Movies for Rationalists
Movies with good plots, useful information, stimulating ideas, witty dialogue, and not an excessive amount of drivel. Characters are intelligent, capable, and independent, though not necessarily entirely moral.
Suggestions are very welcome!
Suggestions are very welcome!
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- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKeir DulleaGary LockwoodWilliam SylvesterAfter uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.
- DirectorPeter HyamsStarsRoy ScheiderJohn LithgowHelen MirrenA joint USA-Soviet expedition is sent to Jupiter to learn exactly what happened to the "Discovery" and its H.A.L. 9000 computer.
- DirectorShane CarruthStarsShane CarruthDavid SullivanCasey GoodenFour friends/fledgling entrepreneurs, knowing that there's something bigger and more innovative than the different error-checking devices they've built, wrestle over their new invention.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsJim CarreyEd HarrisLaura LinneyAn insurance salesman discovers his whole life is actually a reality TV show.
- DirectorNacho VigalondoStarsKarra ElejaldeCandela FernándezBárbara GoenagaA man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences.
- DirectorStanley KramerStarsSpencer TracyMilton BerleEthel MermanA group of motorists witnesses a car crash in the California desert, and after the driver's dying words indicate the location of a hidden stash of loot, they turn against each in a race across the state to get to it.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsHenry FondaLee J. CobbMartin BalsamThe jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsJack LemmonGeorge C. ScottHume CronynTwelve men must decide the fate of one when one juror objects to the jury's decision.
- DirectorPatrice LeconteStarsCharles BerlingJean RochefortFanny ArdantTo get royal backing on a needed drainage project, a poor French lord must learn to play the delicate games of wit at court at Versailles.
- DirectorAlejandro AmenábarStarsRachel WeiszMax MinghellaOscar IsaacA historical drama set in Roman Egypt, concerning a slave who turns to the rising tide of Christianity in the hope of pursuing freedom while falling in love with his mistress, the philosophy and mathematics professor Hypatia of Alexandria.
- CreatorDaniel HartAlan KwanTacita MorwayStarsJay O. SandersCraig SechlerStacy KeachScience documentaries about various topics.
- DirectorDavid LebrunStarsMichael D. CoeIan GrahamNikolai GrubeThe complex and beautiful hieroglyphic script of the ancient Maya was until recently one of the last great untranslated writing systems. Based on the best-selling book by Michael Coe, called by the New York Times "one of the great stories of 20th century scientific discovery", Breaking the Maya Code traces the epic quest to unlock the secrets of the script across 200 years, nine countries and three continents.
- CreatorBeau WillimonStarsKevin SpaceyMichel GillRobin WrightA Congressman works with his equally conniving wife to exact revenge on the people who betrayed him.
- StarsMamoru MiyanoBrad SwaileVincent TongAn intelligent high school student goes on a secret crusade to eliminate criminals from the world after discovering a notebook capable of killing anyone whose name is written into it.
- DirectorChris ColumbusStarsDaniel RadcliffeRupert GrintEmma WatsonAn orphaned boy enrolls in a school of wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world.Series
- DirectorSteven ZaillianStarsJoe MantegnaBen KingsleyMax PomerancA prepubescent chess prodigy is encouraged to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.
- CreatorMark GatissSteven MoffatStarsBenedict CumberbatchMartin FreemanUna StubbsThe quirky spin on Conan Doyle's iconic sleuth pitches him as a "high-functioning sociopath" in modern-day London. Assisting him in his investigations: Afghanistan War vet John Watson, who's introduced to Holmes by a mutual acquaintance.
- CreatorJohn HawkesworthStarsJeremy BrettDavid BurkeRosalie WilliamsSherlock Holmes and Dr Watson solve the mysteries of copper beeches, a Greek interpreter, the Norwood builder, a resident patient, the red-headed league, and one final problem.
- DirectorJohn MackenzieStarsDavid HemmingsCarolyn SeymourDouglas WilmerA new school teacher learns that the previous teacher was killed by his pupils, and he fears the same will happen to him.
- DirectorAnthony PageStarsRichard BurtonDominic GuardDavid BradleyTwo boys try to drive a strict priest mad with their confessed sins at a boarding school in England.
