I wasn’t much of a fan of science at school; to be honest, a lot of it went over my head. However these days I find myself getting quite excited scientific endeavors such as NASA’s Curiosity Rover on Mars, or watching my son program a Lego robot. This week, Rialto Channel’sDouble Exposure documentary series features a couple of thought provoking science documentaries that have piqued my interest. Particle Fever offers an accessible and insiders look CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, and Pandora’s Promise explores the role nuclear power might play in powering our planet in the future. If only science had been this interesting when I was at school…
I wasn’t much of a fan of science at school; to be honest, a lot of it went over my head. However these days I find myself getting quite excited scientific endeavors such as NASA’s Curiosity Rover on Mars, or watching my son program a Lego robot. This week, Rialto Channel’s Double Exposure documentary series features a couple of thought provoking science documentaries that have piqued my interest. Particle Fever offers an accessible and insiders look CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, and Pandora’s Promise explores the role nuclear power might play in powering our planet in the future. If only science had been this interesting when I was at school…
Here are my picks for the week.
Saturday 10th October 8.30pm… The F Word
Over the last few years, Daniel Radcliffe has worked hard to shake off his reputation as a boy wizard producing some fine performances in films such as Kill Your Darlings, and this Canadian romantic comedy The F Word. Here, he’s rather adorable as Wallace, a med school dropout burnt by a relationship gone wrong who can’t seem to move on. That’s until he meets Chantry (Zoe Kazan), and even though Chantry has a long-term boyfriend, the two become best friends. The chemistry between Radcliffe and Kazan is fabulous, screenwriter Elan Mastai’s lines are witty and sharp, and the use of illustration throughout gives this age old exploration of whether men and women can just be friends, a nice edge. Michael Dowse, who is better known for making more visceral and profane films such as Goon and FUBAR, directs this sophisticated comedy that’s based on the play Toothpaste and Cigars. Don’t be put off by the rom-com genre, Dowse has successfully created a perfect date night film, one that will appeal to both men and women.
Thursday 15th October, 8.30pm … Particle Fever
We’ve all heard of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider and its role in the search for the mysterious Higgs boson or “God particle” that would potentially explain the origin of all matter. But exactly what it is, how it works and the full significance of this experiment has always eluded me - until now. Even the most science averse viewer will be able to get their head around this massive experiment that involves over 10,000 scientists from 100 countries. The Hadron Collider accelerator is the largest man made machine on earth, and the most expensive experiment in the history of the planet. There’s plenty at stake here, and Particle Fever plays out a little like a thriller. Physicist turned filmmaker Mark Levinson started following this project in 2006, and he doesn’t just give you a front row seat to the nerve wracking first time the Collider is turned on in 2010, but gives this experiment a human touch by following six brilliant scientists during the launch. Their enthusiasm, excitement and apprehension is contagious, it’s through them we witness the gentle competitiveness between ‘theorists’ and ‘experimentalists’, and how the results of this experiment will most likely rewrite the physics books, making decades of their research and work redundant. As gorgeously geeky as this eclectic bunch of people are, they’re also super cool. Curious, collaborative, passionate and intelligent, much to my amazement, meeting these rock stars of the science world has meant I find myself googling for the latest news from CERN. Who would have ever thought…
Friday 16th October, 8.30pm …Pandora’s Promise
The introduction of this film about nuclear power goes to some extent to make you aware of the fact that the people in this film talking about the benefits and positive aspects of nuclear power, were once upon a time very much against it. It’s a clever narrative technique that works to convince the viewer that it’s OK to change your mind – especially if you have all the information. And, that’s essentially what Pandora’s Promise aims to do – give you that information to shake up your perceptions on nuclear power. More interestingly though, it looks beyond the pros and cons of nuclear power to ask the fascinating question; how do we continue to power modern civilization without destroying it. The film is shot in a conventional manner and the ‘talking heads’ in this film aren’t quite as engaging as those in Particle Fever, however, this 2013 documentary by filmmaker Robert Stone does a very good job of making you stop and think about a pressing and important issue that affects us all.