to me, 12 Monkeys is just as great as La Jetée and just as sci-fi. i watched a debate with some competent people discussing the flu and outbreaks in general. one infectologist concluded that, yes, there will be an epidemic with major loss of lives, but we don't know the virus that will cause it yet.
Seasonal flu accounts for up to 50000 deaths per year in the US alone, and whilst we haven't seen the full story from this strain H1N1 yet, it doesn't appear to that virulent.
If you're worried about flu, I think it's safer to keep pigs than poultry. When H5N1 avian influenza develops the ability to transmit from human to human, it's panic time/time to buy stocks in Jacko masks.