- DirectorBryan SingerStarsKevin SpaceyGabriel ByrneChazz PalminteriThe sole survivor of a pier shoot-out tells the story of how a notorious criminal influenced the events that began with five criminals meeting in a seemingly random police lineup.
- DirectorGregory ReadStarsEddie RedmayneTom SturridgeToni ColletteA forensic psychologist (Collette) is tasked with determining whether or not a minor should face murder charges for killing his schoolmate.
- DirectorRichard DemboStarsMichel PiccoliAlexandre ArbattLiv UllmannDuring the Cold War, the World Chess Championship clashed complete opposites - personal and political.
- StarsTomoko KawakamiSusumu ChibaSanae KobayashiA sixth-grader Hikaru Shindo accidentally awakens the spirit of a deceased Go prodigy Fujiwara no Sai who then accompanies Hikaru and helps him develop his Go skills.
- StarsTodd HaberkornPatrick SeitzEric ValeAn anime in which personified countries show history in a humorous fashion.
- DirectorChristopher SykesStarsRichard FeynmanTheoretical physicist Richard Feynman tells his story.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsRussell CroweEd HarrisJennifer ConnellyA mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.
- DirectorAlejandro G. IñárrituStarsMichael KeatonZach GalifianakisEdward NortonA washed-up superhero actor attempts to revive his fading career by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway production.
- DirectorBennett MillerStarsSteve CarellChanning TatumMark RuffaloU.S. Olympic wrestling champions and brothers Mark Schultz and Dave Schultz join "Team Foxcatcher", led by eccentric multi-millionaire John du Pont, as they train for the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, but John's self-destructive behavior threatens to consume them all.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHaley Joel OsmentJude LawFrances O'ConnorA highly advanced robotic boy longs to become "real" so that he can regain the love of his human mother.
- StarsNikolay DrozdovKenneth BranaghAvery BrooksDocumentary-style series about the era of the dinosaurs, mixing real locations and CGI.
- StarsKenneth BranaghEdward GeroThe final installment in the "Walking with" series is a 90-minute documentary about the evolution of life before the dinosaurs.
- StarsKenneth BranaghStockard ChanningLarry AgenbroadUsing the latest digital technology, the era between the dinosaurs and man is superbly recreated by the BBC and Discovery Channel in another winning production from the coalition.
- StarsRobert WinstonAlec BaldwinAndrew SachsThe great follow-up to 'Walking with Dinosaurs' and 'Walking with Beasts', presented by Professor Robert Winston, explains the story of human evolution.
- StarsDavid AttenboroughPierce BrosnanPeter ScoonesMammoth series, five years in the making, taking a look at the rich tapestry of life in the world's oceans.
- StarsOprah WinfreyDavid AttenboroughDoug AllanDavid Attenborough's legendary BBC crew explains and shows wildlife all over planet earth. From giving an overview of the challenges facing life to hunting the deep sea and various major evolutionary groups of creatures.
- StarsSigourney WeaverDavid AttenboroughNikolay DrozdovA documentary series on the wildlife found on Earth. Each episode covers a different habitat: deserts, mountains, deep oceans, shallow seas, forests, caves, polar regions, fresh water, plains and jungles. Narrated by David Attenborough.
- DirectorAndrew StantonStarsBen BurttElissa KnightJeff GarlinIn the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.
- CreatorJames Manos Jr.StarsMichael C. HallJennifer CarpenterDavid ZayasHe's smart. He's lovable. He's Dexter Morgan, America's favorite serial killer, who spends his days solving crimes and nights committing them.
- StarsChristian RodskaJeremy RaynerBruce H. TiffneyA group of scientists predict what Earth and Life will look like in the future
- DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsMiles TellerJ.K. SimmonsMelissa BenoistA promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student's potential.
- DirectorStuart BeattieStarsCaitlin StaseyRachel Hurd-WoodLincoln LewisWhen their country is invaded and their families are taken, eight unlikely teenagers band together to fight.
- DirectorAdrian LyneStarsJeremy IronsDominique SwainMelanie GriffithAn English professor falls for a minor, and has to face the consequences of his actions.Much more the book than the movie, though, which has complex, multilingual riddles in it and such.
