The Blood of a Programmer — During the first half of Alex Garland’s Ex Machina, I fell in love with its startling imagery. The plot concerns Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), a mediocre computer programmer who wins a contest to live for a week at his famous boss’ remote retreat. Nathan (Oscar Isaac) is a genius who, ...

Roadside Regenerations — The cleverest, if not funniest, moment in this summer’s remake of 1983’s National Lampoon’s Vacation occurs when the family, headed by erstwhile patriarch Rusty Griswold (Ed Helms), the son of Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) sits around the table in Act I discussing the merits of re-visiting “the original vacation.” The slippage between ...