Ex Machina: An Appreciation

I would like to thank my friend Ellen for the artwork she has provided. To see more of her work, check out www.ellengiaigianettto.com.

Science Fiction is one of my favorite film genres because of the ideas explored. The genre has been around since 1902 with Georges Melies’ “A Trip to the Moon” and Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” in 1927. In the years that has followed, the genre became a staple to B movies but other films like the original "The Day the Earth Stood Still" turned the genre into a social commentary of the ongoing Cold War. The year 1968 brought us two science fiction films with Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”  and Franklin J. Schaffner’s “Planet of the Apes” that wowed audiences with the visuals and storytelling. The genre has explored intergalactic space battles (Star Wars), time travel (Back to the Future), the horror (Alien, The Thing), Artificial Intelligence (The Terminator films, A.I.) and others.

“Ex Machina” tells the story of computer programmer, Caleb, who is the lucky winner of a lottery at work and gets to spend a week with his company’s CEO Nathan. At his giant estate, Nathan has Caleb run a series of tests with humanoid robot Ava, his newest creation. The film marks the debut of “28 Days Later” screenwriter Alex Garland and while low budget, the story and visuals are what I really like about this film. Also are the performances by Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac and especially Alicia Vikander. I first saw the film came out on Redbox and it exceeded my expectations. I enjoyed it so much, I bought the movie and now sits in my personal collection. I like how they show the relationship between man and machine, which I think is relevant in the present. As I would talk about the film in detail, there will be spoilers. If you have not seen the film, I highly recommend it.

With the film’s low budget, Alex Garland is allowed to be creative with the setting and number of characters. Since it takes place at an isolated estate, this allows us to focus just on the three characters. The place is half private residence and half research facility, giving it a modern day look with a futuristic twist. When Caleb first arrives, the helicopter drops him off and he has to walk to the house. The place looks peaceful and a perfect vacation spot to get away from the outside world. The exterior scenes is an actual hotel in Norway but most of the interiors was shot in a studio.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSesH2hUY0o

Caleb is the outsider that is brought in to observe and he is us, the audience. We know everything from him, like his tests with Ava or talking to Nathan. His interactions with Ava seem to bring him a sense of wonder. He is fascinated with her intelligence and the way she is designed. As he spends more time at the place, he becomes paranoid about whether or not he is a robot. In a graphic scene, he cuts himself with a razor to see. Seeing how Ava lives and controlling Nathan is, he comes up with a plan for her escape.   

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb0O0Vt39jE

Nathan lives in this secluded estate, away from everyone else. His character comes across as lonely and a bit arrogant. Isaac based the character on Bobby Fischer and director Stanley Kubrick, right down to his beard. In his conversations with Caleb, he has him refrain from talking about work and more like if they were buddies. He is also shown to binge drink alone and treats his Japanese maid like dirt. This shows his isolation has been getting to him and his obsession with his work. In one my of favorite scenes as is many others, Nathan shows Caleb the maid dancing to music and he joins in while Caleb watches. The rest of the film’s tone is a slow burn but this scene just comes out of nowhere. The dance moves from the two is what makes the scene. The character is also reminiscent of Dr. Frankenstein when it is revealed that he has made other prototypes of humanoid robots before Ava.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvYPCNCGEK8

Ava spends a majority of the film in a private room. She longs to go outside and while testing with Caleb, warns him of Nathan and not to trust him. The former treats her well while the latter keeps her locked up and tears up her drawings. Her character has a sense of wonder and curiosity similar to a developing child. One of my favorite scenes with her is when she tries on clothes for Caleb because she looks happy and warms up to him, leading to her escape. By the end, she gets her revenge on Nathan by stabbing him but leaves Caleb locked up and heads to the outside world. This all happens in the last fifteen minutes and the music added to the tension. This ending could be seen in two ways, either Ava will live a peaceful life or she can rule the world.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Aq2GEig4R8 - 1st Session

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=god-9smfGHs - Clothes

“Ex Machina” was one of my favorites films of 2015, along with “Sicario”, “The Hateful Eight”, “Mad Max: Fury Road” and many others. It is a brilliant debut from Garland and I still have to watch his latest film from earlier this year, “Annihilation”, is on my list to watch. There are many films I have that I will watch more than once and this is one of them.

