Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/487054
IX maltatoday, Sunday, 29 March 2015 This Week IN CINEMAS TODAY St James Cavalier Valletta Tel. 21 223200 Papusza 20:00 Met Opera Matinées 2015 - Les Contes d'Hoffmann 14:30 Embassy Cinemas Valletta Tel. 21 227436, 21 245818 Run all Night (15) 13:45, 16:15, 18:45, 21:15 The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (PG) 13:20, 16:05, 18:35, 21:05 Kingsman: The Secret Service (12) 15:50, 18:35, 21:15 SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of The Water (U) 10:00, 12:10, 14:30, 16:40, 18:50, 21:00 Chappie (15) 10:30, 13:30, 16:00, 18:30, 21:00 Cinderella (U) 10:15, 13:30, 16:00, 18:30, 21:00 Eden Cinemas St Julian's Tel. 23 710400 Chappie 14:00, 16:25, 18:50, 21:15, 23:45 Run All Night (15) 14:00, 16:25, 18:45, 21:10, 23:35 Hyena (18) 14:00, 16:20, 18:40, 21:05, 23:35 Cinderella (U) 14:05, 16:30, 18:45, 21:00, 23:25 Suite Francaise (15) 14:05, 16:20, 18:45, 21:00, 23:25 Il-Klikka The Film (15) 14:10, 16:30, 18:50, 21:10, 23:30 Kingsman: The Secret Service (12) 14:25, 18:05, 20:45, 23:25 Fifty Shades of Grey (18) 14:30, 18:15, 21:00, 23:40 Focus (15) 14:05, 16:20, 18:45, 21:05, 23:25 The Boy Next Door (15) 14:10, 16:15, 18:35, 20:50, 23:00 Shaun the Sheep (U) 14:20, 16:30, 18:40 The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (PG) 14:30, 18:20, 20:55, 23:30 Inherent Vice (18) 20:45 The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of The Water 3D (U) 14:20, 16:30, 18:50, 21:10, 23:30 Empire Cinemas Bugibba Tel. 21 581787, 21 581909 The Second Best Marigold Hotel (PG) 10:55, 13:30, 16:00, 18:30, 21:05 Cinderella (U) 11:00, 13:35, 16:00, 18:25, 20:50 Shaun the Sheep (U) 11:10, 13:25, 15:40, 17:55, 20:45 The Boy Next Door (12) 10:55, 13:40, 16:00, 18:10, 20:55 Suite Francais (15) 11:05, 13:35, 15:55, 18:15, 20:45 Run All Night (15) 11:00, 13:30, 15:55, 18:20, 20:50 The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of The Water 3D (U) 10:30, 12:30, 14:30, 16:30, 18:30, 20:45 We've always been obsessed with the notion of creating life, because once we've cracked that particular chestnut, it means we get to behave like gods. From the Ancient Greek myth of Pygmalion (transposed into the modern era as My Fair Lady) to Frankenstein and Blade Runner, the desires and problems associated with this distinctly human preoccupation have served as ample grist for the storytelling mill across several generations. Now comes novelist-turned- filmmaker Alex Garland (The Beach, 28 Days Later, Sunshine) with his own take on the Artifi- cial Intelligence Problem. Though it's not so much 'his own take' as 'stylish re-hash of ideas previ- ously explored by science fiction stalwarts', the claustrophobic thriller is certainly worth a look in, helped as it is by impeccable production design and an inspired undercurrent of humour. When the young coder Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) scores the opportunity to spend a week with the boss of the largest internet company in the world, he believes it'll be a breakthrough in his career. Things get a bit strange, however, when the company's CEO, the reclusive Nathan (Oscar Isaac) offers him the chance to participate in a unique experi- ment. It turns out that Nathan has been cultivating the world's first example of bona fide arti- ficial intelligence, and placing it in the body of a robot girl he christens Ava (Alicia Vikander. He now needs Caleb to determine just how close to human she is. But as the lines between what is engineered and what is sentient begin to blur, Caleb grows more and more suspicious of Nathan's ultimate plan. On script level, Ex Machina doesn't really contribute anything new to the cinematic conversation on artifical intelligence: apart from the examples mentioned above, similar ground has been covered thoroughly by the likes of 2001: Space Odyssey and even the anime Ghost in Shell. But the technical accomplishment that is Ava – aided by an admirably understated performance from rising-star Swedish actress Alicia Vikander – coupled with the tasteful but glacial surroundings of Nathan's secluded abode, offer a seductive and suspenseful lead- in into Garland's universe, allow- ing us to enjoy its high-concept trappings as a thriller first and foremost. On-point performances from all three lead actors ensure that we're sold on the heightened reality of it all, though Gleeson does a bit of a re-hash of his 'hapless geek ' routine from last year's Frank. But a word about Isaac's Nathan. A fascinating creation in his own right – with both Garland and Isaac pulling their creative weight to bring him to fruition – he's an amusingly contemporary take on the mad scientist trope. A young technological entrepreneur in the vein of Mark Zuckerberg – his innovation is basically a variant of Google, which he amorally ex- ploits to craft his AI prototypes – when not breaking new ground in the scientific community, he uses his only-reachable-by-helicopter estate as a place to get trashed on beer and vodka, putting paid to the notion that all millenials are essentially overgrown children. His awkward attempts at chum- miness with Caleb are perfect lead-ins to his menacing side, and as he is wont to do, Isaac en- dows the character with a messy humanity. In a lot of ways this is also a 'post-Under the Skin' sci-fi movie, with the male gaze being cri- tiqued for all its worth, and Ava's journey made to be as important as that of its morally questionable male counterparts. Garland's film – a directorial debut – doesn't have the intensity of Jonathan Glazer's razor-sharp critical darling, but as has been the case for Garland's output (both liter- ary and cinematic), he manages a healthy balancing act between pulp thrills and loftier thematic ambitions. A technological morality fable worth delving into. Ex Machina will be showing at St James Cavalier Cinema, Valletta on April 4 at 15:00 and April 12 at 20:00 By Teodor Reljic Testing for humanity ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ EXCELLENT ★ ★ ★ ★ EXCEPTIONAL ★ ★ ★ EXCUSABLE ★ ★ EXCISE ★ LICE eX MaChIna ★ ★ ★ FILM www.gourmettoday.recipes All too human: Alicia Vikander is more than just a robot in Alex Garland's high-concept science-fiction thriller