One of the most popular subjects for people to learn about is math. But sometimes the only way to understand it is to watch other people do it. The following five movies are perfect for anyone who wants to be amazed by the wonders of numbers. These movies will make you think and question what you know about math. While they are perfect for math nerds, they’re also great for anyone with a curious mind.
Moneyball
Moneyball is a 2011 American sports drama film. The movie is about the Oakland Athletics, a baseball team in the American League West Division of Major League Baseball during the 2002 season. It was written and directed by Bennett Miller and stars Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, and Kevin Costner. The film follows general manager Billy Beane (Pitt) as he tries to assemble a competitive team that can win despite being severely undervalued in terms of conventional baseball thinking. To do so he uses statistical analysis to evaluate players’ performance on the field and then hires Peter Brand (Hill), an Ivy League-educated MIT math whiz who has never played professional baseball before. The movie gained the approval of notorious film critic Roger Ebert, who wrote in his review of the film: “This is really a movie about business. None of the individual players have major roles. The drama all happens in the mind of a general manager and his numbers guy. They bet against tradition and in favor of numerical analysis. That goes against a century of baseball history, although for all of those years, fans have thumbed through their baseball almanacs and issued mind-numbing statistical theories on talk shows. What the numbers crunchers demonstrated is that a computer can assemble a team better than human instinct.”
Fermat’s Room
Fermat’s Room is a Spanish movie for anyone interested in watching geniuses do puzzle-solving and complex math. In this thriller movie, three mathematicians and an inventor find themselves trapped in a room. Hosted by a mysterious figure named “Fermat,” the four have to solve puzzles to escape the room they are trapped in. The four people — played by Alejo Sauras, Elena Ballesteros, Santi Millan, and Lluis Homar — are very intelligent and well educated. They are also very different from each other in their personalities as well as their interests. The only thing they have in common is their ability for extraordinary critical thinking. The movie naturally follows these four people as they work together. Den of Geeks‘ review of the film noted: “The film succeeds in drawing in the audience: you find yourself trying to solve the puzzles and looking for clues at every turn – it does not matter if you’re a mathematical whiz or not. You start making mental notes of everything and try to find a link with all the clues, which means everything is a potential clue.”
Hidden Figures
Hidden Figures is a 2016 film about three African-American women who played a vital role in NASA’s early years. It was directed by Theodore Melfi and stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe. The story details the lives of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson from their time at Hampton Institute in Virginia to their careers at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. They were all part of a team that put together the world’s first human computer program to help launch astronaut John Glenn into orbit around Earth on Feb. 20, 1962. Hidden Figures has received numerous accolades following its release including nominations for Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Original Score at the 89th Academy Awards. It won two Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actress (Octavia Spencer) and Best Original Score (John Williams).
A Beautiful Mind
Real-life mathematician John Nash was an American who had a genius mind. He developed a new way to solve complex problems and was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1994 for his work on game theory. In 2001, a biography about him was published, titled A Beautiful Mind, written by Sylvia Nassar, which later became a film directed by Ron Howard in early 2001. John Nash’s life story is not just about the struggles of being a genius, but also about the struggles of mental illness. The film explores the unique relationship between Nash and his wife Alicia Nash and how they managed to persevere. The Independent Critics‘ review of the movie took note of a few issues with the movie, but ultimately concluding that it is a movie worth watching: “Minor script issues aside, “A Beautiful Mind” is a wonderful film about a brilliant man. Director Ron Howard and scriptwriter Akiva Goldman have worked together to craft one of history’s best films dealing with the subject of mental illness, and while I may not be convinced it warranted its “Best Picture” win at the Oscars it, nevertheless, remains a beautiful film and a must-see for fans of truly great American dramas based upon the life of one of America’s truly great, occasionally tragic, but ultimately triumphant figures.”
The Imitation Game
The Imitation Game is about mathematician, cryptanalyst, and computer scientist Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), who played a key role in cracking Nazi Germany’s Enigma code during World War II. In 1943, Turing confessed to being a homosexual, which was frowned upon during the time, and was prosecuted for “gross indecency.” After his conviction, he underwent chemical castration. Before his death, he helped save millions of lives. This movie tells the story of how he did so, and what it has meant for history ever since. The Guardian‘s review of the movie emphasized Benedict Cumberbatch’s masterful performance: “With such an alienated antihero it would be easy for The Imitation Game to fall into either arch chilliness or mechanical contrivance. Plaudits, then, to Cumberbatch for making his protagonist complex rather than just complicated. While the lines of the film are bold, clear and concise, Cumberbatch keeps Turing’s true motives and emotions so enigmatically concealed that at one point you wonder whether he really is a Soviet spy. Top marks, too, to rising star Alex Lawther, who is quite brilliant as the young Alan, perfectly paving the way for the tortured insularity of Cumberbatch’s performance.”
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