I usually don’t write beer reviews, but there are two reasons to break with tradition for Red Tail Ale. First, the label. It is one of the most attractive ones I have seen (and I’ve seen quite a few). Someone did a very nice job rendering the red-tailed hawk grasping grains in it talons. Then there is the taste. It’s uncommonly creamy for a bottled ale, no bitter edge, very smooth and rich. Although it is a bit pricey, I tend to drink slower and less when a beer is this good. I’d buy this one again.

Stupid, silly, farcical fare. And funny, too. Jack Black is gonzo as “Nacho,” a Mexican friar at an orphanage by day and a winless wannabe wrestler by night. He’s got the hots for Sister Encarnacion (Ana de la Reguera), but there’s nothing about the budding relationship that would strip this film of its PG rating. Supporting role by tag team partner Héctor Jiménez deserves praise (“I don’t believe in God; I believe in science”). Nacho’s second match-up gives a whole new meaning to “midget wrestling.” Give it a look.

I’m not a fan of Jennifer Aniston, and this movie in no way changed my mind. It was the opener for Sundance 2006, which led me to believe it might actually be artistic or at least clever, but it was neither. Spoiled Los Angeleans dealing with their various neuroses. Aniston plays the only one of four female friends without money up the yoni. She (sort of) gets the happy ending (money, of course), while the others drift into various stages of despair… as if the audience should care. Mind you, I am one of the few people on the planet who thought “American Beauty” was a two-thumbs-down waste of popcorn. Maybe you’ll like this if you can stand the slow pace and lack of a conventional plot. It’s all about character(s), and I could not, for the life of me, get into any of these.

Much as I wanted to, I couldn’t get into this. It’s purely a relationship movie, and the relationships just aren’t that interesting. Boy meets boy, boy ditches boy, boy moans about boy, boy is still boy. So get over yourself already. There was one ROFL scene, however, when the Hearts are playing the Firefighters in a game of softball and they decide one of the firemen is “playing in our league.” The dialog with the catcher is a hoot. Otherwise, it’s just so-so.

Stephen King + John Cusack = One paranormally good movie. Supporting role by Samuel L. Jackson as the suave hotel manager adds an eerily cool counterpoint to the rising panic, as ghost debunker becomes ghost believer in Room 1408 of New York’s Dolphin Hotel at 48th & Lex. Lots of blood and some totally awesome mind twists make this a must-see horror film. My only disappointment was the the special features on the DVD. No interview with Stephen King. No insights into the afterworld. Just promotional footage. See the film, skip the extras.

Julie Christie claimed 1965’s Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of a British model/actress willing to use people to further her career. She actually achieves the dream of every little girl and becomes “Princess Diana”... but isn’t love more important than ambition? That’s a lesson this Diana must learn the hard way. Great supporting roles by Dirk Bogarde and Laurence Harvey. Very Sixties B&W artsy videograpphy and a “groovy” soundtrack. The film, directed by John Schlesinger, also picked up Academy Awards for Original Screenplay and Costume Design, though the latter, I think, was undeserved. Maybe ‘65 was a lean year for costumers, unless cigarettes count as wardrobe. See if you can count how many lit cancer sticks there are in this film.

Selling meat door to door. Is that a real job? Well, it’s not a good one for sales team Ray Romano and Kevin James, till they meet up with molls, mobsters, and assassins, in this 2005 Tin Men meets Prizi’s Honor comedy. Fans of Romano will enjoy seeing him almost make it with Sofia Vegara, who (not giving anything away) has a little secret between her legs. Just for fun, it’s worth watching, but don’t expect too much.

Nicholson. Freeman. What more is there to say. See this!!

Based on a true story, the Rock brings football and team building skills to troubled youth in a detention center. It’s not easy, but the boys come together eventually and prove they are not losers. It’s a feel-good sports movie, very much like “Remember the Titans,” if not quite as dramatic. Great scene when the coach suits up at practice and challenges his tackle-shy star running back to “run through me, knock me down.” Worth a look.

Road trip with four elderly citizens trying to stop a wedding in Vegas. Not much is new, but what’s old is pretty good, including fun parts for Peter Falk, George Segal, and Rip Torn. I was an extra in this film, so I’m biased. Worth seeing, if only for the fleeting glimpse of my blurry head over Falk’s right shoulder in the Sapphire Gentlemen’s Club.