Movie Lists and Links
Here is a partial list, alphabetized by film title, of previous Science in the Cinema programs and documentaries. These films are for people NOT really interested in science fiction. Look
This unique documentary depicts the migratory patterns of birds, showing the potential spread of avian flu. The film follows bird migrations flying over the seven continents: from one pole to the other, from the seas to snowcapped mountains, from the canopy of heaven to mangroves and swamps
- THE 11th HOUR - climate crisis
Produced, co-written, and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, this documentary begins by taking a look at the causes of global warming, and then explores solutions, from eating organic to building with solar power. It combines a diverse array of interviews with a dizzying variety of images, both soothing and alarming (droughts and hurricanes vs. serene sunsets and playful polar bears).
- AIDS JAAGO - AIDS
Under the auspices of Mirabai Films and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the AIDS JaaGO Project presents four short dramatic films by cutting-edge Indian directors who aim to dismantle myths and misconceptions about HIV/AIDS. The film titles are Migration , Blood Brothers , Positive , and Prarambha .
- AND THE BAND PLAYED ON - AIDS
This 1993 movie offers a historical look at the history of AIDS, from the early days in 1978 when gay men in San Francisco began dying from a mysterious illness, to the identification of the HIV virus. The multi-star cast includes Matthew Modine, Alan Alda, Lily Tomlin, Richard Gere, Anjelica Huston, Steve Martin, Ian McKellen, and Charles Martin Smith. The movie is based on the 1987 book AND THE BAND PLAYED ON: POLITICS, PEOPLE, AND THE AIDS EPIDEMIC, written by Randy Shilts.
- A BEAUTIFUL MIND - schizophrenia
Russell Crowe plays John Nash, the brilliant mathematician who suffered from schizophrenia but eventually overcame it and won a Nobel Prize. Jennifer Connelly plays Mrs. Nash in this Academy Award-winning film.
- CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD - deafness
William Hurt plays a newly-hired teacher at a school for deaf children, where he meets the deaf janitor, played by Marlee Matlin. While trying to teach deaf students how to speak, Hurt also reaches out to the withdrawn, antisocial Matlin.
- COMMON THREADS: STORIES FROM THE QUILT - AIDS
This Academy-Award-winning film recounts the lives and deaths of various victims of AIDS who are commemorated in the AIDS quilt. The quilt is a massive cloth collecting each piece as a memorial for each victim of the disease to both show the death toll and to show the humanity of the victims.
- CONTAGION - the plague
A young woman and her son die from a mysterious flu-like illness, but her husband seems immune. Thus begins the spread of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. The doctors and administrators at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control must identify the type of virus in question and then find a means of combating it, a process that will likely take several months. As the contagion spreads to millions of people worldwide, societal order begins to break down as people panic.
- THE CURE - children with AIDS
An 11-year-old boy with AIDS is befriended by a neighbor boy. Together the two boys plan to build a raft and float down the Mississippi River to get to Mexico, where they have heard there is a cure for AIDS.
- DARWIN'S SECRET NOTEBOOKS - Charles Darwin
Though he circled the world on the "Beagle" for five years, Charles Darwin spent only five weeks on the famed Galápagos. He had no epiphany there, no Newton's apple falling from the tree. So what was it? What "certain facts" from the voyage led this young Creationist to propose a theory so radical it remains controversial (though widely accepted) 150 years later? This fascinating documentary brings passages from Darwin's writings to life, as we see the clues he saw while listening to his words, and watch in wonder as CGI animates his ideas, focusing us on critical details and revealing the lucid epiphanies of a magnificent mind.
- THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW - climate crisis
This movie takes a big-budget, special-effects-filled look at what the world would be like if the greenhouse effect and global warming continued at such levels that they resulted in worldwide catastrophe and disaster, including multiple hurricanes, tornadoes, tidal waves, floods and the beginning of the next Ice Age.
- THE DOCTOR - physician/patient relationships
Successful surgeon Jack McKee (William Hurt), businesslike and aloof with his patients, finds his entire life changing when he is diagnosed with throat cancer. Christine Lahti plays his supporting and understanding wife.
- DOOR TO DOOR - cerebral palsy
This inspirational movie tells the true story of Bill Porter (William H. Macy), a man who suffers from cerebral palsy. In spite of his physical limitations, Mr. Porter became a very successful door-to-door salesman, while also making a difference in the lives of his customers. Helen Mirren and Kyra Sedgwick also star.