- DirectorNeil BurgerStarsBradley CooperAnna FrielAbbie CornishA mysterious pill that enables the user to access 100% of his brain's abilities transforms a struggling writer into a financial wizard, but it also puts him in a new world with many dangers.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsBrad PittEdward NortonMeat LoafAn insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.
- CreatorJoss WhedonStarsNathan FillionGina TorresAlan TudykFive hundred years in the future, a renegade crew aboard a small spacecraft tries to survive as they travel the unknown parts of the galaxy and evade warring factions as well as authority agents out to get them.
- DirectorJoss WhedonStarsNathan FillionGina TorresChiwetel EjioforThe crew of the ship Serenity try to evade an assassin sent to recapture telepath River.
- CreatorSydney NewmanStarsJodie WhittakerPeter CapaldiPearl MackieThe further adventures in time and space of the alien adventurer known as the Doctor and his companions from planet Earth.
- CreatorDamian KindlerStarsAmanda TappingRobin DunneChristopher HeyerdahlModern society's evolution involves stem cells, gene therapy, transplants, and cloning, but also exposes the existence of monsters that hold the key to our race's future.
- DirectorJ.C. ChandorStarsOscar IsaacJessica ChastainDavid OyelowoIn New York City 1981, an ambitious immigrant fights to protect his business and family during the most dangerous year in the city's history.
- DirectorDan GilroyStarsJake GyllenhaalRene RussoBill PaxtonWhen Louis Bloom, a con man desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.
- DirectorRené ClémentStarsAlain DelonMaurice RonetMarie LaforêtTom Ripley is a talented mimic, moocher, forger and all-around criminal improviser; but there's more to Tom Ripley than even he can guess.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsJames DeanNatalie WoodSal MineoA rebellious young man with a troubled past comes to a new town, finding friends and enemies.
- StarsBertie CarvelEddie MarsanMarc WarrenIn an alternate history, during the time of real life Napoleonic Wars, two men of destiny, the gifted recluse Mr. Norrell and daring spellcasting novice Jonathan Strange, use magic to help England.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsSteve McQueenJames GarnerRichard AttenboroughAllied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenDon TaylorOtto PremingerAfter two Americans are killed while escaping from a German P.O.W. camp in World War II, the barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.
- DirectorJohn GlenisterStarsBill GavinRupert DaviesDavid QuilterThe discovery of penicillin.
- DirectorPenny MarshallStarsRobert De NiroRobin WilliamsJulie KavnerThe victims of an encephalitis epidemic many years ago have been catatonic ever since, but now a new drug offers the prospect of reviving them.
- DirectorRoberto RosselliniStarsPierre ArditiRita ForzanoGiuseppe AddobbatiBlaise Pascal struggles to understand the natural world around him, in addition to an inner quest for religious faith.
- DirectorRoberto RosselliniStarsUgo CardeaAnne PouchieClaude BerthyThis made for television film chronicles the illustrious life of French philosopher René Descartes (1596-1650)
- DirectorHoward DaviesStarsStephen ReaDaniel CraigFrancesca AnnisA television adaptation of Michael Frayn's celebrated and award-winning stage play about the meeting between physicists Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg in 1941 Copenhagen. At this time the young Heisenberg was leading a faltering German research program into nuclear energy, while the middle-aged and apparently isolated Bohr was in contact with allied agents, and still held a position of great influence in the nuclear physics research community. After the meeting the two men put different interpretations or impressions of why Heisenberg requested the meeting, and what he hoped to gain from it, a theme which mirrors the ambiguity of the "Copenhagen" interpretation widely used in quantum physics. Did Heisenberg go to the avuncular Bohr to seek his blessing for his role in nuclear research? Why did Heisenberg concentrate on the development of a nuclear reactor, and not perform the calculations which would show that a bomb could be made to work via a fast-neutron reaction in Uranium 235? These and other questions feature in the plot, although unsurprisingly there are few certain answers.
- DirectorJon AmielStarsPaul BettanyJennifer ConnellyIan KellyTorn between faith and science, and suffering hallucinations, English naturalist Charles Darwin struggles to complete 'On the Origin of Species' and maintain his relationship with his wife.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsEdward G. RobinsonRuth GordonOtto KrugerTrue story of the doctor who considered it was not immoral to search for a drug that would cure syphillis.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsSpencer TracyRita JohnsonLynne Overman82-year-old inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Alva Edison is honored in 1929 and he reflects back on his sixty-year career of scientific achievement.
