Uncanny (2015)

i must have seen a different film!!

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Joy Andrews (Lucy Griffiths) is a reporter who is given the opportunity to spend 7 days with a robotics expert David Kressan (Mark Webber) and his creation Adam (David Clayton Rogers) whom is the most believable and realistic AI that has ever been created - he's an AI that David has lived in isolation with for the last 7 years. Things start to take a turn for the worse when Adam starts to exhibit abnormal and disturbing behaviour towards Joy when it seems that both the AI and its creator begin to develop feelings for the same woman...There are two words that sprung to mind when I was watching this film 'EX MACHINA' and it seems fairly obvious that ANDROID borrows quite heavily from this film. Both films cover the same theme of developing an AI that is capable of fooling humans and with an AI that is more self-aware than its creator imagines or believes.The problems with Android begin at a very early stage with the initial story set-up; the dialogue that is exchanged between the characters is mind-boggling and contains words that only scientists or members of MENSA are likely to be able to understand. I got the feeling that this was included at the start of the film to try and make it seem clever (which in retrospect becomes laughable when you learn of the simplistic plotting). The poor dialogue and lack of much happening in the first half makes for a fairly slow opener (although those for a penchant for Chess will be well catered for here).The second half is better if only because it has some life to it and has more going for it; there is a battle between the AI and its creator and the power struggle between the two is interesting, but whilst it is interesting it's never really a story that grips or involves (mainly because it offers nothing that we haven't seen before). It's difficult to critique performances in a film focusing on AI as naturally some performers are going to be 'cough cough' slightly robotic; this is the case for Webber and Rogers for the most part although Rogers fares best out of the two men (but in fairness this is because he is given more to work with). Griffiths is given the role of the most 'normal' person, but she works the role well giving a rather natural performance, but she's able to flex her acting chops later in the film.The end result of all this is a rather poor film with little in the way of originality or surprises and with its rather dull and dialogue-heavy first half it makes for an uneven film which sadly, for the most part, is fairly uninvolving. It's very similar to Ex Machina and even though I thought that film was overrated and had its fair share of problems I would still pick that film over this one.

Reporter Joy Andrews (Lucy Griffiths) does an in-depth week-long interview with tech scientist David Kressen (Mark Webber). He introduces her to Adam (David Clayton Rogers) and later reveals that Adam is actually an AI robot. His wealthy boss Castle (Rainn Wilson) monitors the situation from afar.Coming out around the same time, this was being overshadowed by the indie hit Ex Machina. There is an obvious visual CGI wow factor about Ex Machina that this does not have. Leaving that aside, they are both traveling on similar and well-worn sci-fi lanes. The acting for both male leads is limited to the stiff robotic nerd persona or an actual robot. Griffiths has an easy presence. I'm always taken by her brilliant blue eyes. This is an extended Twilight Zone episode or Black Mirror for the modern audience. It's a perfectly capable film that stays compelling to the end.

Is my car faster than yours? Is your phone newer than mine? Is your wife better than mine? One of those questions is not only out of line and insensible, but makes the questioner a bit of a psycho. Equally complex and beautiful entities should not be compared. "Uncanny" starts off with two guys playing chess. Dialogue, acting, cut and soundtrack instantly create the atmosphere and draw one in. If a sci-fi can do that without fancy concepts explained in words, big motherships and fasers it's worth watching. They manage to do this with the same tools throughout the movie. Yes, you know it's a movie about an AI, and you kind of expect it to go berzerk, as they tend to go since Space Odyssey; but then again, the robots in Interstellar did not. So will this one? The plot twists, turns and evolves while there are several occasions you expect the robot to snap. It's probably the main source of maintaining a sense of suspense besides the soundtrack, which fits in perfectly. At the same time it lets You keep enough distance to remain relaxed and consciously digest the concepts and thought-seeds presented. I love this aspect, and few movies manage this magic act of balance. My rating is 9/10 because the ending is flawed. It's flawed not because it's bad. It's actually quite good. Uuhm... at least one of them. The movie has 3 endings. The last one even comes in after the credits start. I will never understand why great movies sometimes feel the need to throw in all ending ideas the scriptwriter scribbled on a paper towel in the first draft. "Coffe or Tea?" "Both, and please mix them in the same cup!" :)

This was more amazing than "Ex Machina." The story line was intense and illustrates the perils of our human race rapidly evolving toward sentient cyber life. *SPOILERS--Do NOT read ahead if you have not yet watched the movie* Spoiler ALERT, Spoiler ALERT!!! Rainn Wilson's character was brilliant and vile. It was harrowing to watch the last few scenes of the movie and the almost psychopathic rendering of the antagonist was amazing. Plot twist was somewhat expected, but not to the extent it was carried out, and the lack of moral compass that it unveiled in those who would use technology, and people, and emotions, at all costs. Loved it.