Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

Netflix:Loosely based on true events, this drama follows Ron Woodroof, who refuses to accept he'll die in 30 days when he's diagnosed with AIDS in 1986. He extends his life and eventually helps many other AIDS patients by smuggling medications from abroad.

From the Web: A son of Texas, Ron Woodroof is an electrician and rodeo cowboy. In 1985, he is well into an unexamined existence with a devil-may-care lifestyle. Suddenly, Ron is blindsided by being diagnosed as H.I.V.-positive and given 30 days to live. Yet he will not, and does not, accept a death sentence. His crash course of research reveals a lack of approved treatments and medications in the U.S., so Ron crosses the border into Mexico. There, he learns about alternative treatments and begins smuggling them into the U.S., challenging the medical and scientific community including his concerned physician, Dr. Eve Saks. An outsider to the gay community, Ron finds an unlikely ally in fellow AIDS patient Rayon, a transsexual who shares Ron's lust for life. Rayon also shares Ron's entrepreneurial spirit: seeking to avoid government sanctions against selling non-approved medicines and supplements, they establish a "buyers club," where H.I.V.-positive people pay monthly dues for access to the newly acquired supplies. Deep in the heart of Texas, Ron's pioneering underground collective beats loud and strong. With a growing community of friends and clients, Ron fights for dignity, education, and acceptance. In the years following his diagnosis, the embattled Lone Star loner lives life to the fullest like never before.  (2013.  117 minutes)

DJE: The Dallas Buyers Club highlights the roadblocks the FDA placed for patients to get needed care and the greed of PhRMA and many physician "researchers" who benefited from the drugs they were developing.

Orgasm Inc. (2009)

This is an important documentary that comments on the way the pharmaceutical industry and (essentially greedy) physicians and scientists conspire to create disorders to enrich themselves at the expense of a gullible public.

Netflix blurb: "With humor and a wealth of research, director Liz Canner examines how drug companies promote and profit from the myth of female sexual dysfunction as they compete to produce the first FDA-approved "cure" for this condition. The provocative documentary features enlightening interviews with a passionate sex shop owner and a vintage-vibrator collector who argue that it's society -- not women's bodies -- that needs fixing" 78 minutes, 2009

Also read Wired Review.

Extraordinary Measures (2010)

From Netflix: After their two young children are diagnosed with Pompe, a rare genetic disease for which conventional medicine has no cure, John (Brendan Fraser) and Aileen Crowley (Keri Russell) pin their hopes on the work of unconventional scientist Dr. Robert Stonehill (Harrison Ford). Director Tom Vaughan's heartfelt drama is based on the true story of the Crowley family, as chronicled by journalist Geeta Anand in her book The Cure. 2010 105 minutes
Trailer.

Interview with Geeta Anand (author of "The Cure") about the movie. "The Cure" by Anand."

While parts of this movie are a bit corny, my overall impression was very favorable. It addresses sick children, parental anxieties, cold "scientific" researchers and greedy pharmaceutical companies. There is much here to stimulate one's interest and give pause for thought.

Living Proof (2008)

This is a film about the development of Herceptin, a promising drug for a subset of patients with advanced breast cancer. It chronicles the difficulties in getting a drug to market. Parts are corny and simplistic; but it is not without interest.

From NetFlix: Based on a true story, this biopic follows medical researcher Dr. Dennis Slamon's (Harry Connick Jr.) tireless efforts to win FDA approval for Herceptin, now recognized as an important weapon against breast cancer. Convinced his experimental medication is the key to treating the deadly disease, he first must contend with skeptical backers, critically ill patients and the complicated trial process to prove the drug can save lives. 2008 91 minutes

Ultimate Big Pharma Commercial

This 2 minute and 53 second YouTube video is brilliant and you will enjoy viewing it. It was produced by Consumer Union under a group called Prescriptionforchange.com

View Video

If you know of other videos like this, please let us know.

The Constant Gardner

In a remote area of Northern Kenya, the region's most dedicated activist, the brilliant and passionate Tessa Quayle (Rachel Weisz), has been found brutally murdered. Tessa's traveling companion, a local doctor, appears to have fled the scene, and the evidence points to a crime of passion. Sandy Woodrow (Danny Houston), Sir Bernard Pellegrin (Bill Nighy), and the other members of the British High Commission assume that Tessa's widower, their mild-mannered and unambitious colleague Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes), will leave the matter to their discretion.
This film comments powerfully on medical research in the third world and the business practices of multinational pharmaceutical companies. John LeCarre, who wrote the book on which this film was based, said he did not sleep well for six months after he finished the book.

Side Effects

Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau is a mom, wife and former drug pusher (legally) turned filmmaker. At 35, with no prior filmmaking experience, she wrote, directed, and co-produced the critically acclaimed independent film Side Effects.

The film, starring Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy) is closely based on her decade working for Big Pharma as a pharmaceutical sales representative. Katherine Heigl delivers a jaw dropping performance in this smart and sexy comedy.

Due to the overwhelming response to Side Effects, Kathleen went on to make the award-winning documentary Money Talks: Profits Before Patient Safety which delves deeper into the issues of pharmaceutical influence. Money Talks features interviews with key opinion leaders from Harvard, UCLA, and Columbia.

Kathleen chose to the make the films as an entertaining way to reach and educate the public about the questionable marketing tactics the industry uses to push its pills. Her goal is to encourage consumers to make wiser choices about the drugs they are putting into their bodies�and ultimately take control of their health.