‘Ex Machina’ an unnerving, plausible tale about A.I.

Before you drown yourself in the coming flood of massive summer tent-pole movies, take time to enjoy what will likely be the smartest genre film of the year, “Ex Machina.” Shrewdly imagined and persuasively made, this is a spooky piece of speculative fiction about artificial intelligence that’s completely plausible, capable of thinking big thoughts and providing pulp thrills. But even saying that doesn’t do this quietly unnerving film justice. Directed by Alex Garland and starring Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac and Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina” is full of moments carefully calculated to keep us off balance and unsettled from beginning to end, and that’s just the way it should be.