Ex Machina Review

     For as long as computers have been around, people have been obsessed with artificial intelligence. Some believe that it will be the downfall of humanity, while some believe it is the next evolutionary step. All I know is that it makes from a great plot point in science fiction movies. The last really great movie involving AI I can think of would be 2013's "Her," which is one of the best movies in recent years. It kind of raised the bar when it comes to humanizing an AI in a movie. While there have been a few films involving AI that have come out since "Her," none are even in the same league; until now anyway. "Ex Machina" is an independent sci-fi movie that has been making the rounds with its limited release. Garnering wide acclaim, it has been called the best movie of the year by many. I had high hopes for this movie, and amazingly it was better than I could have imagined. 

     Caleb is a program at a company called Bluebook, which runs the world's most popular search engine. One day he receives an email informing him that he won a contest everyone at the company was entered in. The prize is that he gets to go to the estate of the company's founder; a man named Nathan, and help him with a secret project. Caleb is flown out to Nathan's house which is in the middle of nowhere on a huge plot of land he owns. When Caleb arrives he is greeted by Nathan and told why he is really there. Nathan wants Caleb to partake in a Turning Test, which is a test where you try and determine if you are talking to a machine or a human. Nathan has what he believes to be the first artificial intelligence, a machine called Ava. He wants Caleb to talk to Ava, and determine if she is truly sentient or not. Caleb soon learns though that everything isn't what it appears to be when both Nathan and Ava start saying things about each other. So Caleb wonders who he can trust, as well as what happens to Ava if she fails the test.

     2015 has been a slow year for movies thus far, the only one worth writing home about has probably been "Kingsman: The Secret Service." So going into "Ex Machina" I had my fingers crossed, and to my surprise it was better than I thought it would be. This is one of the best science fiction movies I've seen in the past few years. First and foremost, the performances are fantastic; the three leads do an amazing job. Of the three Alicia Vikander as Ava stood out, I would be surprised if she didn't get an Oscar nomination for best actress. The chemistry between the actors was so good, and that really helped them step into these roles. Their performances were also helped by the script; this is a well written movie with very smart dialog. One thing I loved about this movie was that it respected its audience; it doesn't dumb itself down to appeal to people who might not appreciate it otherwise. It's a thought provoking movie; it asks a lot of the same questions about what it means to be human that the recent movie "Chappie" did, the only difference is that "Ex Machina" is actually a good movie. And to my own surprise, the movie is surprisingly funny, especially the character Nathan who is wonderfully random. He seems to say whatever pops into his head first. The script was written by the director, a man named Alex Garland. He has written for movies like "28 Days Later" and "Sunshine," as well as the critically acclaimed video game "Enslaved: Odyssey to the West." So he certainly has the writing chops; but amazingly, "Ex Machina" is his directorial debut. I was watching this movie thinking to myself, "how is this the first movie he's directed?” He does a truly amazing job; every scene is presented with a confidence that you usually see from a more experienced director. The fact that the movie is shot beautifully only helps; cinematographer Rob Hardy did a great job and I hope he gets credit for his work when award season rolls around. And its use of music to compliment every shot works beautifully. One of my favorite aspects of this movie had to be the special effects. Throughout the movie, CGI is used and the only thing I can say about it is that it looks real. While some movies like "Gravity" or "Avatar" are really in your face with CGI, this movie takes a more subtle approach. It’s used to try and make the movie seem more realistic. While CGI is most obviously used for Ava's body (which is a phenomenal, and interesting take on a robotic body), there are other times that it is used and every time it is used perfectly. If I had to point out a flaw with this movie, it would be that it is very slow. I was never bored, I was never uninterested, but by the final act you start to feel the nearly two hour run time. For some people it will be two slow, but the movie does something interesting with its slow pace; the movie builds tension. From the first time that Caleb meets Nathan until the final scene, the movie feels like a piano wire that is slowly being twisted and you are just waiting for it break. You’re on the edge of your seat for the final scene, and this movie has one of the tensest endings I've seen in quite a while. I have been waiting all year for a great movie, and "Ex Machina" is that movie. It does everything a great sci-fi movie should do; to be honest I would be surprised if this didn't make it onto my best of the year list. While it's certainly not for everyone, it is a movie I loved and one that I haven't been able to get out of my head since I watched it. This is an independent gem, and easily the best movie of the year so far.

