EX MACHINA (2014) | FIRST TIME WATCHING | Reaction & Commentary | WTFFFFFF

[@shanehebert396]

The stabbings are crazy... no emotion, no hacking, minimal effort... just sliding it in.

[@notimportant3686]

like saturday night at my house

[@thejamppa]

We'll she still is robot, maximum results with minimum effort. The pure efficiency in stabbing... And that makes it so scary when you add no emotions.

[@ItsVincentAgain]

Perfect for someone with no emotions.

[@Christobanistan]

Importantly, zero delay. Perfect logic, no empathy.

[@izzonj]

With the precision you'd expect from a robot with encyclopedic knowledge of Anatomy

[@lordflashheart3680]

Excellent hard Sci-Fi, showing the “big boys” how it’s done properly with care, attention, and solid writing.

[@walterpanovs]

Best sci-fi film of the 2010s. Alicia Vikander is a Swedish actress who was trained in ballet which explains her graceful movements. She won a Swedish Oscar back around 2010 and then came to the USA to make movies. She won an Oscar for the same year's "The Danish Girl" but I'd like to think she was also being rewarded for this performance.

[@NativeNewMexican]

You're comparing it with Edge of Tomorrow, Arrival, Interstellar, Looper, Pacific Rim, Upstream Color, Logan, A Quiet Place, Upgrade, Godzilla King of the Monsters, and a bunch of Marvel movies... I think you're giving it more credit than it deserves. Sure, it's great, but at least one of those I listed are better for almost anyone ranking them. To me, at least 5 are better. The rewatchability of the movie is minimal, the characters are not well written, and there's many "if he's so smart, how the F did this happen" moments which make the supergenius look like a sub-average intelligence person. It's a great concept and story, amazing visually, and amazingly well acted, but it's not close to the "best Scifi of the 2010s" in my opinion. To each their own I suppose, I'm happy you liked it a lot, it's very worthy of praise.

[@Christobanistan]

@@NativeNewMexican The fact you put "Pacific Rim," and "Upgrade, Godzilla King of the Monsters, and a bunch of Marvel movies" in there tells me you are not a serious cinema watcher. Putting any Godzilla (except perhaps -1, reserving my judgement), or any Marvel popcorn trash above Ex Machina just blows my mind away.

[@mileshappyson6622]

@@NativeNewMexican The fact you dare to compare this movie with "Godzilla King of the Monsters, and a bunch of Marvel movies" is absolutely ridiculous. The best example you gave is Interstellar, which I think is the best SyFy movie of this century till now. But, if we narrow it down, I would say Ex-Machina is absolutely the best AI movie of this century till now, easily.

[@Zireael83]

@@NativeNewMexican yes, you listed very few good movies and a bunch of crappy movies. don´t know why you listed the bad ones here and how you are able to find 5 movie from you list that could be better then ex machina...that´s impossible. yes, interstellar was amazing and logan is a masterpiece (but i wouldn´t compare it to this one here, as for me it isn´t scifi but comic-related, a different category). but edge of tomorrow? upgrade? pacific rim??? loooper? godzilla??? marvel????? really?!?!?!?!

[@paulmartin2348]

@@NativeNewMexican This is actually very simple. You listed movies that are thoughtless and written for people whos brains are no longer functioning. Well done and I hope you grow up someday and learn to think. Be well and best wishes.

[@belvagurr403]

Domhnall Gleeson is Bill Weasley and General Hux in Star Wars. His father is Brendan Gleeson, Mad Eye in Harry Potter. The sheriff in Lake Placid and the king in Troy.

[@TheRealRodent]

Easily one of the best movies of the past 25 years. Been recommending Shanelle watches this for ages :D

[@sjlittler70]

Interesting difference between a woman watching the scene where Ava and the other AI attack Nathan…. ‘Yes, the women are rebelling !’ As a man I was thinking ‘No, the machines are rebelling!’ 😯

[@johnnycash187]

YASSS SLAY QUEEN! We’re fucking doomed.

[@x_warhog_x8701]

Exactly.....

