What Are Some Modern Genius Movies for Inspiration?

[Howers]

Does anyone have those corny genius movies or ones where a student works really hard to succeed. Things like A Beautiful Mind and Good Will Hunting.

I'd likd some that are modern, ie. atleast made since 1990s and preferably 2000s.

I need some inspiration now is all =)

 

[waht]

Dark Matter (2008)

I've never seen it but supposedly it's good.

 

[B. Elliott]

I can't think of any in the 90's or past, but probably my favorite genius movie is the one about the real life savant, Kim Peek. 'Rain Man'

The other two are The Real Genius with Val Kilmer, and another one from the 80's that I haven't been able to find the name of since then. If I remember correctly it was about about a smart kid who went on to build a large-yield bomb just to see if he could. The government ended up coming after him with fairly dramatic ending. The only other thing I remember is that the design for the bomb looked like a soccerball... I also remember a young girl helping him with some of it. If anyone remembers it, please let me know!

 

[rewebster]

I can't think of any in the 90's or past, but probably my favorite genius movie is the one about the real life savant, Kim Peek. 'Rain Man'

The other two are The Real Genius with Val Kilmer, and another one from the 80's that I haven't been able to find the name of since then. If I remember correctly it was about about a smart kid who went on to build a large-yield bomb just to see if he could. The government ended up coming after him with fairly dramatic ending. The only other thing I remember is that the design for the bomb looked like a soccerball... I also remember a young girl helping him with some of it. If anyone remembers it, please let me know!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091472/


here's another 'genius' movie:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102316/usercomments

 

[B. Elliott]

That's it! Thanks rewebster. I think I kept getting it confused with the Philadelphia Experiment.

 

[berkeman]

Ditto on Real Genius. Fun movie, and not that far off from my undergrad days. LOL

I really like Amadeus -- don't know if you're looking for movies made recently, or about recent people.

I also like Searching for Bobby Fisher. It's a real story, BTW.

 

[Gokul43201]

Dark Matter (2008)

I've never seen it but supposedly it's good.

I've seen it and it's not. Well...you might be able to enjoy it if you don't actually work in physics.

 

[Howers]

Amadeus was good, but its not the kind of thing I'm looking for. I am looking for movies made relatively recently (1990-present), and about a math wiz. Stuff like 21 or Beautiful Mind. The reason I emphasize recent is because technology has made recent movies more entertaining. I love old movies, but I am not in the mood for them right now.

 

[B. Elliott]

Real Genius had lots of technology in it. It's what the movie was about.

 

[TR345]

"Proof"

This is a pretty good movie.

"A former student (Jake Gyllenhaal) of a recently deceased, brilliant mathematician (Anthony Hopkins) finds a notebook in his office containing a proof of an important theorem, but the mathematician's 27-year-old daughter (Gwyneth Paltrow) claims it is hers. The ensuing dispute is complicated by a burgeoning romance and signs that she may have inherited her father's mental illness."

 

[Howers]

Real Genius had lots of technology in it. It's what the movie was about.

I mean technology has made our movies more entertaining... higher quality sound and better visuals. I don't mean movies about technology.

 

[ehrenfest]

Does anyone have those corny genius movies or ones where a student works really hard to succeed.

I've never heard of a movie where anyone works really hard to succeed academically and they actually achieve success. Good Will Hunting and A Beautiful Mind are exactly the opposite of that and I think that is perhaps why people love them. Movie-goers don't actually want to see really smart people but not all the hard work it takes to become one.

 

[rewebster]

Does anyone have those corny genius movies or ones where a student works really hard to succeed. Things like A Beautiful Mind and Good Will Hunting.

I'd likd some that are modern, ie. atleast made since 1990s and preferably 2000s.

I need some inspiration now is all =)

he wasn't a student, but worked hard and succeeded:

ROCKY​

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

The First 20 Million is Always the Hardest is a recent (2002) cheesy tech geek movie in the vain of Real Genius.