- DR. EHRLICH'S MAGIC BULLET - chemistry research
Edward G. Robinson stars as Dr. Paul Ehrlich, a German scientist who developed a stain to view microscopic tubercular bacteria, advanced discoveries in immunology, discovered a chemical cure for syphilis, and gave birth to modern drug discovery while searching for "magic bullets."
- EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES - genetics
This drama centers on the efforts of John and Aileen Crowley to find a researcher who might have a cure for their two children's rare genetic disorder known as Pompe disease. Harrison Ford plays the scientist, and Brendan Fraser and Keri Russell play the parents.
- FANTASTIC VOYAGE - nanotechnology
When a brilliant scientist falls into a coma from an inoperable blood clot in the brain, a surgical team embarks on a top-secret journey to the center of the mind in a high-tech military submarine shrunk to microbial dimensions. This classic, Oscar-winning movie (for special effects) stars Stephen Boyd, Donald Pleasance, and Raquel Welch.
- FOOD, INC. - local food use
The film examines corporate farming in the United States, concluding that agribusiness produces food that is unhealthy in a way that is environmentally harmful and abusive of both animals and employees. The film is narrated by Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser.
- GATTACA - genetics
Vincent (Ethan Hawke) is an "In-Valid," a genetically imperfect person, who assumes the identity of a member of the genetically elite (Jude Law) to pursue his goal of traveling in space. Uma Thurman plays Vincent's love interest.
- IN THE FAMILY - breast cancer
At 27, filmmaker Joanna Rudnick tested positive for the BRCA mutation. She now faces an impossible decision: remove her healthy breasts and ovaries or risk incredible odds of developing cancer. This documentary follows Joanna as she connects with other women trying to navigate their way around the wrenching decisions associated with predictive genetic testing.
- AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH - climate crisis
This documentary offers a passionate and inspirational look at former United States Vice President Al Gore's fervent crusade to halt global warming's deadly progress in its tracks by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it. It focuses on his travels in support of efforts to educate the public about the severity of the climate crisis.
- IRIS - Alzheimer's disease
The movie is a tender, emotional depiction of novelist Iris Murdoch (Judy Dench and Kate Winslet) as she struggles with Alzheimer's Disease. It covers the period from just before her marriage to intellectual John Bayley (Jim Broadbent and Hugh Bonneville) until her death.
- JEWELS OF THE JUNGLE - natural products research
This documentary follows maverick researcher Dr. Gary Strobel on an epic journey through some of the world's most beautiful forests as he searches for new natural medicines. Back in the laboratory, viewers watch as Strobel discovers what may one day become a new generation of "wonder drugs" that may cure malaria, cancer, and numerous other diseases.
- LIFE SUPPORT - AIDS
This unrated, award-winning HBO movie stars Queen Latifah as Ana. Ana is an HIV-positive former drug addict from Brooklyn, desperately struggling with her past and passionately trying to make things right with her involvement in an AIDS outreach group, Life Support. Inspired by a true story, this movie is a touching, poignant tale of loving, losing and letting go.
- LIVING PROOF - cancer research
Dr. Dennis Slamon (Harry Connick Jr.) has developed a new experimental drug called Herceptin, which he hopes will become a revolutionary treatment in the fight against breast cancer.
- LORENZO'S OIL - adrenoleukodystrophy
Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon play the parents of 5-year-old Lorenzo, who is diagnosed with adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD). They spend their lives searching for a cure to this usually fatal disease.
- MADAME CURIE - women in medicine
Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon play Marie and Pierre Curie, partners in life and in their efforts to isolate the radioactive element radium.
- MEDICINE MAN - natural products
Sean Connery plays a brilliant but eccentric researcher seeking a cure for cancer among the plants of the Amazon rain forest. Lorraine Bracco plays a scientist who has come to the rain forest to be his assistant.
- NEVER CRY WOLF - wolves and the environment
Charles Martin Smith plays a young, inexperienced biologist who is sent to the Arctic to study wolves to determine why they are killing caribou. Brian Dennehy plays a wolf hunter who interferes with the research.
- NO IMPACT MAN - climate crisis
In November, 2006, Colin Beavan launched a year-long project in which he, his wife, his two-year-old daughter and his four-year-old dog went off the grid and attempted to live in the middle of New York City with as little environmental impact as possible. This film documents their lives during the year of the "No Impact Project."
- THE NOTEBOOK - Alzheimer's disease
Based on the Nicholas Sparks book, the story unfolds as an older gentleman reads a story to an older woman in a nursing home. Through flashbacks we see the development of a love story as it is being told. The connection between the old and the young becomes clear as the older woman exhibits signs of Alzheimer's Disease.