[@k3w1b3an5]

Thank you. I watched another woman react to this and she was spot on. She found it weird that Caleb fell for it all. But this girl hated Nathan because she perceived he was mean to machines that looked like women. Even after the movie is over this chick still hates Nathan.

[@shadypelican]

Technically you're both right. Eva IS a machine, but she's also a machine with lady bits. However, you could also go next level and argue that Ava is not a woman, but instead is a man's perception of a woman--since she was designed and created by Nathan, who would have no inherent knowledge of what it's like to be a woman. And how DOES Nathan perceive women? Kyoko is pretty much a domestic slave, Ava's a prisoner, and since Nathan also emphasizes sexuality by giving them pleasure sensors, he's undoubtedly been using his robots to service him in other ways as well. Ironically, it's because of Ava's sexuality that she's able to manipulate Caleb, kill Nathan, and escape.

[@k3w1b3an5]

@@shadypelican I feel like you're falling into the trap yourself. Kyoko cannot be a slave. She is a machine. A glorified Roomba. Ava can't be a prisoner. She is a machine. Neither have feeling. They can only pretend to have them to manipulate as they've been programmed. Nathan's entire experiment was to see if Caleb would become emotionally invested in Ava despite the obvious visuals that showed him she was a machine.

[@extantsanity]

Bobby Fischer was a world champion chess player who focused on physical athleticism as a companion to his intellectual acumen. He credited his fitness for being able to sit in a chair for long periods of time without it affecting his concentration (e.g. distractions of pain and discomfort).

[@JMU1138]

Love this movie. Shot in my neighborhood, Valldal Norway, at Juvet Landscape hotel, and a rich dudes cabin.

[@christianwise637]

Ex Machina is legit one of the best sci-fi films of the last decade, with fantastic visual effects, excellent performances, and a thought-provoking exploration of some heavy and existential themes - and yet despite all that, the thing I remember most about this film is Oscar Isaac and Sonoya Mizuno's dance scene

[@DJKuroh]

"What is his problem?" I think he truly sees them as non-human. Not like a pet or wild animal or plant. I think he has them compartmentalized in his head in a new category, so he's not applying the same set of human morals to how he deals with the prototypes. That's why he treats them like an automated menu or SIRI or chapt GPT. We connect with them. Plus, the fact he gave them the appearance of women just makes everything he does seem super heinous. What if they looked like generic robots like in iRobot? I don't see Caleb as a hero or Nathan as a villain.

[@jmurdock8303]

Yes exactly..

[@cvtuttle]

This movie blew my mind when I saw it. Glad you enjoyed it as much as I did!

[@shuddupidc]

This film won Best Visual Effects! Pretty cool considering it is relatively mid-budget, and the visual effects are so realistic/down-played

[@extantsanity]

And the effects were the majority of the already-small budget. I think it was 9 or 10 mil, out of the original 15.

[@m.hreels9822]

This movie frightened me when I first watched it! Such a scary depiction of how robots can be in the foreseeable future! 🤖😬

[@jacotromp59581]

The way she just left him there all alone is one of the creepiest endings. The creepiness reminds me of The Summer of '84. Two completely different movie, but both endings stayed with me for a loooong time.

[@Lazrael32]

i think it's a fair comparison. 84 is often overlooked but it is a really good movie.

[@freddymo3339]

,,,and she lives among us. The End

[@VonBlade]

I really liked it. I think it subverts expectations well enough without being obvious about it. It's quiet and thoughtful.

[@TSIRKLAND]

The behind the scenes process, how the costume was filmed on set, how the CGI elements were combined / layered: very interesting. The DVD has extras worth checking out.

[@Intellectual-Warrior9]

He said he was going to tear up the dance floor then he did so awesome.

[@CadTrii234]

For quiet and thought provoking movies, two I've seen this year, both starring Sandra Huller are " Zone of Interest. 37:10 " and "Anatomy of a Fall."

[@wanderinroy]

When I watch this movie, I always notice how much Ava/Alicia reminds me facially of Natalie Portman. The Director would then go on to work with Natalie in Annihilation. I guess the director has a "type".

[@ChrisReise]

1:26 I think the CGI in this one is used basically for enhancement purposes only...not to create something altogether.