Once Upon a Time in the West: An Appreciation

Before I get started, I would like to thank again my friend Ellen Giai Gianetto for providing some of the artwork. www.ellengiaigianetto.com 

For me, the western genre is one of my favorite genres in film. It could be the action, characters, historical setting and the way a director shoots it. Since the days of silent cinema, the genre was seen as low brow or “B” movie material. It wasn’t until the release of John Ford’s classic “Stagecoach” that the genre elevated with seven Oscar nominations, including two wins. In the years that followed, “Red River”, “The Searchers”, “Shane”, “High Noon”, “Johnny Guitar” and many others featured A-list actors and are still regarded as some of the best westerns. During the decline of American westerns in the early 60’s, Italian director Sergio Leone introduced audience to a then unknown Clint Eastwood in “A Fistful of Dollars”, which itself was an unofficial remake of Akira Kurosawa’s “Yojimbo”. Two more films followed featuring Eastwood’s The Man with No Name, “For a Few Dollars More” and “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. After the success of the latter film, Leone was said to have been done with the western genre. Then Paramount Pictures however offered him a big budget and the chance to work with one of his favorite stars, Henry Fonda. Along with then film critics Bernardo Bertolucci and Dario Argento, the trio constructed a story based on their admiration for American Westerns. Released in 1968, “Once Upon a Time in the West” is not only my favorite western but it's in my personal top ten. The film tells the story of a recent widow (Claudia Cardinale) whose family is slain when her property interferes with railroad plans. She also runs into mysterious characters, like outlaw Cheyenne (Jason Robards), the near silent Harmonica (Charles Bronson) and the cold blooded Frank (Henry Fonda). Famed composer Ennio Morricone returns to score in which he uses music to identify the four characters very creatively. For it's 50th anniversary, I think it is timely to discuss my love for this film. Some of the facts I have I pulled from the IMDB trivia page, which has some fun anecdotes. (Warning: some spoilers ahead.)

  While Leone’s Dollars Trilogy were known to be over the top, quirky and fast paced, this film was serious but with bits of dark humor and slowly paced. The opening fourteen minutes of the film is nearly dialogue free as three gunmen wait for a train. Sound is a factor in the scene to illustrate what the characters surroundings are like. Then the sound of a harmonica introduces us to Charles Bronson’s character and after a few words of exchange, he opens fire on them. Bronson had starred in ensemble films like “The Magnificent Seven”, “The Great Escape” and “The Dirty Dozen” and here, he is given the chance to being a main character with on a mission of vengeance. Though at times, he does not show heroic characteristics but then you begin to understand his actions. He is also tough when Frank slaps him multiple times on the train. The reason I really like this film is because of it's characters, whether they are good or evil.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QML28YQBvyc -Opening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XkHsinz7oU - Harmonica
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6BQKFs3-VM - Hamonica's theme

After that, we are introduced to a family preparing for the arrival of the father’s wife. They are then gunned down by the cold blooded Frank. Up to this point, Henry Fonda was known for playing warm hearted and sincere characters. Leone had always wanted to work with Fonda as he was the original choice for “A Fistful of Dollars” but he was too expensive. Though he turned down the role, Leone flew to New York to convince him to take on the role. He wanted to shock audiences, much like Hitchcock with Psycho, of Fonda killing an entire family.   In the end, Fonda has stated that it was a favorite film performance. His character’s choice of clothing, all back, reflects his own soul. His theme has a sinister feel to it. Some of his line delivery in certain scenes sends chills to viewers. Later in the film, Frank is betrayed by his men and he shoots them with the assistance of Harmonica, who really wants to kill him himself.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YopB9-vIqyY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdPo_Ww6Dag - Frank's theme

Another lead character in the film is Jill, a former prostitute who gets caught up in a land battle when her husband and family are slained. Jill’s theme is light and elegant and it captures her beauty and innocence. Known for having a deep voice, Claudia Cardinale’s voice was dubbed by another actress. Her character interacts with all three of the male protagonists and she handle her own. It is refreshing to see a female character in a western not be a damsel in distress or love interest. She reminds me of Claire Trevor's character in "Stagecoach" of a woman escaping her past and having to navigate her new life.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdL__zuZvpA 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZXPwj4Mmno - Jill's theme

Then there is Cheyenne, an outlaw who is framed for murdering the family. When his character teams up with Harmonica, it becomes something of a buddy film. Jason Robards plays the character with a wicked sense of humor and also gentleman like when he interacts with Jill. His theme that plays has a comedic beat to it. One day on the set, Robards got intoxicated which infuriated Leone. He told the actor to never do it again and Robards apologized.  One of my favorite scenes in the film is when he is on top of the moving train and takes out Frank’s men.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B2gKcLkygI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5IpN3grKDI - Cheyenne's theme

