MOMMIE DEAREST
The new Hulu thriller Run resembles its own title: It's short, direct and kinda forgettable. But it's predicated on two excellent performances — Kiera Allen (making an impressive feature debut) as a chronically ill teenager with college aspirations, and Sarah Paulson as her single mother, who may be hiding some dark secrets from her only daughter. I was a fan of director Aneesh Chaganty's first film, the found-footage mystery Searching, but this follow-up is far less unpredictable and much more conventional, and its story unravels like a thrift-store sweater, going from unnerving to unbelievable to unintentionally comic. If you're a die-hard Paulson fan, though, you probably won't be disappointed. (NATHAN WEINBENDER)
BATTING CLEANUP
The Spokane Indians were recently recognized as the Washington State Recycling Association Recycler of the Year, and you might be thinking, "Well, sure, that's probably pretty easy when there weren't any actual games in 2020." But the award is actually a reflection of the minor-league baseball team's work in 2019 with its Zero Waste Campaign. The team added 60 recycling stations around Avista Stadium, invested big in compostable beer and soda cups, lids and straws, and ultimately kept 12 tons of compostable materials from heading to the landfill. Kudos! (DAN NAILEN)
BURN IT DOWN
Email your worst fears, hatreds, losses and struggles directly to an actual dumpster fire — the epitome of 2020 — and watch it all burn, baby, burn. A live feed at hey.science/dumpster-fire reveals each typed confession before it's devoured by flames in an incredibly cathartic form of group therapy. Just in the last hour I've seen several photos of Trump turned into ash, alongside Amazon's logo, an ode to the late Alex Trebek and a poor soul bemoaning their pandemic breakup. (CHEY SCOTT)
FINALLY, GETTING IT RIGHT
Anyone who's read The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass knows the dark series lived up to its name His Dark Materials, with good and true evil battling it out over the souls of children. Now, a decade after the first attempt to portray the series on the big screen never received a sequel, His Dark Materials is finally bringing the story to life under a BBC One/HBO collaboration. With star power (hello James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson and Lin-Manuel Miranda) and the budget to give the fantasy story its due, it's worth catching up on the series and tuning in for the second season, coming out each Monday through December. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)
THIS WEEK'S PLAYLIST
Some noteworthy new music hits online and in stores Dec. 11. To wit:
THE AVALANCHES, We Will Always Love You. The Australian crew collaborates with Rivers Cuomo, Nenah Cherry and many more on a dreamy new set.
GUIDED BY VOICES, Styles We Paid For. The third album this year from lo-fi genius Robert Pollard and Co.
M. WARD, Think of Spring. We're trying, M. Ward, we're trying! (DAN NAILEN)