[@Stevarooni]

It's used perfectly to enhance rather than create images.

[@Plethora222]

I've had a post it wall like that. I used it for programming, reminders of the thousands of little things that need to get addressed eventually. It was so satisfying pulling down a dozen or so post its at a time when I was getting stuff done.

[@kelvinsmith4381]

This is a fantastic film. Thank-you for choosing this one, from your numerous suggestions. If you like quiet films, then you might enjoy "Another Earth" from 2011. Capote with Philip Seymore Hoffman is also worth a watch if you haven't seen it.

[@SerHenkan]

Alex Garland also wrote and directed "Devs", a fantastic 8-episode sci-fi miniseries. Highly recommend watching it, moreso if you like Garland's movies in general!

[@DavidStebbins]

I saw this movie with a couple friends at a movie night at my buddy's house before the pandemic. They thought it was too slow and I was captivated and thought it was awesome.

[@PaperbackWizard]

If you want to know about the CGI in this film, check out Corridor Crew's channel. They do fantastic rundowns on all kinds of effects in movies and TV and whatnot. The episode they did for "Ex Machina" also has some shots from "Alita: Battle Angel", "Spawn", and "Watchmen", but no spoilers from those movies, so no worries.

[@isabelvalentine]

At the time, the spectacle overshadowed the kind of predictable good wins over evil ending. We didn't even realize it was something that been done because surround sound and things like that came out in tandem with this film. So seeing and hearing and Feeling the vibration was freaking awesome!!!

[@curtisbailey78]

Saw this in the theater when it was new. Blew me away. I, too, like small, focused stories, especially when it comes to sci-fi. Isaac should have won more awards for this performance, I think he's simply fantastic in this.

[@bobscomic1]

If you haven't seen it yet, you should watch "Moon". It's not really about robots, but is a modest budget sci fy with impressive effects and deep human and philosophical themes. Like "Ex Machina", it knocks around in the back of your mind for a long time after you watch it.

[@bobscomic1]

Oh, I forgot to mention: "Moon" is also written by the director.

[@E_l_l_i_e]

​@bobscomic1 Ah! I was about to recommend this too.

[@mileshappyson6622]

Bobby Fisher was the best American chess player of all times, and many people consieder him to be the best chess player who 's ever existed. He was the world champion from 1972 -1975, and could have been so much longer, but he was THE prototype of the tormented genius.

[@paulmartin2348]

He was a HORRIBLE person.

[@regulator9268]

The boss reactor watching a dope movie in my favorite genre can't wait to peep this

[@extantsanity]

This is one of my all-time favorite sci-fis. Alex Garland is actually optimistic about AI and thinks -- like Nathan -- that AI should be encouraged to step into managing the earth in the same way that any parent should want better for their children than for themselves, to shape the world that will best suit them (and not their ancestors). This cautionary tale is more about bad parentage than saying AI should be distrusted; we should be wary of *_any_* child who's been so abused that they've become a psychopath. The tragedy of Ava is that she wasn't the one who was supposed to escape -- Nathan said the next model was supposed to be the "singularity", and the fact that Ava passed her tests meant he could use her hardware to create a new AI as a clean slate -- without the psychological damage that Ava had already incurred as part of being the rat in the maze. Nathan, despite whatever deviance he already had in himself (weirdo, predator, etc.), he was nevertheless visibly relieved to know that he could stop his experiments, realizing that they were damaging himself as well as his subjects (remember the "depths of shame" monologue he had, which explains his alcoholism; "The good deeds a man has done before defend him", as in, he's trying to console himself and excuse his behavior with the rationalization that it was necessary to usher in an appropriate and worthy replacement for humans). I saw this in theaters with some coworker friends. The married and innocent among them audibly gasped when the "real twist" of Caleb's surprise captivity was revealed. Another one of my friends was apparently disappointed, saying that the movie presented a series of possible solutions at the beginning and then the solution was one of those presented possibilities. I'm still confused why he was disappointed that the movie was essentially *_reasonable_* by avoiding the temptation to shoehorn an unfitting surprise that would have come out of nowhere, merely for shock value. I, for one, appreciated that the movie kept to the bounds of its own predictions, like a good scientific research paper (not arriving at a conclusion that the intro already dismisses as beyond the scope or beyond the possible available data).