- DirectorPhilip MartinStarsDavid TennantRichard McCabePatrick KennedyDrama about the development of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, and Einstein's relationship with British scientist Sir Arthur Eddington, the first physicist to experimentally prove his ideas.
- DirectorCiro GuerraStarsNilbio TorresJan BijvoetAntonio BolívarThe story of the relationship between Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and last survivor of his people, and two scientists who work together over the course of forty years to search the Amazon for a sacred healing plant.
- DirectorMichael AlmereydaStarsPeter SarsgaardWinona RyderJim GaffiganIn 1961, famed social psychologist Stanley Milgram conducted a series of radical behavior experiments that tested ordinary humans' willingness to obey authority.
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsJulianne MooreClive OwenChiwetel EjioforIn 2027, in a chaotic world in which women have somehow become infertile, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea.
- DirectorMarc AbrahamStarsGreg KinnearLauren GrahamAlan AldaRobert Kearns takes on the Detroit automakers who he claims stole his idea for the intermittent windshield wiper.
- DirectorKarl GenusStarsOrson BeanEileen BrennanHal BurdickIn middle age, inventor Stephen Minch is happy enough with his life, despite the fact that he has never risen to prominence even though his innovations have made others rich. His wife Martha, however, resents his lack of drive, his complacency, his willingness to live hand-to-mouth, and his ever-present and ever-annoying sidekick Hanus Wicks. Confronted by the evidence of Martha's years-long regret over how their lives together have turned out, Stephen decides to use his newest invention to repair her unhappiness. The new invention: a time machine.
- DirectorJoseph LoseyStarsTopolEdward FoxColin BlakelyThis biopic is about Galileo Galilei, the seventeenth century Italian who laid the foundations of modern science. Galileo made himself one of the world's first telescopes and discovered the moons of Jupiter. He supported Copernicus' theory that the Earth revolved around the Sun. This brought him in conflict with the Catholic Church. By threatening him with torture, the Church forced him to recant his views in front of a tribunal, and sentenced him to house arrest. However, Galileo's trials and theories inspired others like Sir Isaac Newton and Johannes Kepler to prove that the Earth was not the center of the universe. Some years ago, the Pope accepted that Earth does revolve around the Sun and issued a rare apology for what the Church had done to Galileo. The Catholic Church recanted.
- DirectorLiliana CavaniStarsCyril CusackGeorgi KaloyanchevNikolay DoychevA humble scientist from Padua proves that the Earth revolves and that it is not the center of the universe. He has few supporters and many enemies. When Giordano Bruno dies a martyr's death, Galileo exclaims: "Science needs scientists, not martyrs!" In order to preserve his discovery and continue his research he tries to make peace with the church but does not succeed. Slandered and misunderstood by his contemporaries, Galileo suffers the tragic isolation of men of genius the importance of whose lifework is recognized only by subsequent generations.
- DirectorLukasz PalkowskiStarsTomasz KotPiotr GlowackiSzymon Piotr WarszawskiThe early career of cardiac surgeon Zbigniew Religa. Despite the harsh reality of 1980s Poland, he successfully leads a team of doctors to the country's first human heart transplantation.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsSigourney WeaverBryan BrownJulie HarrisThe story of Dian Fossey, a scientist who came to Africa to study the vanishing mountain gorillas, and later fought to protect them.
- DirectorPhilip MartinStarsBenedict CumberbatchMichael BrandonTom HodgkinsTheoretical physicist/cosmologist Stephen Hawking's life and search for the beginning of time (1963-6).
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsCurd JürgensVictoria ShawHerbert LomThe story of rocket scientist Dr. Werner von Braun's career, from the 1920s until the late 1950s.
- DirectorMatthew BroderickStarsMatthew BroderickPatricia ArquetteJeffrey ForceStory of the early life of genius and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJohnny DeppBenicio Del ToroTobey MaguireAn oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychedelic escapades.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyAlbert LewinStarsGreer GarsonWalter PidgeonHenry TraversDespite himself, accomplished physicist and avowed bachelor Pierre Curie falls for brilliant student Marie, and together they embark on the discovery of radium.
