Movies as Homework

While I'm working on my epic science fiction series, I haven't had as much time to read critically as I'd like. I still read for fun, but between chasing my daughter around and keeping up with edits, reading for homework has fallen by the wayside. Then I sprang upon a new idea. Now with each scene I come across where I want a different perspective, or to do more research into strong and similar character building, I look  for movies, often movies I've already seen, that I can watch critically for research.
So far my list includes heavy action and sci-fi titles, but I'd be interested to know if this technique works for anyone else.

List:
Resident Evil (the first one). Goal: Examine Alice's evolution from amnesiac scared girl, to super powered badass. Watch for clues to her changes that lead into later movies.

I Am Legend. Goal: Look at the survival methods chosen to keep living as a lone survivor in a demolished and highly dangerous area. Explore the survivors guilt inherent to the plot.

The Bourne Identity. (Honestly, I haven't read the books and the movie didn't wow me, but it still has seeds of usefulness. Even a BAD movie can help a writers growth by exploring WHY it didn't work.) My Goal: Look at the distress and cognitive dissonance of a man who's lost his complete identity, only to discover he may not LIKE who he used to be. Examine the psychology and potential traumatic fallout of a complete loss of identity, and what(and who) helps us form our choices.

I'm focusing on these movies before I think of a few more. While I have picked two zombie movies, it does seem to me that currently people only allow society to be destroyed by zombies in film. :) Since my novel series relies upon the destruction of mankind, this is important research.

What sort of movies mirror the current work you're writing? Even movies from a different genre can inspire with a single similar character or relationship. If you could pick a movie to learn from, what would it be and why?