Clocking in at two hours and forty five minutes, “Once Upon a Time in the West” is worth checking out if you are a fan of westerns. Though the film did not do well financially in America, it was a huge hit in Europe. A year later, Sam Peckinpah releases his masterpiece, “The Wild Bunch”, with a grittier tone and violence. The film has also influence many film directors like Quentin Tarantino, John Carpenter, George Lucas, and Baz Luhrmann. Leone would go on to make two more films before his untimely death in 1989, the underrated “Duck, You Sucker” and his epic crime drama “Once Upon a Time in America”. The western genre continues to be revisited from time to time, often times a mixed success. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw-Av9BpC-w

Top Ten Stanley Kubrick Films

Ranking all of the Stanley Kubrick films I own was difficult due to his amazing body of work. Each film he made shows intense characters in situations that could either be successful or misery. A lot of his films were also adapted from books, which shows that he was a well read man. Whatever film he made would polarize people at first but repeated viewings changes opinions. I would like to give an honorable mention to his version of Vladimir Nabokov’s “Lolita” and while not faithful to the novel, it is an enjoyable one. 

I would like to thank my friend Ellen Giai Gianetto for providing two of her artworks for my post. 

  

10. Spartacus 

This swords and sandal film follows a slave revolt led by Spartacus as he defies the Roman Empire. This was Kubrick’s first big budget film when star-producer Kirk Douglas hired him and got to work with a cast such as Peter Ustinov, Charles Laughton and Laurence Olivier.

Though a great picture this was, Kubrick did not have much creative control of this project. The film could also be seen as a metaphor on blacklisting in Hollywood at the time. The screenwriter, Dalton Trumbo, was blacklisted for awhile and had to put someone else’s name on scripts he wrote. For fans of films like “Gladiator” and ancient Rome, this is recommended viewing for those that like spectacular action and subtle political commentary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKCmyiljKo0

9. Full Metal Jacket

First half of this film follows a group of recruits and their hardships by boot camp led by the tyrannical Sgt. Hartman. The second half follows their experiences in Vietnam once they are dropped in.

The first half is done great, with R. Lee Emery not holding back in insults directed at his recruits. These scenes are done really well and the way the camera points up at Hartman, as if we got punched ourselves and are on the ground. While there is a shift towards the war, it is not as bad as others have pointed out. Even though it is set in Vietnam, Kubrick shot the film entirely in England. The scene where the squad is being picked off by a sniper is brutal and nail biting suspenseful until the end.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j3_iPskjxk

8. The Killing

In this film noir, ex-con Johnny Clay assembles a crew to rob a horse track and plans to settle down with his girl Fay. Betrayal starts and pretty soon, cops show up. Kubrick applies a non-linear story in what would be his theatrical debut.

Clocking in at 84 minutes, it is a fast paced story with dialogue by notable pulp writer Jim Thompson. Sterling Hayden leads a crew of men desperate to get money. His performance as an ex-con up to no good is cool and his relationship with Colleen Gray’s character is sweet. The masks during the robbery clearly inspired Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” opening robbery sequence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4veow_qEDk

7. Paths of Glory

During WWI, a platoon of French soldiers is tasked with an impossible mission. As the mission doesn’t go according to plan, higher ups forces Col. Dax (Kirk Douglas) to choose three men for cowardice and to have a firing squad execute them.

Kirk Douglas gives a great performance in this early Kubrick war film. It examines the military aristocrat risking ordinary men’s lives and them sitting back, far away from the battle. The scenes in the trench are classic Kubrick and it shows what we will see from him later in life. The last scene of the film is really moving and the way the woman sings, it shows her courage to go up there.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU4PQ3OJn58

6. Eyes Wide Shut

The film follows a couple (Tom Cruise & Nicole Kidman) who seem to have it all, money, kids and a perfect life. One night after smoking pot, the wife tells the husband about a fantasy she had about sleeping with another man. Jealous, the husband goes on a surreal journey where he encounters musicians, a prostitute, a shady costume shop owner and a secret society that engages in orgies.

For Kubrick’s last film, he really went all out in terms of the style, story and characters. The scene in the mansion lasts 20 minutes, all of which will never be forgotten. A polarizing film when first released but greatly appreciated on repeated viewings. Watching this film twice already, I can say that it helps to go back and pick up on the clues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgVo96JaqeM

5. Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

At the height of the Cold War, a crazy U.S. general purposefully sends a plane to drop a bomb on Russia. Meanwhile, the President of the United States and his staff are trying anything at all costs to prevent war.

