The Stranger

Christine Göttler, UW professor of art history, wrote a book about Rubens, teaches about the art of the afterlife, and is giving a talk on something deliciously obscure: Jan Brueghel the Elder's paintings of fires, demons, and heroes, based on his experience visiting the newly discovered catacombs in late 16th-century Rome. (He may have even signed his name there in a graffito!) These little paintings on copper are tunnels to faraway underworlds. Put your eye up to them and get out of here. (Henry Art Gallery, 4100 15th Ave NE, 616-6544. 6–7:30 pm, free.) by Jen Graves

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Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire is a brilliant, whooshing spectacle: A teenage boy, about to win a historic jackpot on the Hindi version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, is accused of cheating and leads his interrogators, via flashback, through the snarled strings of fate that delivered him to each correct answer. Turns out, Slumdog Millionaire is a straight-ahead fairy tale, complete with riddling sphinxes, giants to be slain, and princesses in need of rescue—adapted to the Technicolor grime of modern-day Mumbai. (See movie times, www.thestranger.com, for details.) by Lindy West

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Ostensibly, Great Speeches is a documentary about homeless people in which they recite speeches by Chief Sealth, Bobby Kennedy, Sojourner Truth, et al. Deep down, the film (by local director and Stranger Genius Linas Phillips) is really about language—its subjects' hard-luck stories about drugs, rape, and death are a means to understanding the speeches. (A guy who has attempted suicide seven times, for example, gives a heartbreaking recitation of Hamlet's "to be or not to be" speech from a hospital bed.) The film strips the crust of history away from the words, making them unsettling and dangerous all over again. (Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, 829-7863. 7 and 9 pm, $9.) by Brendan Kiley

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Most comedy just reflects the world. The Pajama Men—a duo from Chicago—make fast, tight fictions that imagine new realities. They rethink the world. A father and his angry daughter explore a haunted hotel. A horse wants to kill, but cannot bring himself to kill, his rider. Two old people walk through a park, verbally abusing each other like peevish teenagers. The Pajama Men have crazy discipline; these shape-shifters understand precisely how long an audience's attention will follow one idea before swooping into another with a smart, bizarre segue that'll make your head spin. As writers, actors, and comedians, the Pajama Men rule the school. (Annex Theatre, 1100 E Pike St, 800-838-3006. 8 pm, $18.) by Brendan Kiley

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Subtitled "Nine Meditations," La Nativité du Seigneur, Olivier Messiaen's first big work for the organ, begins with a slurred cluster of notes. Loose tones stumble along and then pause before a looming chord undergirded by a chirruping note or two. It is one of the rare moments in music where we actually hear a composer pondering where to go next. A crazed clockwork melody follows, winding up only to settle into a serene, chantlike passage that stakes out a sonic world where time is vaporous and to tarry, divine. Don't miss this final installment in the cycle. (St. James Cathedral, 804 Ninth Ave, 382-4874. 7:30 pm, $15 suggested donation.) by Christopher DeLaurenti

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A decade of scathing rock at breakneck speed can really take it out of you. So three former members of local spazz-core demons the Blood Brothers—vocalist Jordan Blilie, bassist/keyboardist Morgan Henderson, and drummer Mark Gajadhar—needed to decompress. After a short respite, they took on ex-Shoplifting guitarist Devin Welch and formed Past Lives, their new weapon against apathy and boredom. Clangorous and angsty, Past Lives create a more subtle, angular brand of rock. They're mellower than Blood Bros ever were, but their artful thrusts cut just as deeply. (Green Room at Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave, 628-3151. 8 pm, $7, 21+.) by Dave Segal

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