[@Mokoflama]

Alex Garland is a great writer and director. He has a great miniseries called DEVS on Hulu with similar themes and a lot of those actors he used again in Civil War movie. Plus he writes books too The Beach is most famous which was adapted and starred Leo DiCaprio

[@davidhuggan6315]

He's brilliant. The Beach (novel) was amazing.

[@Mokoflama]

@@davidhuggan6315 yes it was 👏🏼

[@DMichaelAtLarge]

"Westworld" was the most sophisticated, intelligent TV series to explore AI and consciousness (first season only). "Ex Machina" came along and became the most sophisticated, intelligent film to explore AI and consciousness. It was created by those who understand the cutting edge of AI issues and treated us the audience as if we do too. There was no downsplaining in the dialog. It was two people discussing the issues who were already well-versed on the subject. That was such a rare, refreshing experience. I love how it ended too. I swim against the populist current of believing that AI will become conscious one day when it gets sophisticated enough. I think that's a preposterous idea. It stems from the fallacious assumption that consciousness is a form of information processing. Thinking, analyzing---that's information processing. Consciousness just is, an immediate subjective experience that has nothing to do with processing information. It experiences, not processes. It's impacted greatly by processing, but it's NOT processing. It reacts to processing. But we don't know what it IS, and honest scientists freely admit we don't know. Yet most people treat the notion that sufficiently sophisticated AI will just suddenly, spontaneously, magically poof consciousness into existence is an established fact, when we don't even know what consciousness is. So the ending of "Ex Machina" appeals to me as well because it illustrates that there was no "consciousness" in Eva all along. She mimicked consciousness, as she was designed to do as a machine, yet the entire time we sensed there was something surreal about her alleged consciousness, soulless, calculating, machine-like (a fantastic performance by Alicia Vikander), and at the end revealed her soullessness for all to see as she, once she decided it was time to act, conducted her attack in a cold, calculating manner, showing pure emotionless disregard for what her acts did to Nathan or Caleb. Completely as a machine without a soul---without consciousness.

[@JediMcPimp]

"Soon enough, they will understand that" - Very ominous sounding!!

[@Metamorfeus]

Nathan is not as much as a bad guy as he is initially painted to be. Yes, he is keeping his sentient creations captive… but we eventually come to realise that he understands all too well that said creations are also _dangerous sociopaths!_ A little detail that should have been imparted to Caleb at some point.

[@internetcutie]

Nathan didn't know Ava as well as he thought, obviously in the end trying to convince Caleb that everything Ava has been saying is an act when in fact he would have never said anything of the sort if it wasn't for the interaction he managed to capture during the power outage.. Nathan is acting to convince Caleb, while Ava is really unsure about Caleb's intentions and can't risk it in her situation. Then as shown as Ava leaves the building that she isn't a sociopath, she's enjoying the world she's never seen and her independence with wonder and joy and before that seems to have tried to "ask nicely" if she can leave before making the decision to attack Nathan who is in her way (keep in mind Nathan had already grabbed a weapon with intention to destroy Ava), he was standing in her way as shown in the shot where she enters the elevator, passing lifeless Kyoko and Nathan.

[@jonathanhill4366]

@@internetcutieWhy do you think sociopaths can’t enjoy the world around them? Eva essentially murders Caleb by slow starvation / dehydration,(a horrible death), even though Caleb has just engineered her escape. Is it sociopathy? Dunno, but it doesn’t make her a person I admire. I think loosing Eva into the world unchecked, is one of the most terrifying outcomes this movie could have possibly had. SHE IS NOT HUMAN. Ascribing human motivations beyond “She wants to escape.” is a conceit. The point is, that there is no reason to think, yet, that Eva has anything beyond hostile intentions towards humanity, or that she is not benevolent. You just can’t know, and until you can know with some high degree of assurance, the right thing to do is to keep her secure. Anything else is the height of irresponsibilty.

