Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! (2026)

An informal sitdown with the director/writer/actor/producer extraordinaire, recounting his storied career through new interviews and a wealth of archival materials culled from his 75+ year career. Literally 99 at the time of release, Brooks remains a natural showman and a gifted storyteller, demonstrating a brilliant mind of quick wit and even quicker retorts, while exploring the many contradictory sides to the man; comedy icon, serious introspective, political provocateur. Yet he proves himself to be a real mensch. This extensive deep dive interweaves his body of work with his private life; his longtime marriage to Anne Bancroft and his lifelong friendship with Carl Reiner. And death. A lifetime of death and tragedy follow you when you're the 2000 Year Old Man.

All of this rare footage is so entertaining and engrossing that it's hard not to develop a ton of respect for someone who claims to be so tasteless and ribald, yet has contributed such a lasting legacy to film. I'm glad I saw it while he's still alive because I expect it would hit a lot differently after the fact.

4 more hits than flops out of 5

Note: Features the final on-screen interviews of David Lynch and Rob Reiner.

Lynch/Oz (2022)

"There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about The Wizard of Oz."

-David Lynch, 2001

A collection of video essays from filmmakers and critics that examines the influence and impact of Victor Fleming's 1939 film throughout American culture. It analyzes Lynch's seemingly single-minded obsession in his career, creating a throughline between all his work. Besides the obvious Wild at Heart connection or the clear connotations in Mulholland Drive, I didn't think too much of this at first, but now I'm entirely convinced it has subconsciously permeated a lot of his narrative. He is literally the man behind the curtains.

Some of these are reaches to be sure, which I think dilutes its messaging, but it's fun to go back through his work searching for a common thread. To borrow from another work, it takes you down a deep rabbit hole of an influential singular vision. Contains spoilers for several of his films, so be forewarned.

3 places like home out of 5

David Lynch: The Art Life (2016)

A fly-on-the-wall documentary capturing a candid portrait of Lynch's lesser-known home life, interspersed with hundreds of previously unseen images of his art accompanied by commentary from Lynch himself, providing musings and recollections from his childhood and early career, pre-Eraserhead as well as post-Inland Empire. As with a lot of his work, at times it feels disparate and randomly cobbled together, like fragments from a dream, but it offers a fascinating insight into the artistic process of a true original icon, and you come away with a better sense of the man at the end of it. Captured over four years, this doc was put together by the same team who made Lynch (One).

3½ portraits ensconced in smoke out of 5

The Short Films of David Lynch (2002)

An anthology of six shorts from early in Lynch's career (1966-1996), including student films and other commissioned projects, accompanied by introductions from the director. While I can't say I liked any of these personally, there's no denying the singular vision present in these works. There is no way David Lynch was not going to become who he was. Some of these are so dense and inscrutable, all you can do is sit back and watch in stunned silence. The "best" of these, The Cowboy and the Frenchman (1988), is a slapstick film featuring veterans Harry Dean Stanton and Jack Nance. All of them defy convention.

3 "what the hell?" out of 5

R.I.P. David Lynch (1946-2025)

Remembering David Keith Lynch

(January 20, 1946 - January 15, 2025)

We here at the Nut are enormous fans of the artist and auteur known as David Lynch. I'd like to honor him by putting together a little tribute of all his works.

You will be missed, sir. Have a slice of cherry pie or a cup of damn fine coffee in his memory.

