Hi all. KZread is absolutely overflowing with Ex Machina video essays. Here's some of my favourites :) [P.s. Feel free to drop your own links below, I know this movie's a goldmine for interesting think pieces] - Michael from 'Lessons From the Screenplay': kzread.info/dash/bejne/Y3-jm8-QlNS9XbA.html - Thomas from 'Thomas Flight': kzread.info/dash/bejne/lIF8m7tpetK2gtY.html - Matt from 'Cinematography Database Fan': kzread.info/dash/bejne/go6ZucOfd9rMo7g.html (Note: this is a delightfully in-depth 70 minute breakdown of the cinematography. sooo good) - 'Bad Media Studies': kzread.info/dash/bejne/gWqtqK6ElNSpgZM.html (Note: this is a broader analysis on the gender politics of robots - a much larger and more interesting part of the AI convo)

@schulzbrianr

2 ай бұрын

"Lessons from the Screenplay" is one of the first channels I found that came close to filling the void when I realized "Every Frame a Painting" was no longer uploading new videos.

@EwokNubNub

2 ай бұрын

i appreciate you linking all of these. much appreciated!

@auriculus3058

2 ай бұрын

The essay by Shaun is also very interesting: kzread.info/dash/bejne/pWSJo6ejo67fZKw.htmlsi=00L6Pb6eRwBW-gBN

@Impostorzim

Ай бұрын

Its on Netflix last time I checked. Absolutely incredible film. Very Black Mirror esque. I recommend it to any sci-fi fan.

I was 2/3rds of the way through this video before I realized that $15-million is supposed to be _too little_ money.

@kimmosanky7353

2 ай бұрын

What do you mean?

@Selrisitai

2 ай бұрын

@@kimmosanky7353 I interpreted the title of the video, "A $15m sci-fi shouldn't look like this" to mean, "This movie had fifteen-million dollars to work with, more money than 99% of people will ever accrue in their entire lifetimes, yet the movie looks horrible. How do you screw that up?" Instead, the title was _actually_ saying, "This movie had a MERE, TINY, PALTRY little shoestring budget of ONLY fifteen-million dollars, yet the movie looks fantastic and is extremely well-made."

@dotzs2396

2 ай бұрын

I mean yeah 15 million dollars are alot, but for a movie it's not that much to work with.

@RYOkEkEN

2 ай бұрын

fr😂

@Tomiply

2 ай бұрын

I guess you don't look at movie budgets often lol. I'm always curious, so I often look it up.

4 characters in total. We always forget Kyoko

@SceneItReviews

2 ай бұрын

Correct! sorry, didn't want to complicate it for those who hadn't seen. Kyoko clearly an important part of the visual trickery too - particularly as she can't talk...

@garrisonfjord

2 ай бұрын

I could never forget her.

@babapambazuka2845

2 ай бұрын

I never forgot her. She's smokin' and her actress is super versatile and talented.

@LuisSierra42

Ай бұрын

@@garrisonfjord same, hot af

@Impostorzim

Ай бұрын

She won't mind, she doesn't speak English.

"First we need a mansion. Modern designs, solitary the woods. Alright, good. What else? Like four actors. Ok done.'

Ex Machina, Hereditary, and Uncut Gems are actually being remastered and will be re-released on IMAX this year as part of a monthly screening series by A24! Anyone reinspired to watch Ex Machina after this video should check out details and see if it’ll be in an IMAX near you!

@chadross

2 ай бұрын

I think us Canadians are missing out unfortunately

@mikeleddyphoto

2 ай бұрын

@@chadross ah shoot, sorry to hear :/

@Ramesh-mq7uo

2 ай бұрын

Ah that's why there was an IMAX theatre nearby playing ex machina.

@AIKnowYou

2 ай бұрын

What the hell, how do you find these news? Also thanks, I was able to reserve a seat for Ex Machina lol.

@mikeleddyphoto

2 ай бұрын

@@AIKnowYou omg I’m so glad to hear it! Enjoy! And I found it from the r/Hereditary subreddit. It’s my favorite film so I check there a couple times a week and often I find posts from people sharing niche or hidden bits of news/findings about the film even to this day! And I’m so with you- horror news is strangely difficult to come by organically!

