Movie Weekend: Age of Adeline, and Ex Machina: #AgeofAdeline #ExMachina

By: Meradeth Houston on 4:00 AM

Hubby was in town this weekend and we did something I don't think I've ever managed in my adult life: we went and saw two movies :) There were a few out that we've wanted to see, and we both just needed to decompress. Did anyone else see these?? I'd love to hear what you thought!

Age of Adeline was just magical. It hit on themes that I find cropping up in my own writing a lot, which was probably why I liked it so much. Immortality, San Francisco (oh dear, I was so homesick!!), true love, and loss--all of it was so fun. The story line was weak, but the characters made up for it. And the costumes! I wanted every last one of Adeline's outfits. Also, someone to teach me how to do my hair in all the great '40's styles that I love.

Only one minor pet-peeve: the "scientific" explanation they gave to her condition was utterly cringe-worthy. As in, they strung together some "scientific" sounding terms that are peripherally related to aging and tried to make it sound smart. Look, movie people, either do it right, or just call it magic, and those of us in the crowd won't want to throw something at you :)

I left the theater very content after this movie. Also, thinking to myself that if you liked this movie, you're very much going to enjoy Coincidences (if I can ever sell it!).

Ex Machina was a fascinating film. I'm still thinking about it and parsing out the themes. Honestly, it was kind of a mind-trip. I walked into the theater thinking that it was going to be a scary film, and while I don't want to give too much away, it really wasn't frightening, at least not in a typical horror-film kind of way. Instead it was a glimpse into the not-so-distant future and some of the tough questions we'll need to be asking ourselves. I've watched quite a few AI films lately (one I saw in Spain that I can't find anywhere and it really annoys me because it was awesome!) and this one is near the top of my list in terms of addressing some of the weight of the topic.

The film itself was pretty heavy on the science side of the Turing test. Hubby and I have read a great deal about this, and it's one of our favorite dinner discussion topics (yes, we are that nerdy...and I'm sure we've given some people some strange ideas if their table is within earshot of ours). I found it odd that the film's previews and other marketing make it out to be more "scary", which came across as a bit of a misnomer. Not one I was sad about, but just something to think about if you haven't seen it yet :)