You tore up Ava's picture? I'm gonna tear up the F**king dancefloor' What a line, what a film. We got a little bit existential on the pod in last weeks episode with Terminator 2: Judgement Day but we've gone onto a whole new level of AI, deep think, consciousness metaphysical philosophy this week. Heads up there's a whole load of big themes that we get stuck into on this one - so set aside a couple of hours, watch the film and then give yourself a big dose of BYOB existential dicussion.

So... Ex Machina, let's kick off with the big themes at play here. Oscar Isaac's Nathan has created what he believes is genuine AI in Alicia Vikander's Ava - and he's brought Domhnall Gleeson along for the ride to see if he can give her a big tick on the turing test. But what is it to be conscious? What is it to have self awareness and understanding of human emotion? Is human emotion simply just a list of reactions to stimuli and if so is Alicia Vikander's Ava sentient? Already lost? Don't worry the pod explains it all in all kinds of detail.

Three huge characters at play here and the big question... who is the goodie, who is the baddie and who is neither? We have a big old dig into this considering that as a first time watcher you're given a bit of a rope a dope, considering we're led to believe that Nathan is a bit of a tosser it's actually Domhnall Gleeson's Caleb that gets a bit of a beat down from Ben and Jack for being a flannel. As a result there is of course a big section on our MVP!

Artificial intelligence is on the way - but the fact that this film was 2014 and managed to have a deep dive into discussions that are now taking place currently in 2023 without ever really missing a beat is absolutely incredible. Undeniably world class film selection on this weeks pod!!

Oh... and there's also the greatest dance scene in the history of cinema. (discuss, show your working for 20 marks)

Bring Your Own Blockbuster isn’t just a film review podcast, we try our best each week to dive deep into the themes and discussions that make cinema so special - and we’d love to hear your feedback on the film. What did meet it mean to you? What did we miss? Get involved and tell us what you think on social media, you can find us everywhere at @byobpod

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Broadcast on:

14 Aug 2023