Movie-going in Redding is getting more interesting.
Two programs — one at the Redding Library and one at Shasta College — bring foreign and independent films to the area. And both are FREE.
An international film class at Shasta College, taught by Leo Fong, is open to the public. The every-other-Friday screenings are at 7 p.m. in Room 802, and a class discussion follows. This Friday, the film is “Absurdistan” and on March 5 it’s the German film “The Counterfeiters.” I’ve seen both movies, and they’re wonderful.
The library begins its new Art House Movies series on Saturday, showing the documentary “Mine,” which follows Hurricane Katrina survivors as they’re reunited with missing pets. The screening is at 2 p.m. in the community room. Art House Movies will be shown at the library on the third Saturday of each month.
- The first U.S. clinical trials of medical marijuana in two decades have confirmed that cannabis eases muscles spasms and some types of pain. Full story here.
- A Redding company has won a big federal contract for Highway 44 improvements near Lassen Volcanic National Park. J.F. Shea Construction got the $7.7 million contract to fix curves, widen shoulders and extend a truck climbing lane. Most of the money came from the Obama administration’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
- Movies We’ve Seen: “Crazy Heart” with Jeff Bridges as a washed-up country singer trying to finish with dignity. Everyone’s saying Bridges will win the Best Actor Oscar for this role, and they might be right. But for Kelly and me, the star of the show was the New Mexico landscape.
- Rules for Successful Living #44: Never trust a man named Floyd.
A journalist since 1975, Steve Brewer is the author of 16 books, most recently the thriller “Cutthroat.” He moved to Redding from New Mexico in 2003.
