Ex Machina [DVD + Digital]

Fantastic and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Alicia Vikander is mesmerizing!

This is a visually stunning movie that will also make you think. The basic premise is that a coder for an internet search engine, (played by Domhnall Gleeson) wins a competition to hang out for a week with the reclusive CEO of the company, (played by Oscar Isaac). In reality, he is there to test an artificially intelligent robot named Ava, (played by Alicia Vikander). There are a lot of themes throughout the movie, including the role of computers and technology in our lives, could computers ever become sentient, and if so, how would humans treat them, and how would they treat humans. It has a pretty nice twist ending, that I will not give away, but it is not necessarily one that you would expect. For those who get the 4k disc, the movie looks and sounds great, as you would expect. The cinematography and location shots from Norway really pop in 4k, especially if you have a large screen TV. The UHD disc has just the movie itself. All the other extras are on the regular blu-ray disc. Those include a 40-minute making-of feature, a panel discussion from the 2015 SXSW festival, then 8 shorter behind the scenes vignettes. A very good amount of material for a movie that clocks in just under two hours. Overall, the movie is well written and very well acted. It does have a lower-budget independent movie feel to it despite there being a lot of CGI. It does have a bit of nudity (mainly toward the end of the movie) but it is not really gratuitous, as well as some violence, again toward the end of the movie. I would say it does earn the R rating, but it is not as hard an R rating that some other movies have where there is a ton of sex and violence just to have sex and violence. Definitely worth checking out.

Good picture and sound. Menu button works with all the extras. Arrive with unbroken case.

I wasn't sure if I would enjoy the film, Ex Machina, or not. I'm now glad I purchased it on Blu-ray. Though it isn't a classic like many similar films, I believe it achieves its goals by entertaining the viewer and giving you something to think about--is artificial intelligence possible and will robots eventually feel the same emotions as human beings and desire to be treated as human? The plot is rather simple in that a computer coda for the world's largest internet service supposedly wins a contest from out of nowhere to spend a week with the company's CEO. Caleb (played by Domhnall Gleeson and reminding me somewhat of James Spader), the winner, is flown out by helicopter to an area in the boondocks and cleared of trees so it can land. Caleb then has to walk what appears to be about a mile through the wilderness to the CEO's private underground estate. Once at the estate, Caleb meets Nathan (played by Oscar Isaac), the billionaire who owns the company where he works at. Nathan appears to be a bit of a bully because of his intelligence and money. With whatever is going on behind the scenes, Caleb now has to agree to the terms of Nathan demands. After all, he's trapped in the middle of nowhere, too. After Nathan has Caleb sign the necessary paperwork that gives the CEO even more control over him and forbids him to reveal what he sees to any other living being, Caleb is introduced to what Nathan has been working on for the past several years--a robot with artificial intelligence. Of course, the robot is designed as a hot babe with doe-like eyes, but who cares. If I was going to spend years working on a robot, I'd prefer it to look like an attractive lady as well. For a billionaire, this might be the way to go if you don't want to give away half of your money in a messy divorce. As Caleb gets to know the robot, Ava (played by Alice Vikander, a ballerina), he soon learns to see her differently than as the mechanical machine she is. In fact, he quickly falls in love with Ava (the movie happens over a short period of a week). The real question here is whether or not Ava loves him back, or is actually using him as a means of escape? Many ideas and philosophies are brought up about life, feelings, artificial intelligence, sexuality, and how we choose to inter-react with the machines, even if they convey similar emotions to us. They are not explored to any length, but still give the viewer pause for reflection. I found myself engrossed with the film and whatever it was able to do on a fifteen-million-dollar budget. Not having the financial resources of a Spielberg or a Scott film, the director and crew had to be creative in what they achieved and presented to the viewer, allowing the individual to fill in the spaces with his or her own imagination. The ending was certainly different from what I'd originally expected, but I went along with it, seeing how that many of the female species (robots included) can manipulate a man's emotions to get what they want, even if it's only out of the trap she feels locked in. I'm not being sexist here, but rather stating a known fact. A lot of women use sexual attraction to get what they want, and feminine robots are no different. Though to do that, the robots would need to feel and manipulate on a human level. There are only four people basically involved in the story. I found myself able to get emotionally wrapped up in what was happening, not trusting Nathan from the beginning , who may have been the most honest of the group, and quickly identifying with Caleb, who was nothing more than the blunt of an experiment gone horribly wrong. The budget was definitely spend on the set designs, special effects of the robots (which I think were excellent), the editing, photography, and the musical score, which did remind me somewhat of the music from Blade Runner. All in all, I think the actors and director, Alex Garland, did a great job with what they had to work with. Some may enjoy the film, while others may not. For me the important thing is that I had fun with the movie, and it did cause me to think about artificial intelligence for a while. The Behind-the-Scenes stuff of the Blu-ray edition includes a 5-featurette documentary on the making of the film, plus a long Q&A with the director, Oscar Isaac, and others of the crew. Last, there are several Behind-the-Scene vignettes. The Q&A really gets into the making of the film and how Garland focused more on the character of Ava, than he did the two lead male actors. That was his major concern, which will help you to understand the ending in greater detail. I would recommend this to the average viewer of films and for them not to expect a classic like Spielberg's A.I., or Scott's Blade Runner. This can be a fun movie that provokes some deep thinking on the part of the viewer.