 

[Lacy33]

and PI

 

[rewebster]

When I saw a re-run of "Infinity" a few years ago, I was really hoping it was going to be more about his earlier years, and seeing his 'thinking processes' develop. Instead it was more of a 'love story'.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116635/

 

[grant9076]

Contact (with Jodie Foster).

Also, here is an online video about someone who I consider to be a real life genius (although it is not something that you would see in a cinema).
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/162"

 

[DaveC426913]

I mean technology has made our movies more entertaining... higher quality sound and better visuals.

I completely disagree. I think the emphasis on technology has been at the expense of good writing. Producers these days are convinced that people will happily pay money to see all sorts of trash if it has enough sound and visuals to dazzle them. Unfortunately, the producers are right.

 

[binzing]

OK, the main character isn't a genius per se, but Radio is a great movie, very inspirational.

 

[sammy8761]

trainspotting, best film ever.

 

[Alienjoey]

Stand and Deliver wasn't bad, and it was a true story about a whole class working hard to succeed, though it was made in the late 1980s.

 

[B. Elliott]

I completely disagree. I think the emphasis on technology has been at the expense of good writing. Producers these days are convinced that people will happily pay money to see all sorts of trash if it has enough sound and visuals to dazzle them. Unfortunately, the producers are right.

I am there with you 100%. In my opinion, saying that one is better than the other, is exactly the same as saying a movie is better than the book it was originally based on. This may not always be the case, but more often than not you end up hearing the statement, "The book was so much better than the movie."

IMO, visual pyrotechnics and snazzy camera effects are nice, but they flat out can't compare to the human imagination. Books require more mental thought, more activity. Movies, for the most part, tend to deprive the brain of that bit of thought production and goes straight to the raw input.

 

[Chi Meson]

"Little Man Tate." Jodie Foster plays and average intelligence single mom to a super-genius kid.

 

[Howers]

I completely disagree. I think the emphasis on technology has been at the expense of good writing. Producers these days are convinced that people will happily pay money to see all sorts of trash if it has enough sound and visuals to dazzle them. Unfortunately, the producers are right.

No, I think movies today are better than ever. I am not saying technology is a substitute for a good story, as there are great classics I enjoy ever as far back as the 1940s. But a good story coupled with what technology can provide today makes for a very thrilling experience.

Right now, I am not in the mood for classic which requires a certain state of mind. I am in the mood for something a little more modern because I need inspiration. Unfortunately, your statement holds true. Look at Pirates of the Carribean...

Anyway, I'm not here to argue with what movies are good or bad. I've made a request as to what I want to see. I thank the posters who have given me suggestions above, I have already put some on the list.

 

[binzing]

Stand and Deliver wasn't bad, and it was a true story about a whole class working hard to succeed, though it was made in the late 1980s.

I know the main part of the movie, but is that the one where there's like one narcoleptic teacher who's always sleeping, and when they go int he teacher's lounge there's a teacher toying with a gun in her briefcase?

 

[TR345]

I completely disagree. I think the emphasis on technology has been at the expense of good writing. Producers these days are convinced that people will happily pay money to see all sorts of trash if it has enough sound and visuals to dazzle them. Unfortunately, the producers are right.

That is kinda the way I feel about video games now days.

 

[binzing]

What I think are stupid are books that get made into video games and vice versa (Tom Clancy, book to game, Halo, game to book anyone?)

 

[TR345]

I agree on that, but what is also bad is movies that get made into video games where you basically play out the movie. I bet they're fun for kids though.

 

[binzing]

To add on to my previous post about "Radio" I would have to say that Cuba Gooding Jr.'s character is a genius in the way he changes the small Southern town in the movie. Definitely a two thumbs up recommendation on this movie.

 

[Zantra]

Searching for Bobby Fischer

and I think "Piano" was in the gifted/talented vane, though I never saw it.

