JoinBlick on Flicks
The latest (and final) Blick on Flicks: The End of Something: Blick on Flicks Looks Back
We all love watching movies. But we also love science. And sometimes the two don't mix!
To help us sort the good science from the bad in movies and other visual media, Jacob Clark Blickenstaff, PhD, provides expert commentary, pointing out where the physics is stretched, the chemistry fudged, or the biology twisted on behalf of the story—without losing sight of the fact that movies are meant to entertain.
Jacob helps turn "bad science" into teachable science for middle level and high school students.
Blick on Flicks was a regular column in NSTA Reports. Here is a handy list of previously published reviews:
- Onward: Pixar's Tribute to Dungeons and Dragons (2020.05.05): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Science Podcasts in the Classroom (2020.04.13): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Space Science and Troop Zero (2020.02.10): Read the review | Listen to it!
- The Pollinators: A Different Kind of Bee Movie (2020.01.24): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Aurora and Elements in Frozen II (2019.12.12): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Ad Astra, Per Aspera (2019.10.28): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Probability and Topology in Avengers: Endgame (2019.09.13): Read the review | Listen to it!
- The Lion King, Version 2 (2019.08.15): Read the review | Listen to it!
- A Trip to the Moon: Apollo 11 (2019.06.14): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Building With What You Have: The Boy Who Harnassed the Wind (2019.04.17): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Taking a Closer Look at Science Fair (2019.03.20): Read the review | Listen to it!
- It's the End of the World, Yet Again (2019.02.20): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Mary Poppins Returns (2019.01.28): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Incredibles 2 (2018.12.14): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Rampaging Genetics (2018.10.19): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Biology, Physics, and Black Panther (2018.09.20): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Ready Player One: All Hail Pop Culture (2018.08.15): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Lost in Space (2018.06.19): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Science in the Backyard Wilderness (2018.04.25): Read the review | Listen to it!
- A Wrinkle in Time (2018.03.28): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Coco: Music and Memory (2018.02.22): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Downsizing: Global Thinking on a Small Scale (2018.01.30): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Science and Engineering on the Orient Express (2018.01.09): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Leap-ing into Science (2017.10.26): Read the review | Listen to it!
- The Princess Bride—30 Years Later (2017.09.26): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Wonder Woman Applies Energy and Pressure to Save the World (2017.09.12): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Everything, Everything (2017.06.27): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Kong: Skull Island (2017.04.21): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Dream Big to Share the Creativity and Compassion of Engineers (2017.03.22): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Revealing Hidden Figures (2017.02.22): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Faster Than a Tornado? (2017.01.30): Read the review | Listen to it!
- International Cooperation: Good for Science and Science Fiction (2016.12.21): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Blending Art, Science, and Fantasy in Star Wars (2016.10.24): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Summer Olympics: Higher, Faster, Farther (2016.09.30): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Ghostbusters Return With 21st-Century Look (2016.08.24): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Our Beautiful Planet, as Seen From the ISS (2016.06.16): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Mythbusters—The End (2016.04.25): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Seeing the Future in Minority Report (2016.03.22): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Finding Science in Labyrinth (2016.02.22): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Inside Out (2016.01.21): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Deeds, Not Words: Science and Suffragette Survives Through Science (2015.12.18): Read the review | Listen to it!
- The Martian Survives Through Science (2015.11.03): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Pacific Rim: Big 'Bots Battle Beasts (2015.09.24): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Ant-Man Saves the World with Biology (2015.08.28): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Before Minions Arrive, Consider the Science of Despicable Me 2 (2015.07.28): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Playing Fast and Furious with Physics (2015.06.17): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Scorpion Stung by Weak Science (2015.04.23): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Particle Fever: In Search of the Higgs Boson (2015.04.07): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Here Be Boxtrolls: Cubes, Allergies, and Medicinal Leeches (2015.02.26): Read the review | Listen to it!
- The Imitation Game: A Riddle Wrapped in the Mystery Called Enigma (2015.01.20): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Kick Off the New Year with a Trip Through Time (2014.12.30): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Interstellar: Time is Relative (2014.11.07): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Finding Your Way To Science in The Maze Runner (2014.10.21): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Madagascar: Land of Leaping Lemurs! (2014.09.15): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Apes Together Strong: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014.08.13): Read the review | Listen to it!
- 12 Years a Slave (2014.07.18): Read the review | Listen to it!
- The Avengers Return (2014.06.03): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Crystallizing the Science in Frozen (2014.05.05): Read the review | Listen to it!
- The Monuments Men: Stealing Back Art Stolen in WWII (2014.04.02): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Science and the Winter Olympics (2014.03.24): Read the review | Listen to it!
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2014.02.14): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Legendary Science in Grimm (2014.01.15): Read the review | Listen to it!
