There’s nothing like a movie with great physics, if you can manage to understand the subject. For all the physics geeks out there, here is a great list of movies with good and very bad examples of the many different laws of physics.

1. October Sky – This feel good movie about boys launching their own rockets examines the notion of freefall in detail. And, obviously, this rocket-racing movie gets into many juicy projectile motion details.
2. Apollo 13 – Speaking of rockets, any NASA-loving physics nerd will dig Apollo 13’s explorations of trajectory, lift-off, and retro rockets. As an added bonus, it explores life (and death) in space, such as how much of a threat the cold of space becomes to the trapped astronauts.
3. Infinity – If you like your physics with a side of war, this bio of Manhattan Project scientist Richard Feynman explores the nature of nuclear power and weaponry. Along the way, the movie examines tuberculosis, on a personal as well as a scientific level.
4. Stargate – Fans of wormhole theory will obviously enjoy this movie, which focuses on a stable wormhole leading to an Egypt-like alien planet. This leads to juicy physics matters of all stripes, from matter transmission issues to energy consumption and, of course, black holes.
5. Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives – If you like the idea of alternate universes but think that quantum physics as a whole is a bit dense (no pun intended), this story of a rock singer trying to understand his quantum physics father is right up your alley. It provides a great stepping stone to those really simple topics, such as quantum immortality.
6. Deep Impact – This movie lets you ponder your own science solutions—what would be the best way to blow up a comet streaking towards earth? And as the comet streaks closer, it provides a great opportunity to ponder velocity, mass, and…well…impact.
7. Armageddon – The flip side of Deep Impact, Armageddon is a movie that explores physics with the accuracy and delicate touch that only Michael Bay provides. Ponder, if you dare, the earth-like gravity of the asteroid, shuttles landing on the asteroid, and the sci-fi favorite—prolonged explosions in the airless vacuum of space.
8. Star Wars – While your lightsaber isn’t real (yet), there’s much physics fun to be had in a galaxy far, far away. These include the twin suns of Tatooine and the asteroid fields in both A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back.
9. Star Trek – While the sexy Abrams reboot of the ailing Trek franchise is a wild ride, it’s not too accurate for the physics fans in the audience. You’ll have to take for granted supernovas able to destroy galaxies, black holes defying most scientific conventions, and some problematic time travel.
10. Wanted – Here’s another movie that’s fun for physics fans in a “bring your own beer” kind of way. It asks you to take for granted the ability to bend bullets around obstacles, that you can shoot just the wings off a fly, and other action-y items so wild that even Keanu would say “whoa.”
11. The Abyss – If you like deep sea physics, this film has all of the boats, missiles, and oil platforms you’ll need to sea-geek out. As an added bonus, you can ponder the motives and realism of aliens (if that’s really what they are).
12. Contact – Considering that the movie was adapted from the book—itself penned by award-winning astronomer and astrochemist Carl Sagan—you’ve got a good visual tour de physics force. The focus of the movie is on the implications that alien contact (or perhaps it’s a message from God) would have for science and religion, as well as notions of math being a truly universal language.
13. The Day the Earth Stood Still – For the technically-minded physicist, it’s a pleasant mental challenge to figure out how Klaatu shut down electrical and mechanical powers. The laser beam hands and ability to channel life energy from cars into cops is also a decent puzzler.
14. 2001: A Space Odyssey – In addition to being a great movie, this Kubrick classic allows the physics lover a chance to observe realistic ship rotations in space and the effects of the vacuum of space on a body. It doesn’t hurt that this is one sci-fi movie that won’t make you cringe with noises in the vacuum of space.
15. The Right Stuff – For aeronautics geeks of all stripe, this movie about supersonic aircraft and Mercury space flights is your ticket to ride. This history-minded movie also delves into many of the technological elements of the space race.
16. The Harry Potter Series – Once realism lovers get over magical powers and mystical creatures, there’s a lot of physics fun to be had with Harry Potter. Figuring out wands alone—and the nature and frequency of the energy traveling through them—can leave one dizzy.
17. The Matrix – The Matrix mixes physics and metaphysics into one heady cocktail. The notion that sheer faith can allow you to defy gravity and dodge bullets is something that theologians and physics professors can dish about together.
18. Spiderman 2 – The web crawler’s high-flying exploits are like a physics word problem brought to glorious life. It brings up questions regarding how Spidey moves so much faster than cars, how his webs instantly attach to walls no matter how far away or fast he’s going, and other conundrums.
19. Gattaca – This movie expands upon the ideas in Brave New World, illustrating what the ethical problems would be in a world of liberal eugenics. Of particular note to science lovers is the use of genetic information as, essentially, a fake ID—a chilling portrait of the future.
20. The Terminator – Ah-nold’s opus is a movie with surprisingly decent physics. Even after the less-crazy-than-other-examples of time travel, it remains one of more realistic action movies, with realistic vehicles and weaponry. Well, minus that one exploding car.
21. The Astronaut Farmer – This heart-warming story of an aerospace engineer turned farmer turned would be astronaut explores, in mostly realistic terms, the notion of a DIY space shuttle. It does ask you to take certain things for granted, such as homemade rocket fuel and the notion that Billy Bob’s wife and children wouldn’t throw him into the nuthouse.
22. Cube 2: Hypercube – This cult-classic sequel actually represents a physics buffet for viewers. There is the quantum physics that sets off the plot, which involves time-travel, alternative realities, and unexpected gravity changes, not to mention plot points that bring in even more theoretical physics.
23. Solaris – While this movie does ask you to accept sound in space and earth-like gravity on other planets as a constant, it remains a fun sci-fi romp. It offers explorations of what identity is, how we construct meaning, and other such heady notions.
24. Back to the Future Series – Back to the Future is a series embodying physics made fun. It lightly examines time-travel, the notion of alternate realities, the theoretical workings of a hoverboard, and much more.
25. Goldeneye – The first Brosnan Bond outing has its share of physics conundrums. These include the ability to catch up to a falling plane (by jumping over a cliff, of course), the realism of an electro-magnetic pulse being used as a weapon, and the realism of literally being killed with the thighs of Famke Janssen.

Run to the local movie rental place and check out some of the movies on the list to analyze just how spectacular or ridiculous the physics in the movie come together. Afterwards you may feel more intelligent and slightly nerdy, but results aren’t guaranteed. Hey, we just all can’t be rocket scientists, you know.