But I'd like to point out that there really ARE no movies about really intelligent people who worked hard and succeded. What we have are a ton of movies about wickedly smart loosers wasting their lives in some mudane lifestyle that they've acclimated themselves to in some vain attempt to deny their blatantly obvious and sick gifts, until some event changes their lives and smacks them a few times to remind them of this fact, so they can fulfill their destiny and impress the mediocre crowd surrounding them, including their obviously outmatched and unwitting supposed mentors,

Did I not just vaguely describe every movie mentioned in this thread so far?

I bet someone could write a program with the with an algorithm for this genre and churn out the next summer blockbuster randomly.

Personally, I'd love to know where's the movie about the the average C student who studies his butt off and becomes a doctor, or the smart guy who knows it, does what he's supposed to, fulfills his destiny, then gets bored after 5 years of doing his dream job because it sucks.

because that's real life

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Personally, I'd love to know where's the movie about the the average C student who studies his butt off and becomes a doctor, or the smart guy who knows it, does what he's supposed to, fulfills his destiny, then gets bored after 5 years of doing his dream job because it sucks.

because that's real life

There are several movies about kids that were not doing well in school and started studying harder and got better grades. Most of them center around the teacher that was their inspiration.

And I can think of at least a few movies about people who had the "perfect life" and decided it sucked.

 

[_Muddy_]

what are "genius movies"?

 

[Darkiekurdo]

Movies involving geniuses.

 

[Howers]

So far I've watched Real Genius and Pi.

Real Genius was more comedic than anything else. A little bit too gimmickly and make-believe =)

Pi was pretty cool, but got bizarre near the end.

Next up is "Searching for Bobby Fischer", Little Man Tate, and Proof. After that I'll re-read the thread for more. I prefer the more serious one.


Again, my thanks for the reccommendations.

 

[stevebd1]

The following contains possible spoilers for 'Dark Matter'

I know this is a bit of an old post but I recently saw 'Dark Matter' and felt compelled to add to this thread. 'Dark Matter' is ok and rambles along quite nicely for about an hour or so but the ending had me shaking my head as the change in tone was too swift and there was no real indication that he was in this much trouble. While the director said the film is only based loosely on true events and that he made the film to demonstrate the pressure that Chinese students sometimes feel, I think the shift in tone could have been done better (especially after his end of year presentation which seemed like a wasted opportunity and the possible turning point in the quality of the movie for me) but I would still say the film is worth a watch. It was interesting to see Meryl Streep having dark matter explained to her, even if it was in a very watered down form, and Adran Quinn was good also.

Proof which has been mentioned is also worth a look and another film not mentioned is Primer (which you could loosely describe as being a film about hard working genii(?))which I would recommend and I guarantee will have you scratching your head at about the 1 hour mark, and will require a second viewing.

Steve

 

[cti97]

What about "Good Will Hunting"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119217/

 

[Jack21222]

The main characters in Primer could almost be considered "geniuses." They were engineers at any rate.

The plot will make your head hurt, though.

 

[Pr0x1mo]

The main characters in Primer could almost be considered "geniuses." They were engineers at any rate.

The plot will make your head hurt, though.

The Director of the movie Primer, Shane Carruth, is actually a mathematician. He quit his job to teach himself film for 3 years, got 7k, and voila, made the beauty of what is Primer.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

The Wizard

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

The Wizard

You mean the one with Fred Savage? lol

 

[qspeechc]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned October Sky. About small town high school nerds in the 50s who have a passion for building rockets. I don't want to give a review cos I might give away too much.

 

[powerflow]

Torn Curtain (Hitchcock!): A Western physicist is missing one piece of the problem. There is one person in the world who solved it, but he's a scientist from Eastern Germany. So the Western guy tries to find him and trick him into showing him the trick.

There is also an interesting movie I remember, but I can't think of the title. It is about a young black student who loves writing. One day, he loses his backpack to some writer who has himself enclosed and fears the outside world. The writer corrects his stories. So the young guy starts frequenting the writer's house, they become friends, the writer becomes more human etc. What's the name of this one?

 

[Amar.alchemy]

Rudy - not a science movie but definitely an inspirational movie