Rundown

Episodes Monday Rundown December 8–14 2025

This week: Pluribus and the trauma plot, Disney and the YA-ification of everything, and 1985's strangest Christmas movie.

I chose a Pluribus image because it'll probably help click-through, but SPIRITUALLY the featured image on this post is from One Magic Christmas | Credit: Apple TV

Wile E. Coyote holds a large sign reading "WHY?" in a hotel room.

Is Coyote vs. ACME the perfect movie for the moment?

Also: Paranormal Activity on stage, the Furious finale, and a good comic about a cat.

The cast of The Invite kicks back and relaxes in an upscale living ro

The Invite, Obsession, and the runaway success of movies for straight people to argue about

Who is responsible for your own unhappiness? The answer may disappoint you.

David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, in an open elevator, the door just starting to slide closed.

Episodes Book Club: Infinite Jest, Week Six

We're talking irony, sincerity, and, of course, Randy Lenz.

Mr. Gower, an old man, takes in what the young George Bailey tells him. They are surrounded by drug and pill bottles. The scene is in black and white.

The memories of a deadly pandemic hidden in one of America's most beloved films

Art about pandemics and plagues rarely gets made after the fact. Yet here's the Spanish flu in It's a Wonderful Life.

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Is Coyote vs. ACME the perfect movie for the moment?

The Invite, Obsession, and the runaway success of movies for straight people to argue about

Episodes Book Club: Infinite Jest, Week Six

The memories of a deadly pandemic hidden in one of America's most beloved films