The Stranger

The Godfather has topped best-of-American-film lists for so long that contrarians keep trying to pick it off, just for the thrill of the hunt. Fuck that shit. No movie comes close to touching The Godfather. There are a thousand examples of its perfection, and here's one: Nobody has ever made a cinematic death scene as towering, and as lonely and small, as the heart attack in the tomato garden. Added three-and-a-half-hour bonus: The Godfather Part II, cinema's greatest sequel, offering such a rich, dark, sprawling trip you'll be tempted to think it's better than the first, and you'll be wrong. Both films screen in lush new restorations. (SIFF Cinema, 321 Mercer St, 633-7151. Part one: 12:15 and 8 pm. Part two: 3:45 pm. $10. Through Jan 1.) by Paul Constant

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Today is the first full day—and second night, for those counting menorah candles—of Hanukkah, the annual festival of lights in which Jews celebrate a certain before-Christ miracle involving victory in battle and some very slow-burning oil. Also: food! As Angela Garbes noted in these pages in May, there aren't many places in this area to eat Jewish food, but two worth checking out are Goldbergs' Famous Delicatessen in Bellevue and Eats Market Cafe in Westwood Village. Also, a $3 box of Manischewitz matzo-ball-soup mix is its own special miracle. (Goldbergs' Famous Delicatessen, 3924 Factoria Square Mall SE, 425-641-6622; Eats Market Cafe, 2600 SW Barton St, 933-1200.) by Eli Sanders

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Surf into Xmas on a wave of gooey '80s cheese with the Beta Society, the Seattle-based film collective behind this variety-style show of "very special holiday TV moments from the decade that brought us Full House, Who's the Boss? and Growing Pains." Among the delights: video offerings from Dennis "Mr. Belding from Saved by the Bell" Haskins, John "Evening Magazine" Curley, and the titular Thicke himself. (Re-bar, 1114 Howell St, www.click4tix.com. 10 pm, $14, 21+.) by David Schmader

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"No songs about dreidels. No Israeli folk dancing." So proclaims Good for the Jews, the musical comedy collaboration of David Fagin and Rob Tannenbaum, back for one exceedingly well-selected night only at the Triple Door. The shtick is Jew-based musical humor and—most promisingly—the potential for audience offense is real enough that the show comes with a warning. Go for the lack of other options, stay for the Passover song "They Tried to Kill Us, We Survived, Let's Eat." (Triple Door, 216 Union St, www.thetripledoor.com. 7 pm, $20, all ages.) by David Schmader

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This is among the holiest of holidays in the Western tradition. What better day to get thee to a movie theater and worship at the altar of Meryl Streep? She is something on the order of a god, and fittingly in this one she plays a nun—a lying, vengeful, witchy nun. Doubt has everything you want it to have: a satisfying visual texture, a cold energy, a prurient central mystery, I-fucking-hate-you dialogue, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and very few characters (i.e., lots of Streep). (See movie times, www.thestranger.com, for details.) by Christopher Frizzelle

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How to shake off yesterday's Christmas-ness? How else but with a bunch of faggots dancing? Faggots and the people who love them have been dancing off all kinds of things at Comeback—Chop Suey's once-monthly non-hetero-normative dance night—for years. It's worth braving the cold for, but wear layers: You'll want as little as possible on you when you hit the dance floor. Usual lineup: DJ Colby B, DJ Fucking in the Streets, and DJ Pony Boy. (Chop Suey, 1235 E Madison St, 324-8000. 9 pm, $5 before 11 pm/$7 after, 21+.) by Christopher Frizzelle

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There is more than mere nostalgia at stake. An entire generation of children is being taught to ice-skate USING WALKERS, a trend that threatens to ruin skating forever. Are children more fragile than ever before? Has the pathetic little ice rink at Seattle Center been expanded to accommodate these new six-legged wuss-monsters? NO. Those of us on the side of right and the side of sense must go and do something. Make a scene. Take away a walker. Do whatever you must. (Fisher Pavilion, Seattle Center, 684-7200. 11 am–10 pm, $5 adult/$3 child plus $2 skate rental.) by Jen Graves

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