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Geekscape Movie Reviews: Ex Machina

by MCDaveApril 27, 2015

In all walks of life you have to earn your stripes. The same can be said for Hollywood and the millions of big dreamers that flock to Los Angeles for a chance at stardom. Alex Garland is an English author who penned the 1996 novel, The Beach, which you’ll probably remember as one of the many titles sitting comfortably in the middle of Leonardo DiCaprio’s impressive filmography. Soon after, director Danny Boyle then lured Garland into the world of screenwriting where the author churned out scripts for science fiction films such as 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Dredd. And finally, after a decade-plus of collecting screenplay credits for many well-regarded features, Garland’s been given the opportunity to see his own vision through with the directorial debut of Ex Machina.

Domhnall Gleeson stars as Caleb, a promising young programmer who wins a competition at his work to travel to the remote estate of the CEO to assist with a groundbreaking new project. After Caleb arrives to the lavish home of Nathan (played by Oscar Isaac), he’s forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement and then introduced to Ava (Alicia Vikander), a human-like robot with remarkable A.I. capabilities. Caleb must spend one week’s time with Ava, monitoring her behavior to determine if she’s able to demonstrate consciousness indistinguishable from that of a human.

Alex Garland’s Ex Machina is a cerebral sci-fi thriller that wastes no time jumping into the story. The writer/director displays the type of subtle attention to detail that you’d certainly expect from a novelist, and it translates to the screen with unfettered ease. Ex Machina wraps a mysteriously sexy and provocative outer layer around a cleverly-constructed centerpiece. Manipulation and slight of hand keep the audience guessing throughout the trio of characters’ week-long journey together. The cat and mouse games between creator and robot take their toll on Caleb, and Domhnall Gleeson displays a naturally deteriorating psyche to perfection. The former rom-com star of 2013’s underrated work, About Time, proves he has the range to tackle any role handed to him. But equally impressive is the onscreen ability of the A.I. subject, Ava, played remarkably by Swedish actress Alicia Vikander. She truly captures the mystifying essence of Ava and finds a faultless balance between man and machine.

With excellent writing and exceptional acting on all fronts, you’d be hard pressed to find issues with Ex Machina. However, some do exist. The film’s mid-section suffers from pacing issues that create a sluggish feel up until it’s conclusion. But then, Garland nearly spoils a spine-chilling finale by refusing to end the movie at a climactic moment. Regrettably, the director pushes on for another five minutes or so in a less than gratifying result that allows the tension to dissipate. These aren’t by any stretch detrimental flaws, but rather minor blemishes to an otherwise very impressive debut feature.

Ex Machina is a thought-provoking and compelling sci-fi entry that relies solely on intelligent dialogue and soulful performances. The beauty of Garland’s work is its ability to transcend the stereotypical dependence on gaudy special effects and eye-popping visuals. Ex Machina is full of the substance and wisdom that turns blandness into art.

GRADE: 4/5

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High School Can Really Take A Bite Out Of You

by Kari LaneFebruary 14, 2015

Zombies are definitely still trending. So it is a little tricky for new content to stand out. A new independent zombie movie called, Fairfield, had their world premiere at Comikaze and presented a fun addition to the zombie genre. They explained it as The Breakfast Club meets 28 Days Later. It does have that vibe as much of the movie is spent in a school library with kids being real kids. It is somewhat similar to Pontypool (if you haven’t seen that film, go watch it!) where there are zombies, but it is mostly about the human drama. The writer comes from a playwriting background and the film does have a theater/play feel to it — same as Pontypool. Everyone who worked on the film loves zombie movies and horror and it shows.

The film cost $50,000 to make, one third of which was crowd-funded, while the rest was provided by a private investor. It took them just 14 days to shoot with one pick-up day. They filmed at a school in Philadelphia during the summer. One of their biggest challenges was that halfway through filming, the lead actor hurt his knee and could not walk. There was originally going to be a fight scene so they had to rewrite the script. The filmmakers, however, felt good things came out of that change.