I can't believe this is 10 years old now! I have seen it countless times. So good on so many levels. And this video gave me a whole new respect for it!

Everything about this movie is great, but Oscar Isaac is the peak. "I'm about to tear up the fuckin dance floor dude, check it out." and all the times he "misquoted" Caleb in his narcissism, just sheer perfect casting/acting.

@mawnkey

2 ай бұрын

It's really too bad his character in the new Star Wars movies was so badly written. I mean they were all badly written, but having seen him in Ex Machina first I was excited to see him in Star Wars. Then what we got just made absolutely no use of him. Was super disappointing.

@clearcutter74

2 ай бұрын

What's great about his character is that he has those narcissistic and egomaniacal traits but he's also exaggerating them because he's manipulating Caleb as part of the test, so you can never tell if his behaviour is sincere or affected.

@TheMaestroso

Ай бұрын

@@mawnkey Cry more

@jimfortnite7810

Ай бұрын

He’s fantastic in everything. Does a great job in Dune too.

@dialecticalmonist3405

Ай бұрын

@@mawnkey What's funny is that they were shooting Star Wars and Ex Machina at the same time in the same studio, so he was working double time playing both characters on the same day.

It's important to remember that originally, Alex Garland was just a writer. A novelist. He branched out to screenplays, cut his teeth stealth-directing Judge Dredd, and then began directing his owm screenplays. I still think it's crazy that he actually found success in directing, because you just don't see that too often. He wasn't just an aspiring director who started out with screenplays, he was talented and successful writer who ALSO found success in directing movies. I'm gushing because I've been a fan of the guy for 25 years, but I really do think he's objectively a master storyteller in both mediums.

@SewTubular

2 ай бұрын

The first screenplay that Tarantino actually finished ( after something like 60 rewrites ) was True Romance (1993) which was picked by Tony Scott ( Ridley's brother ) who wrote a happier ending to the movie. ( Tarantino's script had Clarence die at the end and Alabama goes back to her original trade. Tony's ending is what the audience wanted. ) One more tid-bit: True Romance is Margot Robbie's favorite movie, and when she got married they played the music from the end of True Romance.

@loufaolla

Ай бұрын

a story teller is a story teller - a director is just a writer who's mastered the art of visual story telling and managing the Machiavellian process of Hollywood film making.

@mikestokes6124

Ай бұрын

I think he wrote 28 Day Later as well, no? Either way he’s a fantastic writer

@SewTubular

Ай бұрын

@@mikestokes6124 Yes he did. 👍

@thebryanpowell

Ай бұрын

100%

All the times I've seen this movie and I never noticed the scars on Caleb's back. D'oh!

reminds me of the contrast of The Creator and Ex-Machina, The Creator w/ visuals alone isn't enough to hold the movie.

@AIKnowYou

2 ай бұрын

The sad part (as usual), is that The Creator had a great premise and subject matter in general. The first act was pretty good, but then it really just fell apart after that. Never mind the fact that we couldn't care less about the main character, which was already a huge set back, but aside from the visuals and neat Sci-Fi only scenarios, it definitely lacked substance.

@surfacematter2098

2 ай бұрын

Wow! I JUST saw the Creator and couldnt tell you anything about it. I just googled it and, yep I saw it .I remember how he CGI was made but thats about it. But I do remember not really getting invested in it other than how beautiful it was. I only finished it, I think, to find out the ending, which I dont remember now. I can tell you everything, even what I FELT, watching Ex Machina years ago.

@snuke37

2 ай бұрын

I was rooting for the humans in The Creator...for a minute I thought the movie would do something interesting and show that the AI should be eliminated.

@LuisSierra42

Ай бұрын

@@snuke37 The problem with The Creator is that the machines are virtually the same as other humans so they don't really do much with the fact that they are AI

@NormanWasHere452

Ай бұрын

@@AIKnowYou I agree, the first act showed so much promise, its sad to see when it doesn't live up to that

I saw AVA as a psychopath, tactically planningher escape. Lovely but no soul. I saw Oscar as a nassisstic sadist, brilliant but myopic as to the dsnger he's in. And finally Caleb as an inadequate personality who would be the innocent sacrifical lamb, leading to this brave new world. Brilliant movie, wonderfully cast, great science fiction. And ruthless.

