NeuroPsyFi


The Brain Science Behind the Movies

  • Home
  • Credits
    • About Mary Spiers
  • Behind the Scenes
    • BrainResources
    • For Writers and Film Makers >
      • The Writer's Brain Lab Blog
    • For Teachers
  • Reviews
  • Movies

Inside Out

9/8/2017

1 Comment

 
Picture
Teacher's Guide to Inside Out
​When an 11-year old girl is uprooted to move with her parents, the cartoon character emotions in her mind must figure out how to work together to guide her through this difficult transition.

​Riley is thrown for a loop when she and her parents move from Minnesota to San Francisco. Five primary emotions – happiness (joy), anger, disgust, sadness, and fear – appear as cartoon characters within Riley Andersen’s mind (“headquarters”). The emotions must figure out how to work together to guide her through this difficult transition. When Joy and Sadness get lost in Riley’s mind, Anger, Fear and Disgust are left to navigate Riley’s new experiences. Joy and Sadness finally return after their adventures through various aspects of Riley's memory, sleep and dreams.


Neuropsychological Review
Inside Out of Memory and Emotions
By Victoria A. Grunberg, M.S.

Inside Out
(2015) is an entertaining cartoon film that demonstrates the emotional complexity and development of an 11-year old girl, Riley Andersen, as she experiences the stress of moving across the country with her parents and adjusting to a new school and new friends. From a neuropsychological perspective, the movie demonstrates several facts regarding the impact of emotions on memory, how sleep is related to memory consolidation, and the role of emotions for interpersonal functioning. This film appeals to all ages, and could be used to open discussions with children regarding emotions, challenging situations, and how to cope.  

Read More
1 Comment

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

5/24/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
​After suffering from a catastrophic stroke the charismatic, jovial and artistic editor of a world-renowned French magazine adapts to a life of immobility, speechlessness and impaired sight. 

Jean-Dominique Bauby, the editor of a fashion publication, suddenly finds his world turned upside down. While driving in the picturesque countryside, he suffers a catastrophic stroke that will change the rest of his life. The movie follows Jean’s journey in a rehabilitation center as he faces daily struggles to retain his individuality, solely, through the communication of one eye. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly provides unique insight, through a first-person view, of the pain, sorrow and joy experienced by a patient suffering from locked-in syndrome.
Neuropsychological Review
Trapped in my Mind
Justin W. White

Cognitively alert, you can think, you can see, but you can’t move a thing, and as a result, you are unable to communicate through verbal or motor means, effectively placing a human being in a tomb of flesh (Kobert, 2008). This unimaginable experience is the stark reality for patients who experience a condition known as ‘locked-in syndrome.’ In The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (based on the book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death by Jean Dominique Bauby), Mathieu Amalric plays the role of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the editor of a trendy French magazine who suddenly experiences a stroke (cerebrovascular accident, CVA)​.

Read More
0 Comments

Concussion

10/6/2016

1 Comment

 
Picture
A neuropathologist battles the NFL after discovering a link between football and a newly discovered degenerative brain disease, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

​Dr. Bennett Omalu, a Nigerian born neuropathologist and medical examiner, makes a startling discovery when asked to examine the brain of a former NFL player. Omalu discovers what he believes to be a neurodegenerative disease responsible for the mood swings, depression, intense headaches and unstable behavior he exhibited before he died. Through more examinations of former NFL players Omalu names this disease Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Omalu is determined to inform the public about the long term health risks associated with playing football. despite resistance from the NFL.
Neuropsychological Review
CTE: The brain disease that is changing the NFL
Timothy J. Grillo

​Concussion depicts Dr. Bennett Omalu’s efforts to identify what was causing former NFL players to exhibit signs of psychosis and dementia. Omalu, a neuropathologist is staggered when he analyzes a former player’s brain. He was expecting to see an ugly degraded brain, like the brain of someone suffering Alzheimer’s disease, but to his surprise the brain of former Pittsburg Steeler Mike Webster looked different (Kirk, 2013). 


Read More
1 Comment

BenX

10/6/2016

2 Comments

 
Picture
An Autistic boy finds himself at the butt of most jokes in his school until he utilizes his online gaming skills in order to seek courage and revenge.

Ben is a young high school student who falls on the Autism Spectrum Scale. Because he is different, many students find it acceptable to pick and bully Ben. Consequently, he finds himself disassociating during these traumatic experiences and honing in on his online video game persona. Through his process of gaming, Ben builds a relationship with a girl coined his “helper”. His      helper assists him in building not only courage in standing up for his rights but revenge on the bullies.


Neuropsychological Review
Behind the Eyes of a Boy With Autism
Lisa Vallone

BenX is a heart-wrenching tale regarding an Autistic boy who has Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). While Ben is known as somewhat of a social pariah, he excels in learning, his store of knowledge, and most importantly, video gaming.  Due to his social differences, Ben finds himself the victim of many merciless pranks at the hands of school bullies. At school Ben is different, but online he is just as good, if not better, than any other player.
​

Read More
2 Comments

Insomnia

2/11/2015

5 Comments

 
Picture
An LA detective battles sleep deprivation while investigating a murder in a small town in Alaska where the sun never sets.