Adapted from a serious novel, Kubrick decided to make it a comedy and casted Peter Sellers playing three roles. As a British general, the President and the titular mad ex-Nazi scientist, Sellers deservingly earned an Oscar nomination. George C. Scott turns in a great performance as the over the top General Buck Turgidson. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuP6KbIsNK4 

4. The Shining

A writer takes his wife and son to a hotel to take care f it during the winter. However, ghosts of the pasts haunt his mind and drive him insane. Meanwhile, we discover his son can communicate with his thoughts.

Based on a Stephen King novel, Kubrick makes a psychological horror that terrified me when I first saw it as a kid. Jack Nicholson’s performance goes from loveable family man to murderous lunatic trying to murder his family. The scene at the bar shows us his state of mind and how it will escalate.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJVVGzEbJC0

3. A Clockwork Orange

Teenager Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) and his “droogs” cause mayhem and commits crime in London. After landing in prison, Alex volunteers for a procedure that will cure him of his evil ways.

Controversial upon release due to its subject matter, it was later banned from England for about 30 years due to threats Kubrick received. McDowell’s portrayal of Alex is both terrifying and very charming. Even though he is a despicable character, Stanley asks us to sympathize with him after the procedure is done.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPRzm8ibDQ8

2. 2001: A Space Odyssey

An epic science fiction film about mankind, it starts off in the past and goes directly into the future. A group of astronauts, along with a robot, explore space and discovers a monolith that could provide answers to them.

The film is short on dialogue and features no famous stars but the visuals and music are key ingredients to enjoy this film. Those patient viewers will be rewarded with the now famous star gate sequence. This was all done way before computers were invented and it was made using photo chemicals.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyjOjT8d8RI

1.  Barry Lyndon

The film follows the chronicles of a rough Irish gambler who climbs through social status in 18^th century Europe. From fighting in wars, dueling with anyone he challenges and marrying into money. Think of this film as an 18^th century version of “The Wolf of Wall Street” as both characters go on a journey of self-indulgence.

While "2001" remains one of my favorite sci-fi films, I am a sucker for a period piece. What I love about this film is how Kubrick filmed it. Each scene in this film is photographed beautifully and if put on pause, a becomes almost like a painting. Ryan O’Neal may seem miscasted as the titular character but his hotheaded and almost arrogant performance made the character. Though it is over three hours long, you will be amazed at every single shot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c_dOMVXRhw

It's a Good Film, It's a Good Film: An Appreciation of Blow Out.

Before I get started, I would like to thank my good friend Ellen Giai Gianetto for providing two pieces of artwork. I highly recommend checking out her site, www.ellengiagianetto.com to see more of her artwork. 

Like many of his fellow filmmakers, Brian De Palma has regarded Alfred Hitchcock as an influence on his films. Released in 1981, “Blow Out” tells the story of a sound technician, played by John Travolta, who becomes a witness to a car accident and rescues a young woman, Nancy Allen. As he was recording sounds, he captures the accident via audio and trouble follows. De Palma has brought us many classics such as “Carrie”, “Scarface”, “The Untouchables”, “Mission Impossible” and many more. In the supporting cast, John Lithgow plays a psychopathic assassin who is one step ahead of them. What follows next is a journey into suspense.The late great Vilmos Zsigmond photographs some of the best looking shots that gives it an almost dreamy atmosphere. As a fan of the paranoia thriller genre that includes “Klute”, “The Parallax View”, “The Conversation” and “Three Days of the Condor”, “Blow Out” is a flawless masterpiece in my opinion. It shows De Palma’s style and storytelling devices that allude to Alfred Hitchcock. Aside from being a thriller, the film also becomes a metaphor to filmmaking itself from Travolta’s character. This is also is where the line blurs between reality and fiction. For a fun fact, the film’s title is homage to “Blow-Up”, a film from the 60’s that I can discuss later. 

The performance of John Travolta as Jack Terry is one of his finest and we get to see the action from his point of view. He plays a sound technician for a small movie studio that produces low budget slasher films and provides them all kinds of sound effects. In a scene where he takes out Sally, he reveals his past ranging from happy to tragic moments. Nancy Allen also does a great job in the role of Sally, a passenger caught up in the accident. Like Jack, she is also haunted by her past and the two of them have great chemistry. Each time they are on screen, they have good banter. Then there is Dennis Franz as a sleazy photographer who is acquainted with Sally and John Lithgow as pretty much the definition of pure evil as a contract killer.

The film opens with a nearly four minute voyeuristic steadicam shot of what appears to be a generic slasher film. It is revealed humorously that it is a film that Jack is working on. If you thought you were going to watch a horror film about a stalker killing beautiful college girls, just wait till the shower scene. In a way, De Palma could have poked fun at the rise of slasher films with their over the top violence and gratuitous sex. This is how we are introduced to Jack, laughing when the scream of the girl halts the screening 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJu-jcfFxAE&t=68s

If you have not seen the film, I highly recommend seeing it before reading further.

