Best movie event

Published on Tuesday 31 March 2009 19:34

1. MATHS AT THE MOVIES: THE OXFORD MURDERS, Filmhouse, 7 April, 5:45pm to 7:55pm, ages 15+, £6.30/£4.70 conc In this 2008 thriller, an Oxford University mathematician (played by John Hurt) and his postgraduate student (played by Elijah Wood) try to stop a serial killer by deciphering his mathematical symbols.

Along the way, they debate and reference several mathematical and philosophical concepts, including Heisenberg's principle of uncertainty and the Pythagoreans.

2. MATHS AT THE MOVIES: 21, Filmhouse, 9 April, 5:45pm to 8:05pm, ages 15+, 6.30/4.70 conc Based on a true story and a subsequent book, this film tells the tale of six maths students from MIT in Boston who are trained by their professor (played by Kevin Spacey) to count cards while playing blackjack in order to win their course fees. As greed takes over and they follow an increasingly dangerous path, will the group beat the odds as they take on the Las Vegas casinos?

3. MATHS AT THE MOVIES: N IS A NUMBER, Filmhouse, 16 April, 5:45pm to 7:45pm, ages 15+, 6.30/4.70 conc A documentary portrait of a man with no home and no job filmed over a four-year period between 1988 and 1991. Born in Hungary, Paul Erds was the most prolific mathematician who ever lived, writing or co-authoring 1,000 papers before he died in 1996. He inspired generations of mathematicians with his insight and humour.

4: MATHS AT THE MOVIES: RATATOUILLE – PIXAR SPECIAL EVENT, Filmhouse, 14 April, 2:30pm to 4:45pm, 4.80/3.20 conc Organised by the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences, this special screening of the Pixar movie Ratatouille will be preceded by a short introduction from Pixar's very own David Baraff who will describe the mathematical modelling used in the animation process.

The film itself tells the story of Remy, a Paris rat who dreams of becoming a gourmet chef in a five-star restaurant, despite the obvious challenges. The animation is sumptuous and the story heartwarming.

5: NATURE TECH – EPISODE 1 THE MAGIC OF MOTION, Edinburgh Zoo, 6 April, 3pm to 4pm, 6/4 conc The work of natural history film-maker John Capener, this hour-long documentary shows us how exciting developments in computer technology, physics and chemistry are helping us to understand the design's of nature like never before. The Magic of Motion covers nature's winning high-speed, long-range and all terrain motion designs such as Germany's recent tuna-fish sonic jet.