Thoughts on the Recent Movies: Dystopia, Archive, and Anti-Gravity

Overview

Since I really enjoyed Dystopia, I ended up watching a total of three movies, so I thought I'd share my impressions.

Summary:

A zombie bacteria turns almost all of humanity into zombies, known as “Hungries.”
Children born to infected mothers are “second generation” beings, who are infected but still retain their reasoning.
The remaining humans manage the “second generation” while dissecting them to develop a vaccine.
The research facility is overrun by the Hungries, and most of the staff is wiped out, though a few survivors remain.
One of the second-generation children, Melanie, saves them from the Hungries, earning their trust. However, the dangerous journey leads to everyone perishing except Melanie and one human.
During the journey, Melanie discovers a tower of fungal spores and decides to release them, turning the whole world into Hungries.

Thoughts:

British film. I really enjoyed this one!
It wasn’t overly gory or violent, there were no particularly unlikeable characters, and although it was tense and suspenseful, it felt safe enough to watch.
The pacing was excellent. The scenes at the research facility, the street scenes, Melanie running around on her own, and the encounter with wild second-generation beings – the constant shifts kept me hooked.
There were some unclear points, though. Why did Dr. Caldwell let Melanie choose the next dissection subject? Why did Melanie spread the spores? What happened to the subplot about the maternal instincts of the Hungries? But these questions didn’t ruin the experience. In fact, they piqued my interest in the original novel.
The Japanese title is awful. It’s clear that The Girl with All the Gifts would’ve been a better title for this film.

Summary:

The protagonist, George, is a robotics researcher working alone in Yamanashi, Japan.
Before starting his research, his wife Jules died in a car accident.
However, she had signed up for an “Archive” system, which stores memories of the deceased, allowing him to have occasional conversations with her.
…But in reality, George has been secretly extracting her data and using it to create robots, aiming to bring Jules back to life.
After working through prototypes J1, J2, and J3, he finally completes J4, a robot version of Jules.
His secret project is discovered, and armed forces storm the facility, but wait... the armed forces vanish... was it all an illusion? It turns out that George had died in the car accident, and he has been conducting his research inside the Archive system the whole time.

Thoughts:

Another British film.
Where in Yamanashi!? I kept asking this throughout the film, but now it makes sense – George didn’t actually know what Yamanashi was like! That was satisfying.
That was about the only satisfying part, though. What’s up with this psychopath?
The treatment of J2 was appalling. J2, jealous of the more advanced robots, is gently consoled by George, only to be completely abandoned afterward. George even takes J2’s legs to use for J3 and leaves her behind. The disconnect between his words and actions is chilling. After J2 chooses to self-destruct, he builds her a grave – nice gesture, but you’re the one who drove her to suicide, George. What a terrible guy.
The portrayal of J3’s internal conflict between the reality of her memories (being in a relationship with George) and her current reality (having a separate personality from those memories) was painful to watch. Poor thing. George is truly despicable.
As for the movie’s progression... well, there were a lot of unexplained developments and attributes, and the whole “we’ve left room for interpretation, so forgive the weirdness because it’s all a dream, lol” vibe really left a bad taste in my mouth.

Summary:

A genius architect, immature and unrecognized by others, is invited to join a cult.
The cult is plotting to create a utopia in a virtual space for people in a coma. The architect initially refuses but is forced into the dream world.
In this dream world, the cult leader is present, but the architect, having conveniently lost his memory, follows the leader’s commands and realizes an ideal city plan in the dream.
Those who understand the workings of the dream world are deemed unnecessary, and the cult leader starts killing everyone in the dream.
After managing to defeat the leader and return to reality, the architect starts a more grounded life but still clings to the cult’s invitation with lingering regret.

Thoughts:

This one is a Russian film.
Yet another awful male protagonist. The way he insults his girlfriend – “You’re just a nurse, right? This car, you probably got someone to buy it for you, didn’t you?” – and then goes back to her, is just ridiculous.
There’s zero sense of camaraderie with the other residents of the dream world. The takeaway is that someone who only thinks about themselves will continue to live a self-centered life no matter what happens.
The Japanese title is terrible. Naming this movie Anti-Gravity is like calling I Am a Cat “Mr. Meitei.” Sure, it’s an element in the story, but why choose that for the title?