- The True Gravity of the Situation (2013.12.02): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Animal Electricity: What If Frankenstein's Monster Had Been a Dog? (2013.10.15): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Video Games and the Physics Engines that Drive Them (2013.09.15): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Dinosaurs! In 3D! (2013.07.15): Read the review | Listen to it!
- The Magic of STEM: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013.05.15): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Saturn's Embrace: Discoveries from the Cassini/Huygens Mission (2013.04.15): Read the review | Listen to it!
- On the Fringe (2013.02.25): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Finding Science Amid Misery (2013.01.17): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Bond's Latest: Skyfall (2012.12.12): Read the review | Listen to it!
- When Did the Lights Go Out? (2012.10.31): Read the review | Listen to it!
- The Woman in Black (2012.09.25): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Ask Blick (2012.08.29): Read the review | Listen to it!
- No Fate But What You Make (2012.07.19): Read the review | Listen to it!
- The Avengers Assemble Math and Science Concepts (2012.07.02): Read the review | Listen to it!
- In the Jungle with Oscar the Chimpanzee (2012.06.14): Read the review | Listen to it!
- A Blend of Old and New Technology in The Hunger Games (2012.04.16): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Some Bones to Pick With This Show (2012.03.19): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Recalling Super 8 Film (2012.03.01): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Holmes and Watson Can Get There From Here: Transportation in A Game of Shadows (2012.02.07): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Comic Science: Biology, Geography, and Physics on the Funny Pages (2012.01.05): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Transformers: More Action, Less Science Than Meets the Eye (2011.12.14): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Can You Find the Science Tonight? Animal Physiology in The Lion King (2011.11.09): Read the review | Listen to it!
- A Taste for Science: Good Eats in the Classroom (2011.10.04): Read the review | Listen to it!
- The A-Team Doesn't Earn an "A" in Physics (2011.09.20): Read the review | Listen to it!
- The Big Bang Theory Effect (2011.06.17): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Still Relevant: Gattaca at 14 (2011.04.18): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Megamind—The Fittest Survive (2011.03.25): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Stammering and the Science of Sound in The King's Speech (2011.02.09): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Haber: Ethics in the Laboratory (2011.01.21): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Muggle or Wizard? Science in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1) (2010.12.17): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Retired and Extremely Devoted to MythBusters (2010.11.14): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Inspiration on the Rugby Field: The Science of Invictus (2010.10.05): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Opening a Pandora's Box of Science Problems in Avatar (2010.09.10): Read the review | Listen to it!
- High-Voltage Science in The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010.08.13): Read the review | Listen to it!
- To College and Beyond? Science in Toy Story 3 (2010.07.13): Read the review | Listen to it!
- If I Could Turn Back Time: Physics in The Prince of Persia (2010.06.18): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Finding Science in Dragon Training (2010.05.19): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Here Comes They Might Be Giants (2010.04.16): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Successful Science Fiction in Moon (2010.03.12): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Careful Science Ignored: Forensics and Police Procedurals (2010.02.16): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Sherlock Holmes: A Study of Science (2010.01.20): Read the review | Listen to it!
- A Reboot for Star Trek Science (2009.12.11): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Amelia and the Physics of Flight (2009.11.06): Read the review | Listen to it!
- The Old Song and Dance: Physics and the Remake of Fame (2009.10.09): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Aliens Teach Humanity in District 9 (2009.09.02): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Bringing Hollywood Science to School (2009.08.12): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Don’t Try This at Home: Mythbusters in the Science Classroom (2009.07.07): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Pixar is Up to Something Good (2009.06.08): Read the review | Listen to it!
- A Hollywood Solution to a Viral Problem (2009.05.11): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Monsters vs. Aliens: Classic Sci-Fi in 3D (2009.04.10): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Pushing the Limits (2009.03.16): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Nuking the Fridge, Odd Magnetism, and Issues with Inertia in The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2009.02.18): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Advanced Cartoon Physics: Lessons from WALL-E (2009.01.15): Read the review | Listen to it!
- The Physics of Vampire Baseball (2008.12.11): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Physics and Batman: A Troubled Relationship (2008.11.21): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Under Pressure: Jimmy Choo and Body Image in The Devil Wears Prada (2008.10.24): Read the review | Listen to it!
- Microbial David vs. Alien Goliath (2008.09.12): Read the review | Listen to it!
- A Journey to the Center of the Earth, or How Low Can You Go? (2008.08.01): Read the review | Listen to it!
- One Happening Science Teacher (2008.06.23)
- Nim’s (Fantasy) Island (2008.04.28)
- A Scientific Approach to Surviving a Zombie Attack (2008.03.31)
- Jumping to the Wrong Conclusions (2008.02.26)
Jacob Clark Blickenstaff is a Learning Designer with AVID based in Seattle, Washington. He can be reached at jclarkblickenstaff@outlook.com.
Background track: Ghostly-delay remix by Timbre of Erokia's Freesound #425081.