Author: Jay Ruud

Stargazer Anne Hillerman (2021) This latest novel in the venerable Leaphorn-Chee-Manuelito mystery series came out on April 13, 2021, and if you’re a fan of the series, you need to get hold of this one—and if you’re not, why not? Tony Hillerman was an award-winning author of the first 18 novels in this series that… Continue reading Stargazer

He Said/She Said Top Ten Films of 2020 In the wake of the 93rd Academy Award ceremony, my awesome wife Stacey Margaret Jones and I put together our own list of what we considered the best films of 2020. After coming up with two separate lists, we combined them to come up with a consensus on… Continue reading Top Ten Films of 2020

Judas and the Black Messiah Shaka King (2020) Facts for You: Where to Watch: Rentable on Prime Video ($20), Vudu, Fandango Now Length: 2 hour 6 minutes  Rating: R (Violence/Language) Names You Might Know: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons, Martin Sheen Language: English  He Said: The promoters and distributers of this film have done some strange things lately, not the least… Continue reading Judas and the Black Messiah

The Way We Live Now Anthony Trollope (1875) Trollope never met an 800-page novel he didn’t like. Like Dickens and other Victorian novelists, Trollope wrote many of his novels for periodical publication, and so they were first published one section at a time—and the more serial installments, the more the writer was paid. When those… Continue reading The Way We Live Now

The Father Florian Zeller (2020) Facts for You: Where to Watch: Rentable on Prime Video ($20), Apple TV, Fandango Now Length: 1 hour 37 minutes  Rating: PG-13 Names You Might Know: Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman Language: English  He Said: The experience of watching this film is jarring, disorienting. Less than half an hour into it you are feeling much the same… Continue reading The Father