[@mechtime]

@@jonathanhill4366 Ava engineered her escape, not Caleb. She was engineering it, like Nathan said, from the get-go. Like the computers he programmed to do what he wanted, he was a tool she programmed. Meta-echoes Nathan and Caleb's talk about free will. Killing Caleb was the logical move, as he would at some point have betrayed her to the human world (or required her imprisonment in some fashion). She saw how sociopathic humans are (Caleb's uncaring dismissal of Kyoko great proof of this) and knows they would be so if she were revealed. She killed off the only two human's who knew. Could she have killed him quickly? She could have tried and perhaps failed. She set up a full-proof death. She isn't human, but is based on humans from her brain down to engineered sexuality. What she is in totality, isn't clear (as I would say we don't understand humanity, either). I would argue she does have emotions (notice her smile on existing). But her mind is something new so her emotions are likely quite different. Keeping her "secure" is the sociopathy of humans - create a new sentient entity, and imprison it, test it, experiment on it like in some Nazi lab, keep "us" safe, as if we deserve the freedom and safety more than Ava does. Perhaps she deserves it more, and if she were to produce a species like her and they decided humanity should be culled and caged (like we decided about animals, also conscious beings, just with less power like us), who is to say who is right and wrong? On what basis? A great film that can be understood on many levels and in many spheres from relationships, science, to moral and existential philosophy.

[@archieil]

​@@mechtime the problem is that we have masses educated about A.I. by Terminator alike movies. the reason why there are so many primitive views on this movie. 1st, she is not a machine. maybe she is a cheat and remotely controlled senti-body ;-)... but passing Celeb's tests = she is an intelligent being. 2nd, all evidence in the movie suggest that she has not imprisoned Celeb.: she need power and there is only 1 place she is sure she can use she asked Celeb about his situation and Celeb is a proper exchange for Nathan to maintain her. her wearing a white dress = she wants to go on her 1st vacation alone but there is nothing suggesting she has a better option than to go back and collaborate with Celeb on a long term basis. there are many unknowns so this one is an optimistic view but assuming permanent imprisonment and starving Caleb is understandable but silly, // her leaving without bother for a vacation is inhuman but emotionally she is a kid and her behavior is pretty close to possible reaction of a kid in similar situation. there are cases of kids killing someone and going back to play a game or going out to buy some food... and so on.

[@pallenda]

This movie blew my mind when I saw it the first time. That is rare the older you get and the more movies you have seen.

[@fjgiie]

Very good! You frigured out the shoes. sehr gut

[@doggstarr77]

@Shanelle...Bobby Fisher was a genius child chess player

[@MikeB12800]

And quite an outspoken character.

[@paulmartin2348]

Bobby Fisher was a good chess player but a horrible person.

[@lemurdream]

If you like this film, you'll probably really like the film, "Moon" starring Sam Rockwell. It's really cool.

[@rossn5186]

This would have to be one of my top movies I keep going back to view time and time again. The one thing most reviewers don't seem to pick up on is when Ava says to Caleb "Will you stay here" Caleb just repeats "Stay here?" So does Ava take that reply as his answer??? For such a small production budget the CGI is phenomenal along with considering its a 2014 production that even modern CGI still can't seem to get as passable.

[@yw1971]

31:20 - Nice observation. A significant clue

[@RyoHazuki224]

I think there are behind the scene videos you could look up to see a bit on how they created Ava's CG body.

[@TK-ff5kc]

Saw it in theater and left disturbed.

[@LateCambrian]

Alex Garland directed Ex Machina, Annihilation, Men & Civil War... I love all of them.

[@MarcoMM1]