The film is a stand-alone, but hopefully it will be a stepping stone for more to come. They are still working on distribution and hopefully will have more screenings soon. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook to find out more. If you enjoy independent films, zombie movies, The Breakfast Club, or quirky dramedies, check out Fairfield!

Retroactive Thinking: Top 10 Movies From 10 Years Ago

by SaintmortJanuary 2, 2014

Every year I like to reflect not so much on what’s happened in modern times but what pieces of pop culture have stuck with me a decade later. This is part 2 of a 2 part series.

10. Cabin Fever – In 2003 Horror was kinda dead again. It had a nice recharge in the mid-90’s with Scream but immediately that started to overstay it’s welcome with lots of direct-to-DVD crap (a vicious cycle for the horror genre since roughly 1981). By the time Cabin Fever came out I had already lost faith in the genre and didn’t see it. However people’s praise of this movie made me curious (well the few people I know who did praise it) and I netflixed it. I found it to be hilarious and a ton of fun. I thought that Eli Roth was the future of horror, I was wrong. But Cabin Fever was still great.

9. Monster – Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci never looked less attractive then they did in the massively praised biopic about a group of lesbian serial killers. It’s gritty, well shot and features Kane Hodder as a cop. What more reason could you have to love this film.

8. Lost in Translation – Sofia Coppola’s second film tends to get called out as a major example of “Pretentious Indie Films” (along with Garden State and a few other films) but it’s genuinely a lovely film that helped Bill Murray further establish himself as a dramatic actor and helped push Scarlett Johansson even further into the limelight.

7. Elf – Elf is one of those rare holiday films that you can watch and enjoy all year round. This has absolutely everything to do with Will Ferrel’s dedication to the role and David Berenbaum’s funny and quirky script. This also was the first time I remember people taking notice to Zoey Deschanel. She may have slightly overstayed her welcome with that “cute, quirky, semi-nerdy girl” thing she does but when she sings Santa Claus is Coming to Town in this movie it’s hard to not fall in love a little bit.

6. Mystic River – One of 2003’s best films nominations is genuinely a solid film filled with great performances and an amazing direction from Clint Eastwood. The film captivated audiences and made a nice chunk of cash at the box office. Chances are you’ve seen and heard about this film, there’s no reason to really go on about it. Mystic River is one of those rare popular award winners that lives up to it’s praise.

5. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl – It’s easy to forget how good this movie was many years ago because we’ve been swamped with a quite a few lackluster sequels but when this first came out I saw it in theaters 3 times that summer. This was what Blockbuster movies were about, they were good scripts, action packed and filled with great comedic moments. It was also the film that made Johnny Depp an undeniable star in a mainstream sense (for better or worse).

4. 28 Days Later – This film combined with the Dawn of the Dead remake are basically responsible for a decade long Zombie obsession in America. Never before has a Horror monster been so mainstream. You can talk vampires and people will chuckle and make twilight jokes, you can talk for hours about Slasher films and people will make fun of you for liking crappy movies but if you mention Zombies someone (and not a horror fan) will begin talking to you about how it could happen. This is their go to example of how it’s possible. Thanks Danny Boyle.

3. A Mighty Wind – Everyone is different. When it comes to Christopher Guest movies everyone has a different favorite (well if they’ve seen any… and more so they have 5 different favorites, but whatever). I’m always torn between this and Best in Show as his masterpiece (we don’t count Spinal Tap since that’s technically a Rob Reiner film). The fact is when Christopher Guest is working with music (another of his passions) there’s no way he can fail to entertain.

2. Big Fish – Quite possibly the last great Tim Burton film. I once discussed with a friend the difference between Great Tim Burton and Average Tim Burton. Great Tim Burton movies stem from when he cares about the source material for one reason or another. BeetleJuice and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure he was out to prove himself, Edward Scissorhands was based on a script of his own writing, Ed Wood reminded Tim of his friendship with Vincent Price and Big Fish was made right after Burton’s father died. All 5 of those movies are constantly battling as my favorite Tim Burton film. Big Fish however is undeniably one of his best made films (2nd only to Ed Wood). It’s visually, inventive and touching all at once.