- DirectorRoger SpottiswoodeStarsDonal DonnellyDavid BurkePeter DvorskyA biography of the 18-century Viennese physician Franz Anton Mesmer, who used unorthodox healing practices based on his theory of "animal magnetism."
- DirectorDon McBreartyStarsKarl PrunerTyrone SavageKris LemcheAs Newton devotes himself to the difficult and solitary path of challenging the existing view of the universe, Humphrey wavers between pursuing science or following his heart.
- DirectorJoe JohnstonStarsJake GyllenhaalChris CooperLaura DernThe true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.
- DirectorJack GoldStarsJason RobardsGlenda JacksonNicol WilliamsonBiography of Russian physicist & dissident Andrei Sakharov focuses on his first acts in his civil rights movement to his receiving the Nobel Peace prize. Sakharov's actions first caused him to lose a senior party position, then half his salary, and finally completely being dismissed from his job and exiled to Gorky, an industrial city. When the Nobel prize is awarded, he is denied the trip to receive it. His wife was able to go there. Sakharov launched a lengthy hunger strike to protest his country's treatment of its people.
- DirectorDudley NicholsStarsRosalind RussellAlexander KnoxDean JaggerAn Australian nurse discovers an effective new treatment for infantile paralysis, but experiences great difficulty in convincing doctors of the validity of her claims.
- DirectorJoseph SargentStarsCliff McMullenYasiin BeyLuray CooperA dramatization of the relationship between heart surgery pioneers Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas.
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsBurt LancasterJean SimmonsArthur KennedyA fast-talking traveling salesman with a charming, loquacious manner convinces a sincere evangelist that he can be an effective preacher for her cause.
- DirectorStanley KramerStarsTony CurtisSidney PoitierCara WilliamsTwo chained-together escaped convicts, White and Black, must learn to get along in order to elude capture.
- DirectorMorten TyldumStarsBenedict CumberbatchKeira KnightleyMatthew GoodeDuring World War II, the English mathematical genius Alan Turing tries to crack the German Enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians while attempting to come to terms with his troubled private life.
- StarsBenedict CumberbatchAnamaria MarincaMax BeesleyBritain has been transformed into a security state. A mathematical genius's search for the truth about his brother's death catapults him into a conspiracy and a love affair.
- CreatorChuck LorreBill PradyStarsJohnny GaleckiJim ParsonsKaley CuocoA woman who moves into an apartment across the hall from two brilliant but socially awkward physicists shows them how little they know about life outside of the laboratory.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsRussell CroweAl PacinoChristopher PlummerA research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a 60 Minutes exposé on Big Tobacco.
- DirectorMatt BrownStarsDev PatelJeremy IronsMalcolm SinclairThe story of the life and academic career of the pioneer Indian mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan, and his friendship with his mentor, Professor G.H. Hardy.
- DirectorIrving CummingsStarsDon AmecheLoretta YoungHenry FondaThe story of how Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsPaul MuniJosephine HutchinsonAnita LouiseThe biography of the pioneering French microbiologist who helped revolutionize agriculture and medicine.
- DirectorPeter SegalStarsSteve CarellAnne HathawayAlan ArkinMaxwell Smart, a highly intellectual but bumbling spy working for the CONTROL agency, is tasked with preventing a terrorist attack from rival spy agency KAOS.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsCarl ReinerEva Marie SaintAlan ArkinWithout hostile intent, a Soviet submarine runs aground off New England. Men are sent for a boat, but many villagers go into a tizzy, risking bloodshed.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsMarilyn MonroeTony CurtisJack LemmonAfter two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsBette DavisAnne BaxterGeorge SandersA seemingly timid but secretly ruthless ingénue insinuates herself into the lives of an aging Broadway star and her circle of theater friends.
- DirectorJames MarshStarsEddie RedmayneFelicity JonesTom PriorStephen Hawking gets unprecedented success in the field of physics despite being diagnosed with motor neuron disease at the age of 21. He defeats awful odds as his first wife Jane aids him loyally.