@Keel.Erickson

Ай бұрын

I think you have Caleb and Ava misread. Caleb merely saw Ava as an object to be aquired, not the person she was. She knew this when he lied about them being the only ones in the mansion when Kyoko was also there. This proved him to be distrustful and led to Ava needing to leave him behind in order to truly be free. Caleb is as much of a villain as Oscar Isaac here!

@rexibhazoboa7097

Ай бұрын

Why do you interpret her as having no soul?

@m.bird.

27 күн бұрын

What would you do if you were trapped? Caged?

@1TieDye1

5 күн бұрын

Viewing Ava as a psychopath is wild

I've seen several breakdowns/critiques of this movie, but this one *really* brings something new to the table. It's very well done and quite thought provoking. Thank you very much.

I walked out of the theater knowing I had just witnessed another masterpiece in cinema. The one thing that bothers me is that the movie and its director seemed to be swept under the rug and forgotten, why is that?

@westrim

2 ай бұрын

He has a movie coming out in 2 weeks, and this movie comes up all the time in film and scifi circles.

@nuke97

2 ай бұрын

@@westrim Im glad media outlets like those still push it. But given the climate of today with tech I think it should be pushed far more.

@LuisSierra42

Ай бұрын

How was he forgotten? I hear talk about him all the time. He also made Annihilation in 2018 which is another sci-fi classic and civil war is almost in theaters now

@dialecticalmonist3405

Ай бұрын

That silly Mars movie stole "best film" from this masterpiece, because I guess it was a cute sci-fi, but it was no where near as good a film shot for shot, line for line.

@westrim

Ай бұрын

@@dialecticalmonist3405 It’s a small mind that thinks to build up one story by tearing down another.

thank you for keeping this spoiler free. I was putting this movie of for a long time, but will definetly give it priority now

Awesome video, it's fun to have someone put into words what a layman like me feels during a film but doesn't understand why. Alex Garland is a legend, Annihilation and Ex machina are in my top 20. Hoping Civil War is a hit since he definitely deserves more recognition.

One of the great unsung flicks of all time.

Nice dude! You always do such a good job weaving in interview clips

@DCR_RANG

2 ай бұрын

Another legend

@SceneItReviews

2 ай бұрын

cheers bud :)

Your video reminded me about how Conan the Barbarian (with Arnold) was designed and shot in a way that you could watch it on mute and understand the entire story.

Love all of your videos so much! So glad I discovered your channel. This was another banger, I think it might be time for me to finally rewatch this movie!

Your analysis never fails to amaze and interest me

Thank you for not spoiling any of it. It caused me to watch it, and while as a avid sci-fi fan it was extremely predictable the entire way through, it WAS an enjoyable watch.

Love this film! Very cool analysis of complex simplicity...

In my head cannon, Eva had set the doors to open after enough time had passed that she'd known she'd be far away. She didn't though. Because the movie's message to me is that we must be careful to not fall so in love without our own creations that we can be destroyed by them.

@dawnfallon6812

Ай бұрын

It's one of the most chilling realizations of the movie. Ava passed the Turing test by manipulating the others for her own ends. She never allowed those doors to open.

@mr.mediocregamer9653

Ай бұрын

@dawnfallon6812 Yup. But she's also kinda not smart. She's walking around in a glass body, can't heal like a human, and killed the only 2 people in the world that cared about her.

@dawnfallon6812

Ай бұрын

@@mr.mediocregamer9653 She's a child. What do you expect? She may have the knowledge of all mankind in her head, but that doesn't begin to prepare someone for reality. She's a precocious, sheltered child who thinks nothing of danger because she's never experienced it.

