Duh! Yes, "Machina!"; Timeless Sci-Fi, First-rate Filmmaking!

Rating: 9/10 (18 May 2015)

Journeyman screenwriter and first-time director(!) Alex Garland gives us a movie that, like the best science fiction, feels at once timeless and contemporary.
The cast is uniformly excellent, but rising star Oscar Isaac shines brightest; watch for his dance scene! Domhnall Gleeson continues his winning streak of second-banana/audience surrogate roles. Next-big-thing Alicia Vikander is mesmerizing in a role that she beat Felicity Jones for.
Below the line, production designer Mark Digby is the MVP, though Glenn Freemantle and his Oscar-winning sound design team from "Gravity" deserve recognition as well. The visual effects are remarkable. Fans of Trent Reznor's music for David Fincher will probably get down to Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury's eerie score.
If you loved Scarlett Johansson's amazing recent run of sci-fi movies ("Her," "Under The Skin," "Lucy") then consider "Ex Machina" a must-see.