How do you pitch a movie like Ziggy?

This is exactly how I imagine Hollywood is. And I've been to Hollywood twice.

A burgeoning, mildly disturbing film genre

The 9/11 comedy.

One of these is cool, the other is terrifying (plus moviestuff)

Guess which one:

• Open Source Car Project


• Colleges hate free speech

Am I the only one who actually believes in free speech? Sometimes, I think I am. By the way, if there is ever an amendment to the Constitution banning flag-burning, I am burning a flag that day and every one thereafter. On an unrelated note, movies that look interesting to me:

• Apocalypto


• Children of Men


• The Fountain


• The Number 23

This is the winter of Maya movies! If any of them are awful, don't get mad at me. And if you didn't see A Prairie Home Companion (out on DVD now, just in time for the holiday season!), do yourself a favor. In memory of Robert Altman, lest we forget.

Review: For Your Consideration

The newest Christopher Guest movie has more of the same (ensemble cast, outrageous ad-libbing, idiosyncratic characters) and the addition of The Office's Ricky Gervais in a pair of awkward-humor scenes reminiscent of David Brent. Highlights: Gervais' take on Jewishness, the most incompetent interviews ever from Fred Willard, and an awful-looking film occasionally named Home for Purim. Lowlights: less laughs than last time, and short runtime (86 minutes.) If the movie isn't going to be very funny, you probably shouldn't have it be long, but a long, funny movie is the best of both worlds. For Your Consideration is probably the weakest of the Guest/McKean/Shearer collaborations, and there aren't enough moments for the incidental characters to shine. If the filming was done last October, why couldn't they cobble together more of a film from the footage? Were hours lost in a warehouse fire? Ultimately, I recommend the film for the genuinely laugh-out-loud moments, of which there are several, but this one is more of a dollar-theater or rent-before-you-buy movie. Here's hoping the DVD has something extra to make it worth it.