Hollywood Science: Movies, Science, and the End of the World, by Sidney Perkowitz, was reviewed in Nature last week (450, 481-482; 2007) by Emma Marris. From the review:

“Perkowitz’s book is an affectionate examination of dozens of science-fiction films. If you don’t want endings spoiled, avoid this book. Detailed plot summaries alternate with short, layman-level explanations of the research behind such staples as asteroids hitting Earth, computers taking over, atomic holocausts and alien invasions.”

A list of the “five best and five worst” films from the book, together with links to their Internet Movie Database entries, can be found at this article in Discover magazine. I’m glad that Contact was included, not so much for the scientific credibility of the movie, but because of Jodie Foster’s portrayal of a scientist — a relatively normal person, compared with the megalomaniac, mutating, mass-conspiratorial or paranoid stereotype.