Pros: Fantastic performances from the lead actors, beautiful cinematography, great directing, well written script with smart dialog, surprisingly funny at times, thought provoking, great soundtrack, incredibly tense, subtle but well done CGI.

Cons: Very slow pace.

4.5/5 Stars

Bloodborne Review

     In early 2009, Japanese developers From Software released a new game called "Demon's Souls." When the game was originally tested by Sony, they were unimpressed with the game and decided to only release it in Asia. After very positive reviews from Japanese game critics, the game was eventually released in the US. It was quickly met with wide critical acclaim, and was named one of the best games of the years by many publications. Noted for its unforgiving difficulty and fantastic sword and shield combat, it garnered a dedicated following that passed on to future games in the series. Two years later, From Software released a spiritual successor to "Demon's Souls" entitled "Dark Souls." Improving on its predecessor in just about every way, the game was met with near universal critical acclaim and managed to garner many game of the year awards in one of the more competitive years in recent times. In 2014 the sequel "Dark Souls 2" was released, and like the games that came before it, was met acclaim from critics and audiences. After "Dark Souls 2" many fans were left wondering what would be next; another "Dark Souls" game, the sequel to "Demon's Souls," or a new game in the franchise. It turns out that From Software wanted to start something new. Announced at E3 2014, "Bloodborne" acts as a spiritual success to the other games in the series; having similar gameplay and mechanics, but in a new atmosphere with some new toys (most notably guns). Fans of the series have been excited since the announcement of the game, clamoring to get their hands on a PS4 controller; some were skeptical though. Fans were afraid that changes to the combat (like an emphasis on offense over defense and being able to recover health after losing it by quickly attacking enemies) as well as the addition of guns would compromise the series’ integrity and alter the difficulty. Fortunately though, after playing it, I can confirm that "Bloodborne" is just as unforgiving as the rest of the game in the series.

     The story of "Bloodborne" takes place in the Gothic city of Yharnam, a once great city of medicine where people would travel to in the hopes of a cure for whatever ails them. You play a nameless traveler heading to the city, only to arrive and find out that some sort of disease has infected most of the inhabitants; either turning them into gratuitous monsters, or warping their minds and compelling them to kill whatever they see. After arriving you find yourself receiving a blood transfusion of tainted blood, transforming you; you keep your mind unlike the residents of the series, but you become something more than humans. You then set out to discover the origins of the disease and what happened to this city, while simultaneously killing any monster you come upon. 