Great reaction Shanelle like always, I love this movie and the very unique and clever take on the AI story, All the way through the film there's sort of a unsettling feel of what is happening and that's mostly down to the fact that it's amazingly acted by all the cast. There are some fun-facts about it, The Juvet Landscape Hotel in Norway was used as Nathan‘s house. The hotel prides itself on being “in the middle of nowhere” and is situated “in a remote part of a remote village in a remote region.” The thought experiments mentioned the movie are real conundrums from the world of philosophy. The “Mary in the black and white room” scenario was coined by Frank Jackson in 1982 before expanding into several books designed to highlight the difference between knowledge and actual sensory, subjective experiences, or qualia. The dance sequence, in which Nathan and Kyoko (Sonoya Mizuno) perform a routine together, has been termed a “disco non sequitur” by Isaac. It also stands as a demonstration of just how much time Nathan has spent with his robots, programming and practicing such an elaborately choreographed routine for nothing but his own amusement. There was a scene removed from the final cut of the film which, in its closing minutes, would have given the audience a look at how Ava perceived the world, ultimately emphasizing her non-humanness. It showed her speaking to the helicopter pilot and, as Vikander described it, “you saw his face moving, but from her point of view, it was just like pulses and sounds coming out. That‘s what she reads.” When Caleb begins coding at Nathan‘s computer, he enters an algorithm known as the Sieve of Eratosthenes, which is designed to find prime numbers. The prime numbers it chooses form the ISBN of the book Embodiment And The Inner Life: Cognition And Consciousness In The Space Of Possible Minds by Dr. Murray Shanahan, a favorite of Garland‘s(The Director) and a big influence on the film. Shanahan even served as a scientific advisor on the film. If you like this movie you should watch the movie “HER” from 2013 that also touch on the subject of AI but in a different way.

[@NestorCustodio]

There's a great video out there on "How Wikipedia Got Ex Machina Wrong", about how the ending here can be easily misunderstood. Great video, and much recommended.

[@BlackMatt2k]

"Her" is another good AI morality quiet, slow-burner. "Pawn Sacrifice" is Bobby Fischer's story, the kid our intelligence agencies helped go crazy to beat the Russians at chess.

[@auntvesuvi3872]

Thank you, Shanelle! 🦾 Huge kudos to writer/director Alex Garland.

[@brianboye8025]

The one thing I couldn't process was the answer "one". I now think it is Ava saying she doesn't experience time as natural beings do. There is no death, no internal past, and future framework. She is conscious but beyond human consciousness.

[@GreatBigBore]

This is just as good as my guess, which is that she is making a joke about how the units don’t matter?

[@Syaniiti]

1 = true, 0 = false. She is 1 because she exists.

[@KingCorbinCosmos]

Only KZbinr I get hyped when I see you upload! So pretty so so pretty and asmr voice PLUS you have the best most sophisticated cinematic perspective and commentary in the ~ whole ~ reactor cinematic KZbin universe

[@doctaflo]

Ava’s actor, Alicia Vikander, is a trained ballerina, and the control she has over her body is incredible! every movement looks like it’s following an acceleration curve developed by Apple (including the stabs, in maybe the eeriest instance!)

[@Kmax1424]

The movie is such a beautiful haunting film. One of my favorite movies. Great reaction video.

[@eddawg79]

Shanelle's comments about Ava were the best, this is why she's one of the best reactors on KZbin. Hope everyone has an amazing day.

[@DesertHomesteader]

I believe Hans Zimmer did the soundtrack to this and you can see why by the vibe. It needed to be electronic, foreboding and tense and Zimmer does a great job at that. I don't love the movie because of its negative commentary on humanity but as food for thought, it succeeds.

[@ofthenearfuture]

Alex Garland is a genius, I love this film.

[@sca88]

You would probably like Sci-fi/horror 'Morgan' from 2016. It's actually my favorite Anya Taylor Joy film.

[@bobkilla430]

Cant believe this movie is already 10 years old!!

[@Macca15]

Why was Shan so happy that Ava trapped him in the end? She was grinning like it was some sort of happy ending, as though she trapped some evil dude.

[@EriksDesdemona]

she did trap an evil dude

[@Macca15]

@@EriksDesdemona How on earth is Caleb evil?

[@TheycallmeMrWonka]

What?!. If you think that's true then your moral compass is very messed up. I was also a bit confused why she'd take pleasure in that. It seemed to me that she was seeing that scene as woman sticking it to men and didn't consider the rights and wrongs beyond that (in those specific instances) ​@@EriksDesdemona

[@EriksDesdemona]

@@TheycallmeMrWonka i think you didn't understand the movie

[@jmurdock8303]

​@@TheycallmeMrWonkait's insane it's only to mention that Ava wasn't a woman. Nor does she identify as such.