Ex Machina starts off slow but remains compelling from the beginning through to the end, and it managed to prove itself to be easily the most well-written and well thought out story to touch on this subject matter. Chappie was entertaining and sort of sweet, Age of Ultron was exciting, but Ex Machina was the best and most honest exploration of artificial or emergent intelligence I have witnessed on screen. Everything from the introduction of Ava, through the process of getting to know her as she is put through a protean sort of Turing test by a gifted coder, to the intense and chilling (but somehow still understated) climax of the film is insanely captivating. The interactions between the relatively naive Caleb (the programmer) and the erratic and controlling Nathan (his boss and the man who developed Ava) fluctuate between bizarre and somewhat friendly but with an ever present sort of tension that builds as the narrative continues. The true star of the movie is Ava herself, portrayed by Alicia Vikander...and she most certainly shines in her role, showing that it might not be the best idea to strive for human emotional development and sexuality when working towards AI. Elements of the movie definitely take a cue from Bladerunner...questions of identity, what it is to be human, and how far we might go in simulating humanity when creating a new form of life...in addition to exploring all too common human issues like insecurity, desire, and mistrust. I want to say more. I want to discuss specific points in the narrative, but I don't want to include any spoilers. I hope that you'll see it for yourself. There is no doubt in my mind that this is one of the best science fiction movies I will see in a good long while, and I believe you will feel the same if you take the time to watch it.

100 % OK Goede verzending van besteld item beantwoorde volledig aan de beschrijving van de verkoper ( uiterst tevreden ) :-):-):-)

Test effectué le 12 octobre 2015 sur videoprojecteur JVC DLA X35 3D Blanc, écran lumene diagonale 2.70 m, ensemble 5.1 Bowers & Wilking, double subwoofer Velodine CHT -10 Q, platine Blue Ray 3D Pioneer BDP - LX54, ampli Yamaha RX - V1067. 1) Le Blue Ray : SteelBook stylé, blanc clinique, frappé d'un buste androïde, crédible sur le plan technologique. Pas de chichi, comme le film. L'action, essentiellement en huis clos, ne sollicite guère les enceintes latérales, sauf dans les scènes de nature, très immersives. Image stable, parfaite, même en faible luminosité. Les bonus se résument à cinq featurettes, trop succinctes au regard de la profondeur du propos du film. 2) Le film : Ni artifices, ni détours. En quatre minutes, deux scènes, nous sommes au cœur de l'intrigue. Un jeune codeur (Domhnall Gleeson) , parmi les meilleurs de Blue Note (allusion transparente à Google ou Facebook), gagne le privilège de passer une semaine dans la résidence ultra secrète du P-DG - gourou, Alex Garland. Puissamment interprété par Oscar Isaac, le tycoon lui réserve un accueil mêlant habilement familiarité, pression et manipulation psychologiques, dans le décor glaçant de sa résidence-forteresse perdue au milieu des montagnes et des forêts, avant de lui révéler qu'il sera le premier cobaye du test de Turing : le dialogue entre l'humain et la véritable intelligence artificielle. Dans ce décor high tech où se mêlent minéral et végétal, inerte et vivant, s'engage une série d'entretiens entre le jeune homme aux airs godiches et Ava, une créature cybernétique aux rouages apparents, à laquelle seul le visage délicat confère un semblant d'humanité (incarnée avec grâce et pudeur par l'ex ballerine Alicia Vikander). Séparés par une glace portant la marque d'une brisure (qui témoigne d'une récente rébellion), l'homme et la machine deviennent rapidement complices et découvrent les dessous du projet de Garland. Ces scènes sont entrecoupées d'échanges fascinants entre le génial concepteur et son employé, devant une toile de Jackson Pollock ou au bord d'une cascade. Les interrogations fusent : un jeu d'échecs électronique a t'il conscience de ce que sont les échecs, de ce qu'est le jeu et de ses enjeux ? Quelle différence entre conscience et simulation de conscience ? Nature du libre arbitre. Dépassé par sa propre création, Alex conclue avec une froide lucidité à la fin de l'âge de L'Homme et l'avènement de la Machine. La question n'est ni comment, ni pourquoi... mais quand. Ex Machina constitue une nouvelle mise en garde contre les dangers de l'intelligence artificielle. Le propos fait écho à l'alerte récemment lancée par Stephen Hawking qui mérite d'être lue et méditée. Le constat est établi depuis la nuit des temps : du livre de la Genèse, au mythe du Golem, de la créature de Frankenstein à Blade Runner, Terminator, AniMatrix et l'exceptionnelle série Real Human : la créature échappe toujours à son Créateur. "Dieu est mort" disait Nietzsche. L'Humain est le prochain sur la liste. On ne pourra pas dire que nous n'avons pas été alertés.

I like this film so much I wanted to have it on Bluray! Apart from the awesome special effects, the script deals with questions that make the viewer dig to the core of what is human intelligence. There is a hole in the scenario though: the writer seems to think the use of access cards to open doors is the most secure mechanism therere is. Too bad nobody told him of biometrics and 2FA, the scenario would have to be more interesting then. In any case, the movie is great and I wish there was a sequel.

Excellent picture sound quality and entertaining SF movie

La película llegó a tiempo y en buen estado. la película es una gran historia de ciencia ficción, a veces la imagen se ve con granos, eso pasa cuando es las escenas de oscuridad pero en general se ve muy bien las escenas.