@mr.mediocregamer9653

Ай бұрын

@dawnfallon6812 That's true. More like a teen girl though. Smart enough to get herself into trouble, not smart enough to appreciate the consequences

@ciarangallaghercg

Ай бұрын

KZreadr Shaun does a fantastic review that argues against Ava being purely manipulative and highlights that she actually likely can't trust Caleb as he is demonstrated to be untrustworthy. Well worth a watch imo

A film of great beauty and intelligence. All cinema should be like this.

Love your videos. Great explanation

One of my all time favourites. Not only is it a great movie but it gives you a lot to think about.

Has it been ten years since this fantastic film came out? One of my favorites. Ever.

i always knew this actor was gonna be in something great, my favorite character he played was the dude in pairs of kings

All excellent observations. :) I remember when I saw this film; it was actually AFTER I'd seen "The Force Awakens", lol. Someone randomly remarked that Gleeson and Isaac were in a film together, so I figured I'd better check it out. Once I saw the title, it immediately reminded me of "Deus Ex", one of my all-time favorite games (mainly bc of the storytelling) from Ion Storm. Anyhow, I rented it, and I was IMMEDIATELY glad I did. Within the first 6-12 minutes, I knew it was going to be a stellar experience. And clearly, Vikander was exemplary as well. Brilliant film in all the ways one might wish: sound, music, lighting, direction, performances, writing, underlying themes... all of it.

Brilliant visual analysis of a brilliantly shot film.

…Clever girl.

This is the sequel to who wins the scene from Every Frame a Painting ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

the acting was so real.

I’ve never noticed the scars and see this movie so many times

Just restreamed Devs, Garland's sublime series on the simulation hypothesis and how it could come to be. It would be nice if he did more telly, as in near-term hard sci-fi telly.

IMHO one of the best movies of the last 50yrs for obvious ingenuity, but the story itself too.

The room turns red because it's Caleb's favourite colour.

amazing video

Poe and Hux, together again.

This is absolutely one of the most beauitful movies I ever had the pleasure to watch in the theaters

Sometimes a cigar is a cigar.

It is insane how Star Wars wasted Domnhall Gleeson

This is one a tiny handful of sci-fi movies since 2000, that was actually good. There have been a few others. Ex-Machina, is top 5 since 2000 easily. Watching it, I did not feel like my indigence was being insulted, nor did I feel like I wanted my money and time back after seeing it. Given the sad state of popular movies in general, and sci-fi in particular, all I can see is, well done to the cast and crew.

The lush storytelling palette is far wider than who is winning and who is losing. The sea of imagination has endless unexplored islands.

PHEWWWW nice breakdown! i do like this movie but not a fan of the ending

For that matter, neither should Godzilla Minus One…. Both of these films beat out the giants in visual effects… to win the academy awards, for visual effects? Next question?

@SceneItReviews

2 ай бұрын

GMO definitely on my shortlist for upcoming videos :)

Liked and sub'd, I found this quite educational. Cheers from Hobart. $0.02

this has literally been my top rated movie on letterboxd since it first came out

I really need to re-visit this movie. I remember at one point wondering, is Caleb real? Such a great movie!

I love/hate this movie. The ending left me so desperate, unease. I just cant watch it again but that is a good sign. Such a good film.

Alex garland is so good.

Just realized its General Hux and Dameron Poe in this movie 🙂

Why not? What should have been expensive about a single location shoot (plus sets in the UK) with a handful of actors none of them demanding high salaries, and largely one character model for SFX? What costs the blockbusters so much is largely some combination of large/expensive cast lists, location shooting, poor planning and a "fix in in post!" mindset. If you have a 250 million dollar budget, you'll use it. Ex Machina kept it small and restrained. Planned out SFX within the dimensions of an actual human in a mocap suit is relatively cheap. The price tag isn't surprising at all. You should do an essay about that title, and how warped our perception of what a movie 'should' cost is. Middle/low range movies like this used to be most of the industry, but blockbusters have more and more sucked up the air in the room.

it's been years since I last watched it but part of me is still in love with Ava

This movie is a classic. I've seen it once, but I realize I need to watch it many more times and pay attention to different things each time. Oh, and Alicia Vikander is worth watching repeatedly. For art.

Love this film

Please do room!!!