     "Bloodborne" had a lot to live up to upon its release, being the spiritual successor to one of the best game series of the past few years. The "Souls" series has made a name for itself for its difficult gameplay, and has garnered a devout following. When the first gameplay of "Bloodborne" came out, any were hesitant about the changes, most notably the inclusion of guns and whether or not the game would be as difficult as those who came before it. Well after playing the game extensively I can say with good confidence that the game is absolutely outstanding. It's not just a worthy successor to the "Souls" games, it might actually top them. Like its predecessors "Bloodborne" gets the combat absolutely perfect, it even includes some new elements that work great. The combat of the series always comes down to timing; it is important to study your enemy and learn how they move and attack. You need to be careful about when to attack, when to dodge, when to use items, when to heal yourself, and what type of weapon should be used for what enemy. You also need to take where you are into consideration. If you're fighting several enemies in an open area you might want to a slashing weapon with a long range to hit multiple enemies. If you’re in a narrow corridor facing one enemy, it's better to use a piercing weapon. The main changes that "Bloodborne" introduces to the combat would be the inclusion of guns, unique weapons, and a faster pace of fighting. There are a variety of guns in the game and each is a bit different; some use one bullet while others use multiple, some are short range while others are long range, and some like the shotgun have a wide spread that can hit multiple enemies. The guns don’t do a lot of damage, and are meant more to stun your enemies. While useful they never make the game feel unfair. One problem I had with the previous "Souls" games were the weapons, most felt too similar. One sword was just like another except it did more damage or took longer to swing there wasn't enough variation. "Bloodborne" fixes that problem with the concept of quality over quantity. There aren't as many weapons in "Bloodborne" as there are in the previous games, but each weapon feels completely different; and that is because each weapon has two forms. The first weapon I got when playing the game was called the threaded cane. In its base form it was a just a simple cane that you could use like a club, but when transformed it turns into a whip covered in razor sharp spikes. In its cane form it did a bit more damage and could be swung quicker, as a whip it had a much longer range and was useful at hitting multiple enemies who were standing close to each other. So while there are less weapons than some might have hoped for, each feels unique and varied. Arguably the most notable change to the combat would be that it is much faster paced. There is an emphasis on dodging enemy attacks and quickly attacking yourself. It's much more in your face and personal than what we've seen before. In the previous games, a common play style would be to put on a heavy set of armor, and have a shield in your left hand and a sword in your right. When you come in contact with an enemy you put your shield up and wait, after they attack your shield they are temporarily stunned and that is when you do your damage. After they recover you rinse and repeat. You can't do that in "Bloodborne," you have to be aggressive; fortunately this new style of combat works beautifully. The problem is that with this new fast combat style, the game would have really benefited from being able to run at 60 frames per second. "Bloodborne" is locked at thirty frames per second, and compared to 60 it can look a little sluggish. When a game has a frame rate of around 60fps or higher, the game just looks more fluid; while running at 30fps doesn't ruin “Bloodborne's" combat by any stretch of the imagination, it would have looked and played better running at 60fps. And just like the previous games in the series, "Bloodborne" is still ridiculously difficult; if you play it there will be several moments when you have to stop yourself from throwing your controller against the wall. Unfortunately though, one of the biggest drawbacks of the game would be the long loading times. Whenever you fast travel or getting ready to respawn, the load times are about thirty to forty seconds; this does take you out of the game, but at least it lets you calm down after you just got destroyed. Like the previous games there is a heavy emphasis on cooperative play. Summoning other players to come help you can be mutually beneficial and works even better than in previous ways when summoning a specific person. When you invite other players into your game you can set a password, meaning only the people you want to play with can play with you. The games in "Souls" series has never been known for being graphical powerhouses, to be honest "Dark Souls 2" actually looked somewhat subpar compared to many games that came out in 2014. "Bloodborne" on the other hand is drop dead gorgeous. It is a huge step up in graphical quality, it features beautiful aesthetics and some of the best level design we've seen in quite a while. One thing to note would be the Victorian Gothic style; it may feature some of the most beautiful levels I've ever seen in a game, and they are very creepy and unsettling. This game can be borderline survival horror sometimes. You also see some truly great designs in the enemies you face. There are some many different types of monsters and each one unique. Some of the best creature design I've ever seen in a game is featured in "Bloodborne" it also has some of the most difficult and memorable boss battles ever put into a game. You can tell that the developers really put their all into creating these monsters, and it really shows. One of my biggest problems with the all of the "Souls" games was that I never really cared about the story. It was just the backdrop for what was truly amazing gameplay, but I can't say the same thing about "Bloodborne." The story is rather interesting and engaging, it is also much simpler to follow compared to the complex and lore heavy stories of "Dark Souls" and its sequel. If you ask me the story could have been nonexistent, but the plot of this game just makes it that much better. From the moment I heard about this game I knew it was going to be good, and after playing it "Bloodborne" is even better than I thought it was. It's not just another "Souls" game; it makes a real effort to distinguish itself from the games that came before it. "Bloodborne" is a PS4 exclusive, and it is a must own for anyone who has the system. It might just be the first game for the eighth console generation that can be called "next-gen." As the end of the year begins to roll around, this is a game that will surely be on most every list of the best games of the year; that's because "Bloodborne" isn't just a great game, it's a borderline masterpiece. 

Pros: Phenomenal combat, beautiful aesthetic, huge step up in graphical quality, just as difficult as predecessors, unique and varied weapons, fantastic creature designs, several noteworthy boss battles, great multiplayer, faster gameplay than previous games, phenomenal level design, interesting story, creepy and unsettling.

Cons: Runs at only 30 frames per second, long load times. 

5/5 Stars