1. American Splendor – I can’t speak for everyone but this was the film that introduced me to Harvey Pekar. This hilarious look at the comic book artists life is both a comedy, a drama and a documentary all wrapped in one. It walks us through Harvey’s first interest in comics, his friendship with R Crumb and his battle with cancer. However the most important thing about American Splendor is how it depicts a simple man who finds an outlet for the stress in his life while remaining a simple man. Possibly Paul Giamatti’s finest film!

Make sure you take some time to follow Matt Kelly on his twitter and subscribe to his podcast THE SAINT MORT SHOW

Comikaze 2013: The Zombies! Everything You Wanted To Know But Were Too Alive To Ask Panel!

by JonathanNovember 5, 2013

From The Walking Dead to Left 4 Dead and World War Z to Rob Zombie,Zombies are everywhere these days (well, at least in pop culture). But could they actually make the transition from fictional monsters to fact? In this panel, we sit down with Matt Mogk, Zombie specialist and head of The Zombie Research Society, Gavin Hignight from FEARnet and Shawn Kirkham from Skybound Entertainment (The Walking Dead) to talk about the science, history and social ramifications behind our biggest undead sensations, all in the hopes of separating the zombie facts from the zombie fiction (before it’s too late)!

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And listen to the full conversation here:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 54:12 — 62.0MB)

Alex Garland Says ’28 Months Later’ Isn’t Happening

by Shawn MaddenSeptember 19, 2012

28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later to this day are some of my favorite movies. I honestly consider them some of the best “zombie” movies of the past decade. While promoting Dredd 3D, Alex Garland the writer behind Dredd 3D as well as the 28 Days movies, was asked if we would ever see the rumored 28 Months Later. Garland stated:

I’m still so proud of 28 Days Later and how well it’s been received over the years so I appreciate that. But in regards to another movie, no- there are no plans for a 28 Months Later or whatever they were calling it. This is a series I’ve always been heavily involved with between the original and the sequel so if there were plans for another movie, I would absolutely know about it.

While we won’t be getting another 28 Days movie do yourselves a favor and check out Alex Garland’s latest work on Friday when Dredd 3D hits theaters.

Source: Dread Central

Bed, Bath And The Zombie Apocalypse Beyond?

by Shawn MaddenJune 3, 2012

It all began with one man… isn’t that how it always goes? First we have that one man eating the face of another in Miami, then in New Jersey a man stabbed himself and threw his intestines at police. Now another man admitted he killed his room-mate then ate his heart and brains? Oh and we cannot forget to mention the woman who ate her babies brains. Or even back to about a month ago when a man in Massachusetts ate parts of his wife?

Has the world gone mad? Is there a virus out there that some idiot working in a top secret lab dropped on himself and he brought out into the world? Is the Umbrella Corporation real?

I can’t answer any of those questions for you. What I can do is tell you that “bath salts” have become the new drug people are searching for on the Internet ever since that attack in Miami last week. What are “bath salts” you ask?

‘Bath Salts’ are a synthetic drug that reportedly produces “an extreme high of euphoria” and is comparable to amphetamines and cocaine. This drug prevents the person from sleeping for days which has led to people comparing the users to “zombies”. A 50-milligram packet of the white powdery bath salts reportedly sells for $25 to $50, and is also known by street names like “Ivory Wave,” “Vanilla Sky,” “Bliss,” and “Purple Rain.” But… sadly you don’t break into a sexy version of ‘When Doves Cry’. No, instead you eat the flesh of the homeless.

Now while there is legislation being passed criminalizing synthetic marijuana and some ”bath salts” and people saying these people were just mentally ill or on drugs. Well… i’m not ruling anything out.

Baseball bat? Check. Nail gun? Check. Molotov ingredients? Check. Locations of hot female friends that may be in need of saving? Check. Check. Check.

sources: Policymic, TheHollywoodGossip