Ex Machina Review

The questions Ex Machina asks are well established but none the less

remain both interesting and engaging.

Ex Machina is a highly ambitious film and is Alex Garlands first time directing a film, who some may know from his role in writing films such as Sunshine, Never Let Me Go and Dredd. Knowing this I was skeptical at the likelihood that the film would be able to be thematically consistent without obvious dips in quality throughout. Unfortunately my skepticism was correct albeit not in the manner that I had expected it to be.

Ex Machina starts with a young programmer Caleb winning the ability to spend time with his boss. Immediately this seemed a bit odd as who really wants to win spending time with there boss? But ultimately I simply assumed it was a chance for Caleb to meet a great mind in the industry. However once he meets his boss Nathan he seems to be little more then an alcoholic with little apparent intreset in his work. Which is contrary to everything else presented on screen and as it turns out Nathan is working on creating artificial intelligence and wants Caleb to test the artificial intelligence named Ava and see if he sees her as sentient.

The  slowly reveal of characters through there intentions and actions throughout

it a joy to watch.

As the film continues and the various characters motivations become clearer, your feelings towards the characters will likely shift dramatically. Characters aren't stagnant and whilst they don't grow as characters throughout the film, more is slowly revealed about them that in some cases will drastically change your opinion of them. This is easily where Ex Machina is at its best. It helps that the three leads all deliver fabulous and believable multilayered performances

Thematically Ex Machina also shines and had me pondering questions it puts forward. Admittedly these are far from new questions about consciousness and similar, but they are still presented in an interesting manner that provided a fresh twist on what will likely be familiar territory for most fans of this genre. Ex Machina is also gorgeously photographed with the machinery of Ava being aprticularly striking when placed directly against nature. Likewise the score is both unique and at times chilling that adds to a film that could otherwise at times feel a little empty given the few characters present. Sadly not all is well with Ex Machina.

The technical aspects the film uses it fairly route and poorly done, but this isn't anything all that unexpected for a film dabbling with the ideas presented here. It however does connect and lead to one very large flaw which sadly directly impacts the ending. The ending itself starts out strongly and has some truly remarkable moments. However as it continued as much as I wanted to love everything that was happening on screen I simply didn't. Not that it is bad per se, but it feels like less then it could have easily been, with odd choices early in the film at least for me giving away the finale. The films big shock moment in particular I found to be not particularly shocking (though i'm sure it will shock many) and the most painful thing about he above is how close it comes to greatness.

Ex Machina is consistently a visually striking film that looks far better 

then its relatively meager budget may suggest.

Sadly with just a few small tweaks it could easily have been surprising and as shocking as the film makers seem to have wanted it to be. Alas those changes will never be and whilst they are minor in the scope of the film as a whole, they do deride what is an otherwise marvelous film.

If nothing else Ex Machina had me asking questions I had pondered many times before again. I also greatly enjoyed the slow reveal of the characters present. Admittedly the themes and questions they pose are really no different to what Blade Runner covered over thirty years ago (or numerous other films and novels that are far older then Blade Runner). None the less Ex Machina had me contemplating those themes from what felt like a fresh perspective, even though it really was simply retreading familiar territory. Whilst a deeply flawed film Ex Machina still comes highly recommended.

About Time Review

About Time comes from director Richard Curtis who's last film Love Actually was a romantic comedy that featured a large cast of notable actors and actresses which makes it all the more surprising that it was not only palatable but was actually enjoyable. Likewise About time is another romantic comedy though is allowed a more focused narrative as it features a much smaller cast.

About Time starts of with the protagonist Tim describing his overly 'perfect' family life which is juxtaposed with his awkward social skills. The day after yet another new years party Tim's father played by Bill Nighy tells him the men in his family had always been able to travel back in time. Understandably Tim doesn't believe him but none the less takes his fathers advice and discovers that he indeed can travel in time and goes back to last nights new years party and 'armed' with his knowledge of event he is able to change his past with more satisfactory results. Tim then decides he would use his time travel abilities for the purpose of finding love.

Time then sets out to find love utilising his time travel abilities to no avail until he meets Mary in what is an original yet overplayed scene, where they are dinning in a completely dark restaurant with blind waiters. This of course means in their initial encounter they are unable to see one another and in a rare occurrence Time isn't awkward in the presence of Mary and doesn't need to utilise his ability to time travel to correct his mistakes. Tim of course after this meeting time travels and in error erases this encounter from ever occurring. After which Tim sets out to meet Mary again (though why he doesn't simply travel back in time again and meet Mary as he originally did is sadly not given enough attention). Most of Tim and Mary's story from here is as predictable as expected, and whilst both Domhnall Gleeson as Tim and Rachel McAdams as Mary provide for solid performances it never goes beyond what is expected from such a film with the exception of a sprinkling of humor that the time travel enables.

Where the real heart of the film comes from is the relationship between fathers and their children, or most notably between Tim and his father. This is an area whereby the film utilises the time travel aspect to great effect providing for unique and emotionally resonant scenes that otherwise would simply not be possible. It however must be said that whilst there are some exceptions, those expecting an interesting time travel story will likely be disappointed and the time travel aspects are largely used to try and breathe fresh air to provide unique twists in what is usually an overly predictable genre and for the most part it succeeds in doing so. Unfortunately there are moments where the pacing of the film does come to a stand still which doesn't suite the portions of the film they are present in, this none the less is only a minor issue in what is otherwise a film that rises well above the genre it finds itself in.

About Time is a rare example of a romantic comedy done well and features mostly strong performances, quietly amusing comedy that doesn't pander to the lowest common denominator and an excellent and interesting take an the relationship between a father and son. Hence About Time comes highly recommended.