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EX MACHINA
A lucky employee of the biggest Internet company is invited to spend a week
with the reclusive guru/owner at a remote undisclosed location, where the
ultimate dream-come-true soon descends into a deadly nightmare of wits,
philosophy and ethics… oh, and an extremely sexy robot called Ava, possessing
the most advanced AI known to mankind. Science fiction, when done with
creative abandon and stripped of the philosophical duality of humanity, can
indeed affect audiences with a power few other genres can ever muster. AI
being the new black, with ideals of nature versus nurture and whether humans
need to be around at all, has been tackled well via Spielberg, Duncan Jones,
and way back when to Kubrick’s HAL in
2001
; whereas Alex Proyas' effort
(
I, Robot
) was more akin to a Fast & Furious flick with no sense of humour.
Writer Alex Garland (
28 Days Later
,
Dredd
), making his directing debut here,
dances between a Kubrickian clinical unease and a Richard Kelly head-f**k. An
unpredictable thriller is welcomed, one that utilises the amazing acting talent on
offer and tones down the CGI element in favour of raw sensuality, big questions
we could debate for weeks, and a Hitchcock sting that tickles the dreamer in all
of us. Bar the last two minutes, this may be the best sci-fi film you’ll see in quite
a while. No, I didn’t tell you much – just bloody well see it!
Chris Murray
IT FOLLOWS
Following a one night stand, 19-year-old Jay (Maika Monroe) is left with
something worse than an STD; her date has passed on a curse in the form
of a malevolent, shapeshifting entity which relentlessly shadows her with
homicidal intent. In a neat riff on the body-snatching theme, 'it' can look like
anyone – a family member, a friend, a dead person, a naked person – and
the only way to get rid of it is to pass it on to your next sexual partner.
There's a wealth of subtext here, particularly for fans of Cronenberg's early
work, but
It Follows
more closely resembles an arthouse version of the
original
A Nightmare on Elm Street
, sans the gore and flashy visual effects.
The emphasis here is on mood and atmosphere, with Mitchell conjuring
a palpable and sustained sense of dread from the ordinary and everyday,
while a weirdly anachronistic setting adds further to the inherently creepy
vibe. What's also impressive, and refreshing, is that the protagonists are
real teenagers with real hopes and fears about growing up, and not the
gorgeous-looking, self-centred social media addicts who populate today's
horror films. While Hollywood continues to churn out endless remakes and
found-footage horror films, indie gems like
It Follows
offer something new,
exciting, and most importantly, scary.
Scott Hocking
RELEASED:
May 7
DIRECTOR:
Alex Garland
CAST:
Alicia Vikander, Domhnall
Gleeson, Oscar Isaac
RATING:
R13
RELEASED:
Out Now
DIRECTOR:
David Robert Mitchell
CAST:
Maika Monroe,
Keir Gilchrist, Olivia Luccardi
RATING:
R16
RATING KEY:
Wow!
Good
Not bad
Meh Woof!
COBAIN: MONTAGE OF HECK
Seen much Russian cinema? If so, you’ll already appreciate their
ability to project high art via tragedy, death, brutish behavior and
booze-soaked denial. Here, infidelity, pride, alcoholism and faith all
collide to horrific results in a coastal Russian village when a small
family attempts to survive aggressive government corruption. No,
it’s not the best date movie.
Leviathan
centres on Kolya, a mechanic
father whose family legacy is threatened when he is forced to sell his
treasured property cheaply via a corrupt mayor. With a bad temper, a
second wife who’s wearing thin, a teen son groomed for doom and no
idea how to petition his predicament in the questionable Russian legal
system, Kolya calls upon an old army buddy turned lawyer, Dimitriy,
to help his lost cause. Then things really turn to custard. Why this film
transcends the mud is the stunning imagery, the visceral performances
that literally hit-you-in-the-gut, and the overwhelming confidence the
director demonstrates, turning an otherwise kitchen-sink drama into a
grand metaphor for a global fall of grace and morality which forces the
viewer to question humanity itself. Heavy, but rewarding beyond all
western convention.
Chris Murray
RELEASED:
Out Now
DIRECTOR:
Andrey Zvyagintsev
CAST:
Aleksey Serebryakov,
Elena Lyadova, Roman Madyanov
RATING:
M
Kurt Cobain was the lead singer of Nirvana, a band that seemingly came
out of nowhere to become the biggest rock act in the world, capturing the
angst and rage of an entire generation. Then he took his life at 27… but just
who was he, really? With much hoopla and anticipation of a new flick on a
most misunderstood rock icon, from the director of the Rolling Stones' doco
Crossfire Hurricane
and the Oscar-nominated bio of Hollywood producer
Robert Evans,
The Kid Stays in the Picture
, it’s almost impossible to distance
yourself from an emotional connection to the never-seen home vids, candid
pics, illustrations and audio offerings in this exhaustive portrait. Created with
the blessing of ex-wife Courtney Love, it’s refreshing to see there’s certainly
no homogenisation or punches pulled. Perhaps even the opposite, as we see
the bare tragedy of an artist lost in popularity, escaping via isolation amidst
a bubble of comfort with wife and child. Clever manipulation via smart use
of stock footage, incredible cinematography, clever graphics and an aural
onslaught of stimuli mirroring the mindset of our subject, it’s hair-on-the-arm
raising to feel so intimate and voyeuristic. Presented without judgement and
merely offering the materials available is the secret to this engrossing last
word on a troubled man struggling to be emotionally satisfied.
Chris Murray
RELEASED:
May 7
DIRECTOR:
Brett Morgen
CAST:
Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl,
Courtney Love
RATING:
M
LEVIATHAN
CINEMA
REVIEWS