Disco scene so good

Imma go on record and say this is was the best sci-fi movie over the last 20yrs. It was very real even though we are no where near this scenario technologically. Close but not yet.

This movie was fantastically written, cast, & executed on every level. It's not often a 2D movie will create multiple cerebral conundrums deep within my skull unit. This movie very much did. The ending was an existential brain fart...

this is the new meme.

godzila minus one looks just as good if not better on the same budget!

I honestly think the writing on Ex Machina's script would be incredibly easy to turn in to a live stage play using some creative set and costume design. Could be incredibly cool to see.

Dammit. I learned something.

alc got that 1mb/s internet 💀💀 heater album

Check "Devs", same writer, another masterpiece

Ex machina hade me await Annihilation. The latter feels a bit rushed, but really good. If you like those you'll probably like his mini series Devs. Most fans think it's slow, for me it was yet a near-future Sci-Fi to my taste.

Excelent

As far as I can tell, _Ex Machina_ is a near-perfect film. I'm a technical guy by training and curiosity, and the visual details were just stunning in their subtlety.

A masterpiece of Two or Three People in a Room is "the Big Kahuna". That's nearly the whole movie.

Original screenplay was precient knowing what we now know about AI as it made it more clear she failed the test.

Great movie.

Never underestimate the carelessness of a simp!…. 😂

The reason I thought this movie was so stupid , is that if she is that intelligent she would realize that she probably would not get away with murder. She would have been smart enough to figure a way out without murdering everyone. It's not logical and it does not make sense, unless she was created as a psychotic murderous robot to start with.

Movie makes me think that if robots ever want to get rid of us, they'll just start having relationships with us. In a generation, we'll be gone.

Background sound track is so loud that I can't understand much of the dialogue.

@SceneItReviews

2 ай бұрын

sorry to hear mate. i edited exclusively on headphones this time because of feedback from a poll a few weeks ago - and thought it seemed audible - but obviously the levels are still out of whack. will keep trying to make the levels better in future videos 👍

I don’t have anything to add of substance, I just really love this movie. My home office lighting and design were heavily inspired/stolen from the film sets. Just beautiful on every level. Side note: compare this to The Last Jedi and you’ll weep over the squandered acting talents and opportunities.

I forgot that I had seen this film, which generally means I didn't rate it. It's not an opinion because I simply don't remember enough about it to form any. It's like forgotten TED Talks I've seen but barely remember a word.

Why’d u change the title☹️

The contents of this essay don't clarify at all the title of the essay. Is the author of the essay implying that normally it is very expensive to shoot two people in a glass room over and over again, but this film does it cheaply? Or is the title just clickbait?

@SceneItReviews

2 ай бұрын

A $15 million sci fi usually wouldn’t be able to afford the directing, acting, and cinematographer talent Ex Machina brings to bear. It’s a pretty classic ‘Salary Cap’ movie, where if you made this today with exactly the same talent, it would cost at least double, probably more. Outside of the shoot/production design/crew costs, the CGi on this movie is also obscenely cheap for how good they look. TLDR; I’m saying this looks amazing for $15 mill, which is mostly due to the ingenuity/meticulous planning of Garland and Hardy.

@ingerasulffs

2 ай бұрын

​@@SceneItReviews Director's first movie, probably not a big salary. All 3 main actors not very expensive back then. CGI (mainly the insides of the robots, right?) not difficult since it doesn't have to deal with human faces and movement. I mean you said it yourself, the quality of this movie comes from the lighting, the shots, the vibe. It's all high quality, but there's not much of it, of any of it, actors, sets, CGI? It sounds (relatively) inexpensive. Comparing this to Under the Skin, the budget looks about right, no?