In between are some terrific scenes that follow Jack making a film using pictures from a tabloid magazine. Using the sound he recorded to carefully assemble a short film using stop motion. It shows his expertise in the craft of it and where the line starts to blur. Near the beginning, the screen splits between Jack and the television that shows political turmoil. As the film progresses, they cross paths with each other as Jack begins to grow an obsession over the audio tapes. Being a cinephile from a young age, I have often thought about making a film. This scene will always stick with me when I think about this film.   



Another scene features the camera doing a 360 degree in Jack’s office when it becomes evident that someone erased not only the accident recording but also for his entire office. I felt like I was experiencing what he was feeling as the camera just keeps spinning. The craft of the scene is better with the white noise in the background, letting us hear what he hears. On the Criterion blu-ray, De Palma gives an hour long interview with filmmaker Noah Baumbach. He talks about how he was on top of the set with Zsigmond as no one could be in the shot.
Making the Film 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u5sAz3_AwQ

360 Degrees

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cjURzWLsks

The direction and pacing of this film is on top notch. It hypnotizes you from the beginning and eyes glued by the climax when Jack has to race against the clock. However, the ending displays a grim tone that might have contributed to its negative reception upon release. Over the years has helped the film found its audience and  more than one viewing makes the film more fun to watch. One thing I forgot to mention is the fantastic score by Pino Donaggio, who has done six films for De Palma. Ranging from "Carrie", "Dressed to Kill", and "Body Double". He has also done Nicolas Roeg's "Don't Look Now", which is another favorite film of mine. If you are looking for a film that is less than two hours, I will guarantee that you will not be bored this one.  

Double Feature: Memento & Bad Timing

Christopher Nolan is considered by many to be one of the most celebrated directors working in the new millennium. Films like “Dunkirk”, “Interstellar”, “Inception” and The Dark Knight Trilogy have cemented his status as an auteur. Before making his status with big budget features, he made his film debut with the ultra low budget “Following” which was then followed by the film that caught the attention of studios, “Memento”. The film tells the story of Leonard, (Guy Pierce) a man with short term memory loss who looks for his wife’s killer. The film is told in non-linear fashion as it plays backwards and flashes back in time. It also has elements of a film noir with examples like Billy Wilder’s “Sunset Boulevard” and Jacques Tourneur’s “Out of the Past”. I have seen the film many times after the first viewing left me confused but this is normal for these kinds of films where we are not familiar with the structure of the narrative. However, there was a film released twenty years prior that I think influenced the story structure to Nolan’s film.

British cinematographer turned director Nicolas Roeg is known for his films that have been likened to a maze. Films such as “Performance”, “Walkabout”, “Don’t Look Now” and “The Man Who Fell to Earth” have been praised for their style and storylines. In 1980, Roeg releases “Bad Timing” which tells the story of a psychoanalyst (Art Garfunkel) in Cold War Vienna who has an intense love affair with a married woman (Theresa Russell) that leads her to overdose on drugs. Harvey Keitel plays an Austrian detective who is trying to figure what happened with the woman. Like “Memento”, “Bad Timing” jumps back and forth in time to their first encounter and the investigation at the hospital. The innovative editing and a soundtrack that includes music by The Who and Tom Waits make this film a stand out. The casting of Art Garfunkel as a psychoanalyst might seem weird but his performance works as is the rest of the cast. Upon first release, the film was met with harsh criticism due to its raw sexual content and the actions of the characters. I first saw the film a few months back and it was an experience. After seeing it recently, the plot was easy to understand and questions I had on my first viewing answered. Interestingly, both Nolan and Roeg have cited Argentinean writer Jorge Luis Borges as an influence on their work. Borges’ work was mostly short stories that have themes of labyrinths, dreams, philosophy and religion. It is easy to see both filmmakers put these themes into their films.

A film professor told the class once that a great film leads to multiple viewings. I have seen both of these films more than once and it really helped me appreciate them. Watching it a second time, I began to see things I didn’t’ notice the first time. Had the films structure was in chronological order, it would have lost that element of mystery. I have no doubt that Nolan was influenced by the films of Roeg not just in “Memento” but also in his other work. Other filmmakers that seem to be influence by Roeg also include Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino and other directors who attempted to make a non-linear plot. I highly recommend having a double feature with these two films and see if there are any similarities with the two.