Mon. Jan. 21

It's baack! "Science on Screen," the intriguing pairing of movie and educational talk at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. They are kicking off this year's series with Woody Allen’s "Sleeper" at 7 p.m. Monday Jan. 21. (These things always happen on Mondays - nice to have something cool to do on the most "off" night of the week.) Before the film Brock Reeve, executive director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute will discuss, um, stem cell research. Why? Well, it is a hot topic and in some way pertains to "Sleeper," at least tangentially. In the movie,cryogenically preserved Miles Monroe (Allen) is awakened 200 years after a hospital mishap and discovers a very different future, an even worse one that he left. (Now, I think we'd expect that, given global warming and terrorists with nukes and everything else.) But Allen's idea about waking up in a better place is thwarted by this reality: All women are frigid, all men are impotent, and the world is ruled by an evil dictator -- a disembodied nose.  Pursued by the secret police and recruited by anti-government rebels with a plan to kidnap the dictator's proboscis before it can be cloned, Miles falls for the beautiful -- but untalented -- poet Luna (Diane Keaton).  But when Miles is captured and reprogrammed by the government (to believe he's Miss America) it's up to Luna to save Miles and lead the rebels. OK, it's wacky, the idea of resurrecting a dead dictator from his severed nose.

Of course, Ted Willliams head is frozen in the hopes of - what? - the splendid splinter will come back and prove he really was the best player of all time ... in another century. But there is no doubt scientists are on the cusp of very real breakthroughs in the areas of cloning and stem cell research -- hotly debated issues which may hold the key to curing a multitude of debilitating injuries and diseases. (It's also the scary plot in the Michael Crichton novel, "Next," where, as you would expect, science goes too far, joins hands with big business and ... well, read it.) Harvard's Reeve will on hand prior to the film to talk about some of the realities surrounding stem cell research and cloning. Now, when we saw the name Reeve, we thought - could he in some way be related to the late Christopher Reeve, a major stem cell accident after his tragic accident? Well, yes. Turns out he isthe half-brother of the late actor. This Reev, a Harvard Business School graduate, has garnered accolades for his work at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute since being appointed executive director last year.  Previously, Reeve held managerial positions at several firms involved in healthcare, information technology, and life sciences. This could be one interesting night, from all angles. Tickets are $9.75.

290 Harvard St., Brookline, 617-734-25000 www.coolidge.org