Ex Machina is 'The Shining for the social network generation'

The slick and sophisticatedEx Machinaopens in select Canadian theatres this weekend,delvinginto the dangers ofsentientcomputers and the complex nature of human relationships.

• AUDIO|Hard-wired for love: the ethics of robot sex

The sci-fi thriller, written and directed by 28 Days LaterscribeAlex Garland,opens with Caleb, an ambitious computer programmer (played by FrankactorDomhnallGleeson), who is invited to visit the cabin of abillionaire artificial intelligencedeveloper, Nathan (played by InsideLlewynDavis's Oscar Isaac).

Caleb's task: totest a beautiful robot, named Ava, for self-awareness.

Swedish actress Alicia Vikander plays the sexy yet chillyA.I.experiment who becomes lockedin a three-way struggle for survival with Caleb and Nathan.

"As the question of what's real begins to blur," says CBC's film critic Eli Glasner,"Ex Machina becomes The Shining for the social network generation."

"This is a film to puzzle over, filled with data about ourselves and our desires," he says.

Watch Eli's full review in the video above.

ExMachinaopens in theatres Friday.