by MARK SLUTSKY

Though I don’t think I’ve spent more than an hour of my life inside its walls, I’ve always loved the idea of McGill’s Redpath Museum, that grand pillared neo-classical structure dating from 1882 that most students seem to ignore for the entirety of their degrees. It’s the oldest edifice designed specifically to be a museum in North America—and it’s even got a real big dinosaur skeleton (an Albertosaurus rex, to be precise)!

This fall I’ve got an excuse to go back. A new series at the Redpath Museum, Freaky Fridays, unites some of my favourite things in the world when I was a kid (and, what the hell, now): natural history museums, sci-fi movies and weirdo paranormal phenomena. Or, more specifically, the debunking of weirdo paranormal phenomena, which is most often just as fun. Each event will feature a lecture by a McGill scientist followed by a classic sci-fi flick.

The first, “Sea Monsters Unmasked,” has profs Anthony Ricciardi and Hans Larsson discussing the validity of legendary aquatic creatures like the Loch Ness Monster, and will be followed by the Ray Harryhausen classic The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms. Further topics include the Bermuda Triangle, the Abominable Snowman and werewolves. They’re all at the Redpath Museum Auditorium (859 Sherbrooke W.), and “Sea Monsters Unmasked” takes place on Friday, Oct. 6, 4 p.m., with the $5 cost going towards the creation of an oversized origami Pteranodon meant to be hung above our old friend Albertosaurus rex. Come on, that’s awesome. For info on further screenings see: www.mcgill.ca/science/outreach/freakyfridays

With all the depressing news about movie theatres closing, let’s not forget that the Goethe-Institut still offers strong film programming in a cozy little theatre, just not on a regular basis. The New Films From the Ruhr program wraps up this week with Thomas Durchschlag’s Alone, a film about promiscuity and mental illness starring Lavinia Wilson and Maximilian Brückner. That’s at the Goethe (418 Sherbrooke E.) tonight, Thursday Sept. 28, 8 p.m.

From Oct. 2–6 they’re also hosting Touching Politics, a film series/workshop curated by Florian Wüst featuring 27 shorts made between 1926 and 1994 from around the world. Each night, starting at 7:30 p.m. and costing $6–$7, features about five movies and a talk. See www.goethe.de/ins/ca/mon/enindex.htm for more info.

The Cinémathèque québécoise (335 de Maisonneuve E.) is still fighting the good fight too. For the next couple of weeks, they’re running Chantal Akerman: Le temps composé, a retrospective of the legendary Belgian filmmaker. Akerman is perhaps best known for 1975’s Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, a movie in which nothing happens for three hours until, well, something does.

Her films are difficult but rewarding; they’re good for you so you should go see them. On Friday, Sept. 29, there’s a master class with the filmmaker herself at 3 p.m.; it costs $10 and you’ve got to reserve your place, so act fast and call 842-9763 if you’re interested. That same night, there’ll be a screening of Family Business: Chantal Akerman Speaks About Film where she’ll be on hand, so you might want to check that out as well.

Also at the Cinémathèque that same day is the second film in the theatre’s Mary Pickford cycle, Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall, which plays with live piano music by Gabriel Thibaudeau. That’s at 6:30 p.m.; other films in the program, screening on Oct. 6 and 13, respectively, include The Little American and Behind the Scenes. For more information on all of this Cinémathèque stuff, check out www.cinematheque.qc.ca for their visually attractive but annoying-to-navigate Web site.

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