EX MACHINA ***

As mad scientists and their robot movies go, Alex Garland's "Ex Machina" is, as Jean Brodie would say, the creme de la creme. Before this, Garland wrote "The Beach" and "28 Days Later" both of which left me seriously underwhelmed, (I wonder if Danny Boyle's flaccid direction had anything to do with that), but here he's in command and how... "Ex Machina"
is visually superb, highly intelligent and beautifully played by a never better Oscar Isaac, the consistently brilliant Domhnall Gleeson and a terrific Alicia Vikandar. Perhaps Garland's greatest achievement lies in taking an over-worked formula and making it feel so original. It's also the scariest robot picture since 2001... creating a real sense of unease rather than simply giving us a series of shocks. Consequently this is the year's best horror film as well as the most entertaining.