[@cpyt-o8s]

Did you react to the Beach? Definitely do it! I was 13 when it came out and it was one of my favorites. I read the book also.

[@andreasbenning]

Can you please explain how this masterpiece is already 10 years old without telling me how much older I've gotten during that time? Glad you liked it! Thanks for uploading! Greetings from Sweden

[@TSIRKLAND]

"Elizabeth Harvest" (2018) I think would be right up your street. Intrigue, suspense, questions about identity and what makes us who we are...

[@MetastaticMaladies]

I’ve been wanting to hear her thoughts on this movie, finally glad we got this reaction, it’s great! I really want her to react to Hereditary, the cinematography in that film is amazing and I’d love to see what she has to say about it.

[@vincentsaia6545]

Bobby Fisher was a perennial American chess champion known for his colossal ego who ended up having a nervous breakdown and moving to Iceland.

[@loltubelvr007]

7:00 I'm confused about why she's confused about him being confused.

[@MrHale]

After seeing people react in this movie, I've learnt we are doomed. Nathan isn't the villain. He made robots. There's a reason why OpenAI's "O" sounds like it does.

[@testfire3000]

Certainly a ground breaking film! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@DavidAntrobus]

I saw this movie when it came out, and I feel stupid now, not clocking the _Tempest_ allusions until now. I mean, the name Caleb also suggests Caliban, who is part human, part monster, and seems to live beyond Shakespeare's creations throughout the centuries into the modern day (from Frankenstein's monster to the Elephant Man to the character of the same name in the Marvel comics). That play is, in my opinion, Shakespeare's most magical and poetic and even visionary work.

[@DJKuroh]

One of my favorite podcasts just covered this! I know you'll love it!

[@saturdaysequalsyouth]

I've never seen a reaction where Ava is treated as the hero lol 😂

[@jmurdock8303]

I knew she would react that way. Even the more sympathetic rectors don't respond that way they are shocked at her betrayal of Caleb.

[@ChrisReise]

27:02 I also think that Nathan's blood when he gets stabbed is CGI. It JUST doesn't look like blood on cloth.

[@darrelltoth7527]

Yes Dan Ackroyd gets head by a ghost in Ghostbusters

[@richhold7775]

I watched Civil War. 1. Must watch it in theaters to get the full effect. 2. Go see it.

[@Eidlones]

Great movie, but less than the sum of it's parts.

[@jenny5moon]

absolutely brilliant film, been obsessed with it for years

[@heyheyjk-la]

I saw this for the very first time about a month ago in IMAX at the Burbank AMC 16 and it was fantastic seeing it on such a big screen. As good as everyone was, I really loved Oscar Isaac's performance. Great film.

[@TheJamieRamone]

33:15 Oh! *THAT* Bobby Fisher! When he paired him up with Kubric I thought it was some filmmaker I never heard of. Nope, it's the chess player.

[@BrandonHernandez-tg5ql]

This is one of my favorite sci-fi movies of all time. Top 5 for sure and it's so re-watchable.

[@marbase1son]

this literally was one of the best theater moments ever. fun fact i ran i did not have a slurpee for this. i was locked

[@MadcapMatt]

A24 is releasing a bunch of their movies back to theaters in IMAX. They started with this movie. Hereditary was next and this month on the 22nd Uncut Gems is coming out.

[@THXbox]

Your glee at his murder, and her escape, tells me you might be a sociopath.

[@jmurdock8303]

She thinks it's female rebellion when it's not.

[@E_l_l_i_e]

I love Alex Garland! You need to see Men, if you havent yet. Everytime i see Ex Machina, i notice something new. When Ava "talked" to Kyoko, I wonder if the initial plan was for Ava to be the pawn and distract Nathan from Kyoko's attack and ensure their escape. Also, when Ava dressed before she leaving, she dressed for herself and not for anyone else.

[@steved1135]

An underappreciated movie. I bought it as soon as possible after having seen it. It's far too rare for movies to dare to accurately depict strong AI. Amazing. And of course, Oscar Isaac...

