The Stranger

(THEATER) Clowns battling in brutal slapstick, a diva who wants to make you cry "for the rest of your life," roadies trying to turn the theater into a heavy metal concert—Bloody Mess has all this and more. In their Seattle debut, UK-based Forced Entertainment packs different character types on one stage and explores the chaotic, funny, and frightening fallout as each competes to control the performance. (On the Boards, 100 W Roy St, 217-9888. Dec 8–11, $24, 8 pm.) BRENDAN KILEY

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(FILM) Stephen Gaghan's second directorial effort is like an episode of Frontline on steroids. Some may call it preachy, others murky and overreaching, but its power and ambition can't be ignored. Tackling every aspect of that worldwide blight known as the oil industry—from poor Pakistanis to obscenely wealthy executives—the film is a document of our times, fully realized and never willing to dumb itself down for an audience. They don't make movies like this very often. (See Movie Times, page 79, for more info.) BRADLEY STEINBACHER

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(FILM) On October 26, 1979, South Korea's dictatorial president was murdered at dinner by the head of the Korean CIA. Director Im Sang-soo starts with the facts and unwinds a tight, suspenseful movie about the hours immediately before and after the assassination. The violence is ugly and the characters are tragic, but the movie keeps one eye on the wickedly comic, from the director's constipation to a general who can't find any bullets in army headquarters. (Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 NE 50th St, 523-3935. 7 and 9 pm, $5–$7.50.) BRENDAN KILEY

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(DANCE) Contrary to rumor, the Pacific Northwest Ballet's glorious Nutcracker was NOT choreographed by Col. Muammar al-Qadhafi, but by PNB artistic director Kent Stowell, whose dancers work reliable magic with Tchaikovsky's score and Maurice Sendak's subtly gorgeous sets and costumes. Hit the bong, grab some nieces and nephews, and prepare to be swept away by the holiday season's most beloved acid trip. (McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St, 441-2420. 7:30 pm, $18–$102.) DAVID SCHMADER

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(PHOTOGRAPHY) In this exhibit—featuring color photographs by Jesse Burke, Bill Finger, and Stephen Hilyard—images of external situations successfully capture the internal condition of fear: the nightmarish tsunami (which actually looks like a rushing herd of evil nightmares), dead animals and strangers in the woods, garbage in areas that writer Diana George calls "serial spaces," spaces of serial killers and other modern horrors. These photographs will not make you happy, but they have a dreadful depth and impressive power. (Platform Gallery, 114 Third Ave S, 323-2808. 11 am–5:30 pm, free.) CHARLES MUDEDE

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