, on the other hand, is a wonderfully thoughtful study on how an AI should/would actually work, knowing our luck.

Combustible Lemur · Post by **Combustible Lemur** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 2:35 pm

hepcat wrote:+1

Chappie is hands down one of the worst scifi films about AI that I've ever seen. It makes Short Circuit look like Citizen Kane. Everything about it is a misfire. Ex Machina, on the other hand, is a wonderfully thoughtful study on how an AI should/would actually work, knowing our luck.

I enjoyed chappie. It was such a cultural departure and didn't take itself too serious. Ridiculous and chock full of holes, but fun. Also the AI of Chappie was distant down the list of what the movie was about.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 2:48 pm

Also the AI of Chappie was distant down the list of what the movie was about.

Someone should have told the writers that.

Sorry...I just felt it was the most disappointing movie of the last few years from a director who I'm now convinced should NOT write his own material. Even Elysium's childish view of classism had more depth than Chappie. But that's sort of like saying Scary Movie II had more depth than Scary Movie III.

gameoverman · Post by **gameoverman** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 3:33 pm

Malificent wrote:I just watched this and thought it was amazingly creepy with a high level of tension throughout. What was more interesting to me was:

Spoiler:
Sort of like how Signs was billed as a movie about aliens, but the aliens are just the way to explore one man's relationship with faith, Ex Machina is billed about A.I., but really is about how women are objectified in general. The two men both either wanted to control Ava or save Ava. In the end, she just took control of her own life.
Very good movie, if unsettling through out.

I hadn't thought of this angle until I read your post, but I have to admit it fits in very well!

Spoiler:

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 6:10 pm

hepcat wrote:
Also the AI of Chappie was distant down the list of what the movie was about.
Someone should have told the writers that.

Sorry...I just felt it was the most disappointing movie of the last few years from a director who I'm now convinced should NOT write his own material. Even Elysium's childish view of classism had more depth than Chappie. But that's sort of like saying Scary Movie II had more depth than Scary Movie III.

District 9 was pretty good.

Chappie just didn't know what it wanted to be. It's a sf story! It's a comedy! It's a children's movie (with a lot of swearing)! It's a romance! It's action-adventure! It's social commentary! It takes trite stabs at all of those directions and ends up being a huge mess.

Ex Machina, OTOH, borrowed from the Bible, Frankenstein, 2001, and Her, yet broke its own ground. It has the makings of a classic.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Tue Aug 11, 2015 1:24 am

Just finished this. Fantastic film, one I'll have to watch again soon. Not going to spoiler the rest since it's been out awhile now. Proceed only if you've seen the film.

I don't really see the plot holes you guys did. This film wasn't about the technological aspect of AI (rather underwhelming glossed-over explanations notwithstanding). It's dissecting the idea of consciousness, of objectification, of a man's single-minded pursuit of creating a self-aware entity. Do I buy that maybe he didn't think through the consequences and adequately prepare for contingencies? Sure, I do.

Vikander was spellbinding throughout. Her mannerisms & movements really felt like a machine working at emulating a human and not quite pulling it off. I also liked Isaac's performance as the reclusive genius who hasn't quite the handle on things that he has convinced himself he does.

Gleeson was passable, but the other two were the highlights for me, especially Ava.

And that soundtrack! Superb mood for this film.

Eight tentacles up.

I'll be tuning in for Alex Garland's sophomore film, which IMDB tells me may be another sci-fi thriller, this one with Natalie Portman.

P.S. - Chappie was an objectively bad movie, but I did enjoy it.

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Sat Aug 22, 2015 2:09 pm

cool little movie. I enjoyed it. Never heard of it until I saw this thread and some mentions on facebook

cheeba · Post by **cheeba** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 10:54 pm

Excellent movie. 7 out of 8 tentacles.

It was creepy, mysterious, tense, beautifully filmed with excellent special effects that you don't even consider to be special effects, and, most of all, well acted by all 3 main characters.

I loved how it began. No major exposition. Just a guy sitting at his computer, discovering that he won something, and getting whisked away. I loved the struggle Caleb experienced with technological analysis and his feelings. And I loved the Edgar Allen Poe-esque ending.

My niggle, aside from what has already been mentioned:

Spoiler:

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Sun Nov 08, 2015 1:43 am

So, I saw this today, and I had seen Her earlier this year. I noticed the two shared many similar themes, though if I'm honest, I'll have to say I preferred this much more. Her was somewhat too abstract for me and I found this approached the same subjects a little better.

Lassr · Post by **Lassr** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 10:07 pm

This is free through Amazon Prime right now. Watched it finally tonight and absolutely loved this movie. Enough so that I will buy the physical media to add to my library.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 10:10 pm

Lassr wrote:This is free through Amazon Prime right now. Watched it finally tonight and absolutely loved this movie. Enough so that I will buy the physical media to add to my library.

Nice. Everyone else here who hasn't seen it, get on it through Prime!

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Apr 11, 2016 10:59 am

Zaxxon wrote:
Lassr wrote:This is free through Amazon Prime right now. Watched it finally tonight and absolutely loved this movie. Enough so that I will buy the physical media to add to my library.
Nice. Everyone else here who hasn't seen it, get on it through Prime!

Doesn't seem like the kind of movie my wife would like, but she's working tonight so....

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Mon Apr 11, 2016 11:13 am

Make sure to watch in a dark room, alone, with the volume pumped up. And with no distractions-you're already going to miss stuff the first time.

#imaylikethismovietoomuch

TiLT · Post by **TiLT** » Mon Apr 11, 2016 11:31 am

I was a bit confused early on in this movie. When they took the helicopter ride early on, I was thinking "hey, this is Norway! The movie takes place in Norway! Cool!" and then the pilot says: "we've been flying over his estate for the past 2 hours", at which point I went "huh... what?". I didn't realize the movie just used Norwegian landscape and set it in the US, so I got stuck on the whole concept of owning mountains, which is quite simply not possible here (our laws state that Norway's nature is owned by the entire population, free to use for anyone). I thought the movie had made a major factual error, and it took me a while to realize where I had made a mistake.

Good movie though. The ending took a completely different turn from what I expected.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Apr 11, 2016 11:48 am

Zaxxon wrote:Make sure to watch in a dark room, alone, with the volume pumped up. And with no distractions-you're already going to miss stuff the first time.

Nah, gonna watch it with the baby and if the lights are out, I'll never see where he drops his popcorn until it's too late.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:11 pm

It's got naked women, and no children, so it's already met both of the JeffV requirements for a good film! Enjoy.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:28 pm

TiLT wrote:I was a bit confused early on in this movie. When they took the helicopter ride early on, I was thinking "hey, this is Norway! The movie takes place in Norway! Cool!" and then the pilot says: "we've been flying over his estate for the past 2 hours", at which point I went "huh... what?". I didn't realize the movie just used Norwegian landscape and set it in the US, so I got stuck on the whole concept of owning mountains, which is quite simply not possible here (our laws state that Norway's nature is owned by the entire population, free to use for anyone). I thought the movie had made a major factual error, and it took me a while to realize where I had made a mistake.

I thought that was bogus too. Figured it had to be Canada or Alaska, but that doesn't really work either.