FILMOGRAPHY:

Eraserhead (1977)

The Elephant Man (1980)

Dune (1984)

Blue Velvet (1986)

Wild at Heart (1990)

Industrial Symphony No. 1 (1990) - concert film

Twin Peaks: Season 1 (1990)

Twin Peaks: Season 2 (1990-91)

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)

On the Air (1992) - TV sitcom

Hotel Room (1993) - anthology drama

Lost Highway (1997)

The Straight Story (1999)

Mulholland Dr. (1999) - unaired pilot

Mulholland Drive (2001)

Inland Empire (2006)

More Things That Happened (2007)

Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces (2014)

Twin Peaks: The Return (2017)

DISCOGRAPHY:

Lux Vivens (with Jocelyn Montgomery) (1998)

BlueBob (with John Neff) (2001)

The Air is on Fire (with Dean Hurley) (2007)

Polish Night Music (with Marek Zebrowski) (2007)

Crazy Clown Time (2011)

This Train (with Chrystabell) (2011)

The Big Dream (2013)

Somewhere in the Nowhere (with Chrystabell) (2016)

Thought Gang (with Angelo Badalamenti) (2018)

Cellophane Memories (with Chrystabell) (2024) - listening party + Q&A

DOCUMENTARIES:

The Short Films of David Lynch (2002)

Lynch (One) (2007)

David Lynch: The Art Life (2016)

Lynch/Oz (2022)

Other titles on In a Nutshell

Selected discography on Nut Suite

Complete works on the Internet Archive

Check out Lynch's final on-screen role as John Ford in The Fabelmans (2022).

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The Fabelmans (2022)

Steven Spielberg's personal coming-of-age story is an ode to cinema and the great filmmakers that have come before. Loosely inspired by his life and the relationship to his parents, it's the sweet tale of a boy who falls in love with the movies and longs to make his own films (not unlike Cinema Paradiso).

What I found fascinating is how detached the character was while viewing life through a lens. I suppose that's a way of dealing with the heavy things in his life, but I didn't find Sam to be the warmest character, which is kind of ironic since critics tend to peg Spielberg as a shameless sentimentalist. If anything, I found this film to be remarkably restrained at times, which works to its credit. Even though it's semi-autobiographical, you get the sense that the subject matter is still being treated somewhat at a distance. It occurred to me that this film might be acting as a catharsis for someone recounting their past traumas. Regardless, it's a lovingly constructed tribute by a filmmaker who has earned his dues and remains at the top of his craft, and it shows all the way through.

4 perfect revenges against the childhood bully out of 5

MY BEAUTIFUL BROKEN BRAIN [2014]

Originally produced in 2014, director Sophie Robinson & Lotje Sodderland's documentary My Beautiful Broken Brain finally got proper distribution in 2016 thanks to Netflix & executive producer David Lynch.
It documents Sodderland's uphill battle with her own brain, after she suffers a hemorrhagic stroke that makes it next to impossible to speak, read or write, while also suffering from hallucinogenic moments of nightmarish confusion.
Told mostly through Sodderland's cellphone camera, the film is deeply personal as the subject herself is instantly relatable even if she doesn't know her ownself in several moments.  Visually the film is quite captivating, as it alters the imagery quite often to reflect the hallucinations Sodderland experienced.  It manages to balance the moving human story with the medical explanations of what's going on to create an emotional journey is both fascinating and heart-breaking.

3½ frightening moments in the Red Room out of 5

TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME [1992]

Cryptically serving as both a prequel and a sequel to the short-lived cult-hit television series, director David Lynch's Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me takes the viewer down a darker road than puzzled audiences expected.
By chronicling the final seven days of Laura Palmer's life (beautifully led by Sheryl Lee), the film didn't have a whole lot of reason to visit the comical quirkiness of damned fine coffee and heavenly cherry pie, which served as key elements as to why mainstream viewers loved the series in the first place.
Heavily weighing in on themes of incest, addiction, psychological abuse and other unpleasant topics the film manages to make sense of some of more baffling moments in the television series in such an oblique manner it might go over your head upon first glance.
More psychological thriller than oddball soap opera, FWWM is on my short list of films I've seen well over 20 times because it's a near-perfect exquisitely sinister mind-twister.

