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“One day the AIs are going to look back on us the same way we look at fossil skeletons on the plains of Africa. An upright ape living in dust with crude language and tools, all set for extinction.”

Automata month continues with Alex Garland’s future forward AI thriller EX-MACHINA. Forrest Miller, Conan Neutron, J. Andrew World, and Kristina Oakes are joined by Renee Ruin (The Night Shift) and KT Baldassaro (What If I Don’t Like It?)
Just as the trailer for Civil War finally drops, we get into Alex Garland’s Directorial debut*, a key part of modern AI cinema. 

Astounding how well this has aged, scarily so. The hubris of the creator, the cat and mouse style playfulness between Nathan and Caleb. The casual mention of using all of the cell phone data to feed the AI. A stylish cautionary tale!

This is a movie about control and power, the objectification of women, and that good ol’ biblical symbolism that Garland seems to like. (Turing Tests (apple from tree), Lily/Lilith, etc.) It’s stunning how this is more or less our reality. Just largely confined to apps and chat protocols… SO FAR.

Garland explored this to even greater effect in the amazingly underrated DEVS, but this is a great example of true modern cinema and a great example of somebody being super creative and in the zeitgeist too, with astounding visuals!

(*debut not counting Dredd)