Ex Machina (2015)

Ex Machina (stylized as ex_machina or EX_MACHINA) is a 2015 science fiction psychological thriller film written and directed by Alex Garland in his directorial debut, and produced by Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich. It stars Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, and Alicia Vikander. Made on a budget of $15 million, the film grossed $36.9 million worldwide and received critical acclaim. The National Board of Review recognized it as one of the ten best independent films of the year, and it won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects over big-budget movies The Martian, Mad Max: Fury Road, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Revenant.

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_Machina_(film)

A young programmer is selected to participate in a ground-breaking experiment in synthetic intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a breath-taking humanoid A.I.

source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470752

F: I have already watched some movies written by Alex Garland (Sunshine, Never Let Me Go and 28 Days Later) and he doesn't impress me. The movie is not boring, but it doesn't bring anything new either.

K: Another science fiction film in our collection, this time about artificial intelligence. I spent time watching this story, which includes only four characters. There are some intriguing aspects that kept me interested, but I didn't expect such an ending; something was still missing for me in this film. For example, the TV series with the same theme, Humans, I liked a loòoooot; it's just more vivid and touching. Check it out if you still haven't seen it: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4122068/

Watch some of the actors talking about the movie:

F: What really impressed me in this film was the filming location, uau! It was done in Norway at the Juvet hotel. Check the following link if you wish to know more about it: http://www.juvet.com/en.  Aside from the scenery, the visual effects were cool and I liked the Nathan character.  

K: This movie didn't make me feel much. The actors are great and can play wonderfully, but even doing their best they couldn't make an untalented script work. I didn't like Nathan's character, never thought that a genius doing this amazing job could spend his days mostly building his body and drinking alcohol. That was too much for me, but his narcissism and evil plans were shown greatly.

Watch writer/director Alex Garland's interview here:

F: This is one of those overrated movies that I can't believe the number of positive reviews it has. It lacks character development; the acting is not convincing; it's pretty stupid; sometimes, the plot has holes and the story simply sucks. Why choose a random programmer to do some silly Turing test on an AI? Bah, gonna be careful next time choosing films with Alex Garland's name on them.

K: What I DID like was also the place where it was shot. It's already in our future plans to go to Norway and spend some time in this unusual hotel. Da, Freddy?

F: Whatever you wish Krasnaya.

K: So, nothing special, not touching, but intriguing. Better to watch something else instead.

Watch some questions and answers for Alex Garland here:

Krasnaya score: 50/100

Freddy's score: 55/100