Veteran detective Will Dormer flies to Nightmute, Alaska to assist the local police force in an ongoing murder investigation. While trying to find the killer, detective Dormer battles sun filled nights that rob him of sleep. As Dormer’s mind becomes increasingly fatigued he must come to terms with a second crime as he struggles to differentiate between his waning consciousness and reality.
Neuropsychological Review
Just Let me Sleep
Steven M. Smith


As Insomnia begins we join detective Will Dormer, played by Al Pacino, early in his battle with insomnia and, possibly more importantly, anxiety. Throughout the opening credits, director Christopher Nolan uses fading and pulsating imagery to simulate the struggle of keeping one’s eyes open, effectively placing the viewer in the shoes of someone who is experiencing the side effects of extreme fatigue. 

Read More
5 Comments

Mary and Max

1/19/2015

2 Comments

 
Picture
An 8 year old girl from Australia becomes a pen friend to to a middle aged man in New York City with Asperger's Syndrome.

This quirky animated black comedy explores the friendship of two social misfits through their letters.  Among Max's  mental health issues, including anxiety and depression, he is also diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. He calls himself an Aspie and goes on to describe the traits he has which fit what others call his "disability". Max stands firm in his self-assessment that he doesn't feel defective or need to be cured. He simply doesn't understand how humans can be so illogical.  When Mary writes a book about his disorder, their friendship is sorely tested. This film doesn't hold back on black humor nor the effects of not being accepted.  A movie about friendship.

2 Comments

Awakenings

1/31/2014

5 Comments

 
Picture
A doctor discovers a new medication that helps revive his catatonic patients, allowing them a chance to experience life once again.

Dr. Malcolm Sayer learns of a new medication called L-Dopa that he believes will help revive his patients who suffer from a Parkinson's- like  condition caused by encephalitis. Dr. Sayer tests his hypothesis on Leonard Lowe, a patient who has been in a catatonic state for thirty years. The drug proves to be a success with Leonard and so the drug is administered to all the other catatonic patients at the hospital. While the new medication allows Leonard and the other patients a second chance at experiencing life, it also brings some unexpected challenges. Leonard must now cope with his romantic feelings for a visitor at the hospital, the restrictions on his freedom as a patient, as well as a gradual decline in the effectiveness of the treatment.

5 Comments

Story of Luke

1/15/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
A young man on the autism spectrum sets out to find a job and a girlfriend in order to demonstrate his independence. 

Luke's rigid lifestyle is disrupted when his grandmother and primary caretaker passes away forcing Luke and his grandfather  to move in with Luke’s dysfunctional family.  Not wanting to  be a burden to his family or to be viewed as disabled due to his autistic spectrum diagnosis, Luke embarks on a journey to gain independence and demonstrate that he is just as capable as any other member of society. Heeding his grandfather’s advice, he sets out to obtain a job and then find love, two factors that his grandfather tells him are necessities in life. In his quest, Luke learns how to cope with his condition while changing the lives of those he encounters in the process.


Neuropsychological Review
Social Perception Technology in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Adept or Just Pretending?
Mary V. Spiers & Kristina E. Patrick 

Previously published in Spiers, M.V. & Patrick K. E. (2013) Social perception technology in autism spectrum disorder: Adept or “just pretending”?  [Review of film (2012) The Story of Luke]. PsycCRITIQUES, 58(34), Doi: 10.1037/a0033962.
Copyright APA.  This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record.


The Story of Luke (2012) explores relationship issues in a young man with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who is on a quest for an independent life... 


Read More
1 Comment

A Song for Martin ( En sång för Martin)

1/8/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Two prominent musicians divorce their spouses and get married, only for one to develop Alzheimer’s disease, causing pain and struggle for both of them.  

When Martin, a talented and famous composer in his late-fifties, meets Barbara, the beautiful first violinist ten years his junior, it is love at first sight. All is bliss for the newlyweds, until five years later when Martin suddenly starts to experience small memory slips, which aggressively progress. Rapidly, Barbara finds herself helplessly watching her once brilliant and loving spouse turn into someone who does not even know who she is. A Song for Martin dives deep into the denial, sadness, and struggle experienced by the person with Alzheimer’s disease, and the grief, depression, and desperation experienced by their caregiver. 

Neuropsychological Review Alzheimer’s Disease: Ruling Out Other Options
Mallory Sykes, Kristen Focht, and Reed Vennel    


En Sang for Martin (A Song for Martin) is a  film that presents a compelling, but tragic story of how painful and far-reaching Alzheimer’s disease can be….


Read More
0 Comments

The Music Never Stopped

12/12/2013

4 Comments

 
Picture
A father attempts to reconnect with his estranged son who suffers from anterograde amnesia.

A father learns that his son Gabriel, who ran away from home twenty years ago, is now suffering from a brain tumor that is causing severe damage to his brain. When the tumor is removed, doctors find that Gabriel possesses anterograde amnesia. It is discovered that while Gabriel is not able to form new memories on his own, he is able to do so with the help of music. As Gabriel's father attempts to reconnect with him, he finds that he must not only cope with Gabriel's illness, but also confront the very issues that led to their separation.

4 Comments
<<Previous

    Movie Review Categories

    All
    12 And Under
    13 To 17
    18 And Over
    Amnesia
    Autism Spectrum
    Brain Injury
    Comedy
    Consciousness
    Dementia
    Encephalitis
    Horror
    Identity Loss
    Korsakoffs
    Prosopagnosia
    Sleep
    Stroke
    Tourettes Syndrome

    RSS Feed

_Thanks to:
Picture
Picture

Contact