[Annihilation | Paramount | Feb 23 2018 | Alex Garland | Natalie Portman | Reviews Embargoed till day of release]

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/alex-garland-may-direct-annihilation-says-theres-no-plans-for-an-ex-machina-sequel-20150507So, case closed, and Garland is already figuring out what he might do next. And his eyeballs are on an adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer's "Annihilation." “This group of women enter a sealed park to see what is going on inside, and it becomes this surreal sci-fi story, that reminded me of this J.G. Ballard sub-genre I had grown up reading," Garland said about the story. "We are literally in the process of setting it up, it’s definitely spinning in the air at the moment.” The project is set up at Paramount with producer Scott Rudin, and unlike "Ex Machina," this has franchise potential as the first book in a trilogy. Here's the synopsis from the novel:Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; the second expedition ended in mass suicide, the third expedition in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another. The members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within weeks, all had died of cancer. In Annihilation, the first volume of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy, we join the twelfth expedition.The group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain, record all observations of their surroundings and of one anotioner, and, above all, avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers--they discover a massive topographic anomaly and life forms that surpass understanding--but it's the surprises that came across the border with them and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another that change everything.http://variety.com/2015/film/news/natalie-portman-annihilation-cast-alex-garland-1201488319/“Ex Machina” director Alex Garland looks to have found the star of his next sci-fi film, “Annihilation.”Sources tell Variety that Natalie Portman is in early talks to star in the adaptation of the Jeff VanderMeer novel for Garland and Paramount Pictures. Scott Rudin is producing.Garland will write and direct the pic that follows a biologist who signs up for a dangerous, secretexpedition where the laws of nature don’t apply. Paramount had no comment.The deal is dependent on production starting no sooner than the beginning of 2016, but sources say it seems like the two sides will settle on a start date soon.Given the critical and commercial success of “Ex Machina,” top talent are determined to find a way to work with Garland. Sources add that the role of Portman’s co-star is being chased by everyone from Julianne Moore to Tilda Swinton, but the studio won’t begin considering anyone until Portman’s deal is worked out.HYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYPE

This sounds amazing. I'm all in. Alex Garland has got my full attention now.

[Ex Machina (2015)]

One of the really interesting things for me is that unlike many AIs in movies, and despite being created by all human knowledge, Ava doesn't have access to human information, she knows nothing - in many respects she's a "pure" human, perhaps the most humane of the film's characters, even if she's technically a cold robot. A newborn child, impressionable and innocent. Even though she turns into a killing machine, she doesn't have to be that way; and I got the sense that she wasn't totally aware of what she was doing or why she was doing it.

Doesn't she have access to all of Bluebook though?

[Ex Machina (2015)]

I thought the movie was f*cking fantastic.**SPOILERS** I'd love someone's take on the ending. I can't wrap my head around why she left him there. I can only come up with two maybe three explanations:

1- She passed the test and is a true A.I. because she escaped. However, if she's a true A.I. she would've known Caleb truly had feelings for her and was a good person (she was a walking lie-detector test after all). So, if she's a true A.I. and can experience true emotions then she could feel empathy for him even if she was just using him to escape--and thus would've helped him escape. So, this would mean she's a true A.I. but a sociopath. Or...

2- She sees Caleb as just human and either wants revenge on humans for being locked up or she feels above them somehow. Or...

3- She did not truly pass the A.I. rest and, therefore, cannot actually feel human emotions. But she could do just enough and be just convincing enough to pull all the right strings to escape.

I don't know! Anyone wanna help me out here?

[Ex Machina (2015)]

Pretty fantastic film that dives not just into the potential fears that could come from AI, but also the fearful and distrustful components of human nature as well. All four performances were great, and the film is aesthetically powerful, but there's so much more to it beyond praising its components.

Watching Nathan abuse his previous AIs likely created a distrustful image of humanity in Ava's eyes, which may have been a potential component for her deciding to leave Caleb trapped in the house. It becomes interesting when the character motivations aren't as clear cut as others.

My counter to that is that Ava's a walking lie-detector so she knew Caleb was a good person. I'm not entirely sure she did pass the A.I. test and therefore may not actually be able to feel emotions. That or she's a sociopath.

[Ex Machina (2015)]

Yeah. I thought at first that Ava killed the pilot but there's no way she would know how to fly a helicopter.

Couldn't she have downloaded that knowledge or something? Although, I'm not sure that's how these versions of A.I.s work so you might be right.

[Ex Machina (2015)]

Man, Caleb and Nathan were so focused on Ava's consciousness that they forgot to look at something even more basic and important: Her morality, or lack thereof.

The final shot of Ava among the crowd is interesting and can be taken a couple different ways.

I wondered the same thing about that last shot. It almost looked like disappointment.