I’m not sure if it’s the last launch of Space Shuttle or what but I’ve been on a space kick for a while now. So far I’ve watched 2001: A Space Odyssey, Apollo 13, and The Right Stuff. Now I want more. I’m looking for anything from history to sci-fi. But I’m not looking for anything with space battles or aliens (okay, I’m gonna watch Contact, but that’s one of my faves and I can break my own rules). Basically, if it has “star” (Wars, Trek, or Gate) in the title, that’s not what I’m looking for. If it’s Sci-Fi, than I want more modern, semi-realistic, near-future tales, like Moon. And no documentaries. I’m already planning on watching When We Left Earth and that documentary about SpaceShipOne.
I came in to mention Moon, but you already did. Have you seen Silent Running? Or either version of Solaris? (I happen to like the remake quite a bit)
Have you seen the HBO series From the Earth to the Moon yet?
Have you seen Marooned?
You would probably like Marooned (1969). It has what you’re looking for: semi-realistic, a plausible scenario, and excellent special effects. It has an all-star cast: Gregory Peck, Richard Crenna, Gene Hackman, James Franciscus, David Janssen. The story concerns an American Apollo crew enroute from an orbiting space station (very similar to the current ISS) back to Earth, which develops trouble with the capsule’s main thrusters, essentially stranding the crew in orbit with no way to either return to the space station or land back on Earth. NASA is forced to launch a last-ditch rescue effort before the crew runs out of oxygen and asphyxiates. The film won an Academy Award for visual effects. They are very good for 1969, on a par with Apollo 13. And it is a plausible looking movie, very grounded in what was possible in the late 20th or early 21st century without being outlandishly futuristic. James Lovell, who would later command the ill-fated Apollo 13, said he and his wife Marilyn had attended the movie, and its realism contributed to her fears for her husband’s safety in the weeks leading up to the Apollo 13 launch.
Countdown with James Caan.
Well it might be a little monster-y for you, but Pandorum is about a long space voyage.
I’ll second Silent Running.
And then there’s the cult comedy classic Dark Star (an early John Carpenter effort).
A couple of older films, “Destination Moon” and “Conquest of Space” are interesting takes on what we thought space exploration might be like in the future.
“Amazon Women on the Moon” sums up the category nicely. 
Sunshine - Directed by Danny Boyle about a space mission to restart the sun.
The first half of Sunshine is actually a really cool space movie along what you want, I think. Better than most it does a really good job of conveying just how hostile and empty and dangerous space travel is.
Yep, I already own Sunshine. I really like it, even the whole final act. It’s on my playlist for this week.
It is a kid’s movie but Spacecamp with Kate Capshaw is nothing but shuttle action.
Quoth randwill:
Destination Moon is top-of-the-line for scientific accuracy, and in that regard is one of the greatest space movies in history (Apollo 13 might be better, but I can’t think of anything else that really compares). On the other hand, though, as a story, it has all the charm of a classroom lecture. I won’t tell you not to see it, but know what to expect going in.
The other recommendation I’d make would be Deep Impact (which is absolutely not to be confused with Armageddon, which came out at the same time). There, they did compromise the science a bit to accommodate the needs of the story, but they still left it far more accurate than the vast majority of what comes out of Hollywood.
David Szondy’s Tales of Future Past website has wonderful pages/sections on several old near-future, within-the-solar-system-space-travel movies, including:
Moonbase 3 (actually a BBC series)
Moon Zero Two (“SEE the Fabulous Go-Jos Dancing on the Moon!”)
These are all old movies and much of the tech will seem laughable now.
Both films did a bit more than “compromise the science,” their very premises gloss over the obvious: Momentum. If an object is heading towards Earth and you simply blow it up, now you have an equivalent mass of millions of fragments heading toward Earth, on roughly the same trajectory with roughly the same collective kinetic energy, plus now those fragments are radioactive. What you want is a way to alter the thing’s trajectory without destroying it.
Space, TV mini-series based on the James Michener novel.
Best TV show about space travel was Star Cops.
Make sure to see 2010, the sequel to 2001, if you haven’t already.
Another vote for Silent Running – excellent movie.
Some others you might or might not like. Most of them use space as a backdrop, not really as the focus:
Mission to Mars
Pitch Black
The Chronicles of Riddick
Supernova
Ghosts of Mars
Serenity
There are a few aliens and one clever space battle in Galaxy Quest but it’s really a parody of Star Trek and Trek fandom.