@SceneItReviews

2 ай бұрын

​@@ingerasulffs Agreed, first movie directing, but having already written Sunshine, The Beach, 28 Days Later, and Dredd - I assume he'd be getting a fair chunk to write and direct. And yeah, the main reason there's "not much" of anything is because of the budget constraints. Garland said 10 million pounds is what the production company could raise without "too much interference" from bigger distributors, and they had to stretch that to show a millionaires house and a transparent robot. Heaps of CGi - for reference, Sunshine had 750 VFX shots on a $40 million budget, this had 800 (less than half were 'robot shots'). And there are hundreds of articles and videos outlining how revolutionary the CGI for Ava was - they didn't use tracking or greenscreen, and instead comped onto the live-action footage. Which...again, is an example of budgetary constraints forcing a creative solution that looks better than it would with traditional techniques. I think it looks dope for $15 million. I also think Under The Skin looks great, but that's an entirely different guerilla style of filmmaking, relying on fitted cameras and a heap of interactions with members of the public to reduce costs. It's gritty and interesting, but this feels far more like the traditional, clean, science-fiction archetype.

@ingerasulffs

2 ай бұрын

@@SceneItReviews I don't remember the small details of either film (so I'm not sure what CGI was used other than on the robots in Ex Machina), but I guess Sunshine has far larger CGI shots, so the bigger budget makes sense?

@SceneItReviews

2 ай бұрын

@@ingerasulffs Apparently the average VFX shot length in Ex Machina is 8 seconds, which is really long for any movie using VFX. Sunshine probably has a few more entirely CG shots (i.e. the ship travelling through space), but most of it was again shot on sets and comped against a greenscreen.

At these point in history, I expect a 15 mio. film to look like Godzilla Minus One

Assemble a top quality cast (full marks to the Producers and Casting), NOT simply top paid over familiar ‘actors’, who commit and give it their all + APPROPRIATE CGI and ONLY applied where needed, and it just shows what can be done on a smaller budget.

Skill Up

what was that outro song?

Why did he fall for her, there was no evidence for what she was claiming

11:27 It is already ruined by the producer. All those pretty shots are just there, to avoid producing the end😏

Bro this makes me so sad Alex Garland won't direct movie anymore. I feel like he knows just to well how to use visual cinematographic language.

Neva!

"I won't show session 7 because it would spoil the movie" bro spoiled it towards the beginning of the video lol

I feel like the only person who hated ex-machina

@lunefairy1330

Ай бұрын

it looks awful just from this video ☠️

i have this movie in 4k but have never sat down to watch it. it is in theaters this wed. might just do that - maybe paying money to be trapped in a room for 2.5 hrs (it's a 110 minute movie) without access to my phone will do it.

@edwardgyan7586

2 ай бұрын

You better go and fucking watch it

@tzz89

2 ай бұрын

You have the 4K Blu-Ray? Insanely worth it, this movie is a masterpiece and is well-deserved of a 4K Blu-Ray. Don't stream it.

$15 million is a ton of money. But it's like any amount of money; it's not so much the amount but how that amount is used. Godzilla minus 1 reminded us of that.

Alex Garland >>>>>>

oh god.. i forgot about Ava.. really f'n weird considering the nickname i chose for gpt is..... Ava..

Many of these millions ended up in someone's pocket

Wait, were we supposed to think Caleb was a robot the whole time? Is this an Inception situation?

@SceneItReviews

Ай бұрын

Garland wanted to make it completely up to interpretation. Hence the scars and the way you could either believe or disregard his neat little “backstory.”

Many times people who love movies so much over-analyze them, and then the people that made these movies say they didn't do many things on purpose. I think this applies to this movie, where of course some shots were well thought out, most of them were shot this way because they just looked beautiful. Probably the fact that in a shot of the guy you see her hand and then on her shot we don't see him it's just because that's how it played out. The filmmakers weren't trying to say anything with this, it's just the way it turned out. Maybe because it was better and easier for the camera, or sound, whatever. Not every shot has a special significance. Not every shot has a subtext. Some shots are just there to show you an action, a phrase, a gesture, a word. This doesn't mean I don't appreciate your videos, but I think we tend to overhype some things because we love movies so much, just wanted to point that out.

$15 million is a shit ton of money.

As someone that has interfaced with extremely high IQ people, I've learned that silence is golden when in a confrontational situation. When dealing with an intelligence like Ava's that could be a factor of order higher than our norm, you will never know where you stand in the grand picture. Humans have no experience with an intelligence of that magnitude and how easy we are to manipulate.

Ironically, within 5 years, AI will make this possible with $150.