Film pick: The Day the Earth Stood Still

The thing about CGI effects is that they dispel one's willing suspension of disbelief in the wonders they simulate. We'll bet that '50s audiences watching the feats of the giant alien robot Gort in Robert Wise's The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) - feats that were put on screen the old way - really believed that some day we'd have humanoid machines with undying loyalty who could evaporate tanks. And perhaps that belief is well founded. To find out, attend this screening and the discussion to follow with roboticist Dennis Hong, part of the "Science on Screen" series at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St, Brookline | December 13 @ 7:30 pm | $9; $7 students, seniors | 617.734.2500 or coolidge.org.