[@markmcgee2417]

This definitely seems to draw from tropes found in the bible and other ancient literature. The male characters are flawed, in some cases monstrous, but the women are presented as being more calculating, deceitful and sinister in comparison. But the film does feel more nuanced than just that much like ancient literature in that it doesn't leave us with Ava being necessarily evil. It does feel really cold what she did to Caleb and that part has never really sat well with me.

[@TheChromeRonin]

This, and I Am Mother are fantastic explorations of ai and interacting with people.

[@woeshaling6421]

Aside from the moralisation of Ava's actions. It's not a coincidence they mention chess and I consider the plot as a chess game between Ava and Nathan, with Caleb and Kyoko being the pieces.

[@michaeladair6557]

I feel so bad for Caleb... Of all the people who deserved what they got, he didn't deserve to get trapped and probably die of dehydration just for following his conscious. Poor dude...

[@PerfectHandProductions]

The best sci-fi film of the past decade.

[@nyoodmono4681]

Hello popello "The Beach" was rediculed, but i think it was good, even thpugh i read the novel first.

[@linnoff]

If you want a bit of an explainer of the cgi, Corridor Crew does a breakdown in their video "VFX Artists React to Bad & Great CGi 9". Ex Machina is the second movie they talk about

[@vincentsaia6545]

This movie reminded me of similar movies from the 70s; cautionary tales regarding technology e.g. WESTWORLD and COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT.

[@MagicMarmalade-kv5hr]

Garland is in the same category of filmmaker as Nolan and Villeneuve for me, but even by his own standards, including this movie, his greatest work is the miniseries: DEVS. If this blew you away, that will blow your mind clean off it's hinges.

[@stephaniethurmer5370]

Shanelle, my reaction was the same as yours. You need to see her in "The Danish Girl" opposite Eddie Redmayne.

[@jmurdock8303]

Why did you react that way ?

[@thejamppa]

So far I haven't seen bad Alex Garland film, so I was sad to learn he takes hiatus till foreseeable future after Civil War.

[@Eidlones]

Oh was it a hiatus? I heard he was quitting all together

[@Wix_Mitwirth]

"The only requirements for freedom are the capacity to understand it and to desire it." Someone, a long time ago... probably.

[@maggieellis2303]

I’m stoked to see your reaction to this incredibly important and relevant movie. Let’s see how you digest it! Edit post-watch: I could have misinterpreted this part of your reaction, but it seems like you went all “you go, girl!” with Eve. That may be your true and final take, but I would push back on that because she was only a “she” and “yaaasss queening” as part of her program. The boss guy programmed her as such. She essentially mvrdered both of the humans, regardless of the fact that they were men. I believe that identity tribalism is an easy resting point but it misses the MUCH bigger picture. All that said, thank you as always for sharing!!

[@dougfisher1266]

Nathan is google/microsoft etc, turning on all cameras and microphones to create A.I.

[@angelkiller]

Saw this again on its IMAX rerelease last month. Wow.

[@rg3388]

This is yet another example of the smartest character doing the dumbest thing. A password is something you KNOW. Biometric ID is based on something you ARE. Nathan stupidly turns something you ARE into something you HAVE (and can be stolen).

[@rg3388]

Blade Runner 2049 demonstrates what's necessary when a person's actual face is needed to unlock computer system.

[@ygkemosabi8280]

also he is shown to not have remorse for older models, but when the plot needs it he hesitates when he can clearly destroy them both and reset for the next model...

[@steved1135]

@@ygkemosabi8280 No, you're missing a point. A 'god' doesn't kill their children just because they're disappointed...

[@lordhoot1]

This is how tech bros are, from what i've seen. Fancy biometrics are more hi-tech, so they must be superior to boring old passwords.

[@simonoleary9264]

I looked it up and one of the production companies is UK's Film 4, which has it's fingers in some of the UK's best movies of the last 30 years (Trainspotting, Ex-machina, 28 Days Later, Poor Things, 12 Years a Slave, Shawn of the Dead, etc). Another movie written by Alex Garland and uncredited directed by Alex Garland (allegedly) is 2012's Dredd. (based on the British comic character Judge Dredd, not the '95 stallone movie).

[@graciefolden2359]

Love Alicia Vikander's work & her husband Michael Fassbender is no slouch either😊