- OUTBREAK - viruses
Dustin Hoffman is an Army virologist trying to stave off a killer virus that is loose in California. Kevin Spacey, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, and Cuba Gooding Jr. also star.
- PHILADELPHIA - AIDS
Tom Hanks, a lawyer wrongfully terminated because he has AIDS, hires lawyer Denzel Washington to represent him in a lawsuit against the prestigious law firm that fired him.
- RACE FOR THE DOUBLE HELIX - DNA structure
This exciting movie depicts the story of James Watson and Francis Crick, the discoverers of the structure of DNA. Other scientists who were searching for the structure at the same time also appear in the movie.
- REGARDING HENRY - brain injuries
Harrison Ford plays a ruthless lawyer whose life changes completely when he is shot in the head during a robbery. Annette Bening plays the wife who helps him recover from amnesia and physical disabilities.
- SILENT FALL - autism
Richard Dreyfuss plays a psychiatrist who attempts to treat an autistic boy who witnessed his parents' murders. The child only communicates by imitating others.
- SIX DEGREES COULD CHANGE THE WORLD - climate crisis
By combining stock footage with computer-generated imagery, this National Geographic documentary serves as a kind of nonfiction counterpoint to the movie
- SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE - heart disorders
An older man (Jack Nicholson) suffers a heart attack at the home of his younger girlfriend's mother (Diane Keaton). Keanu Reeves plays the cardiac doctor caring for Nicholson.
- STEEL MAGNOLIAS - diabetes
This 1989 movie stars Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Olympia Dukakis, Shirley MacLaine, and Daryl Hannah as a close-knit group of friends who share their lives in a small town in Louisiana. One member of the group has Type 1 diabetes, a situation that affects everyone in different ways.
- THE SWARM - bees
Many human stars share the screen with thousands of bees in this campy disaster movie about killer bees. The film stars MIchael Caine, Katharine Ross, Richard Widmark, Richard Chamberlain, and many more Hollywood actors.
- UNDER OUR SKIN - Lyme disease
This dramatic tale of microbes, medicine and money investigates the untold story of Lyme disease, an emerging epidemic. Following the stories of patients and physicians as they battle for their lives and livelihoods, the film brings into focus a haunting picture of our health care system and its ability to cope with a silent terror under our skin.
- WARM SPRINGS - "Polio: A Scientific Success Story"
Following a promising early political career, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was stricken with polio in 1921 at the age of 39. This film follows his struggle with paralysis, the refuge he took in an obscure and run-down Georgia health spa, and the family pressure to return to public life and politics. The movie stars Kenneth Branagh, Cynthia Nixon, and Kathy Bates.
- WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? - electric cars
In 1996, electric cars began to appear on roads all over California. They were quiet and fast, produced no exhaust and ran without gasoline. Ten years later, these futuristic cars were almost entirely gone. This documentary, narrated by Martin Sheen, explains what happened, as it investigates the birth and death of the electric car and the role of renewable energy and sustainable living in the future.
This unique documentary depicts the migratory patterns of birds, showing the potential spread of avian flu. The film follows bird migrations flying over the seven continents: from one pole to the other, from the seas to snowcapped mountains, from the canopy of heaven to mangroves and swamps
Notable Science Fiction movies (Mr. Young's type of movies...): Google or wiki the titles to see what they are about if you need help deciding.
Minority Report
Contact
Terminator (any of the series)
Aliens (any of the series)
Deep Impact
Jurassic Park
Blade Runner
Mad Max (any of the series)
Planet of the Apes (modern version)
Star Trek movies (any)
Star Wars (any)
Captain America (the first one)
Iron Man (the first one)
X-men
Man of Steel
Predator (any)
Total Recall (either the original or the new one)
Elysium
Oblivion
The Time Machine
Thor (first one)
World War Z
Apollo 13
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_science_fiction_movies
Wikipedia list
Minority Report
Contact
Terminator (any of the series)
Aliens (any of the series)
Deep Impact
Jurassic Park
Blade Runner
Mad Max (any of the series)
Planet of the Apes (modern version)
Star Trek movies (any)
Star Wars (any)
Captain America (the first one)
Iron Man (the first one)
X-men
Man of Steel
Predator (any)
Total Recall (either the original or the new one)
Elysium
Oblivion
The Time Machine
Thor (first one)
World War Z
Apollo 13
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_science_fiction_movies
Wikipedia list