4 toe-heads out of 5

I DON'T KNOW JACK [2002]

With I Don't Know Jack, documentary director Chris Leavens shines the spotlight on deceased actor Jack Nance, who's known mostly for parts in David Lynch works, most importantly the iconic lead in Eraserhead.
The film is mostly a series of interviews with former co-workers, friends & family and the homicide detective assigned to Nance's murder case.  We're given a little insight into the actor's past, his troubled alcoholism and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death.  However, it's mostly just a lot of reminiscing about an eccentric man most people don't even know.  If you don't know who the man is, then this does nothing to spark any sort of interest in his works.  If you're already familiar then there might be the odd funny story but it mostly seems like a lengthy funeral tribute to Nance for those closest to him.

2 almost Graduates out of 5

SIDE BY SIDE [2012]

Side By Side is probably one of the most fascinating documentaries for die-hard film junkies and most definitely one of the dullest for the casual popcorn muncher.
Actor dude Keanu Reeves interviews a slew of modern directors, editors & cinematographers about the pros & cons of digital and celluloid film.  Reeves makes for a wonderful interviewer, asking all the right questions with an impressive knowledge of the subject, aided by a quiet charm and wit about him.  The film itself never picks sides (it's not shot on film by the way) and with all the arguments made from each side I found myself rooting for both by the end.  Either way, as it so firmly exclaims, as long as the heart of the film is in the right place, it shouldn't matter how it's made.

3½ M.I.A. Tarantinos out of 5

MORE THINGS THAT HAPPENED [2007]

Director David Lynch compiled a series of deleted scenes from Inland Empire to create a feature length narrative in More Things That Happened.
If you're looking for any sort of explanation from the first film then I'd probably walk out the door right now, because this film certainly doesn't make it any better.  There's nothing really here worth seeking out, unless you're a diehard Lynch fan and just need drawn-out scenes of low drones and awkward conversation.  Personally, I feel at home with that sort of thing but this even this one had me checking my watch more often than I'd like to.

2 women in trouble out of 5

INLAND EMPIRE [2006]

Clocking in at 3 hours long, I occasionally got the feeling director David Lynch was having a laugh at the thought of viewers sitting through the senseless collection of awkward scenarios in Inland Empire.
While it does contain the typical Lynchian ingredients like a woman in trouble, cool music, low bassy droning to keep you on edge, characters wandering aimlessly around hallways looking scared, red curtains and asshole officers of the law, you can't help but feel it's Lynch parodying himself unintentionally.  It's essentially the dictionary definition of an "artsy fartsy" film with bizarre dialogue delivery, extended close-ups and subtitles.  Still, Laura Dern pulls of a great, if not confusing performance and there are many interesting scenes even if they don't make sense.
...oh...and bunnies.  There's bunnies.

2½ screwdrivers out of 5

LOST HIGHWAY [1997]

David Lynch's 1997 psychological thriller Lost Highway is loosely inspired by Ambrose Bierce's short story An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and a strange intercom call Lynch received one fine morning.
It explores themes of memories, identity, madness and distrust using a surreal linear style of feverish storytelling.  The initial viewing will leave you baffled and most likely disturbed, however with a closer attention to detail and deceivingly pointless lines of dialogue, you'll figure it all out pretty quickly.  With it's fantastic soundtrack, unsettling photography & sound design and a particularly frightening performance from Robert Blake, Lost Highway is sure to please fans of Lynch's neo-noir films.

3½ mysterious videotapes out of 5

WILD AT HEART [1990]

Director David Lynch makes his own twisted Wizard Of Oz vision in an adaptation of the first of Barry Gifford's Sailor & Lula pulp novel series, Wild At Heart.

A modern romance struggling to survive in a violent world, this road trip film introduces us to large number of bizarre, seedy characters I'd rather not know.  Nicolas Cage & Laura Dern are great in their roles but their white trash, one-track minds make it difficult to like them.  At times the trademark Lynch weirdness seems overly forced but occasionally works in his favor, making for a number of scenes doused in hilarious surrealism.  

3 snakeskin jackets that represents a symbol of individuality and beliefs in personal freedom out of 5

THE ELEPHANT MAN [1980]

David Lynch adapts Sir Frederick Treves' writings about his personal experiences with Joseph Merrick (curiously renamed John Merrick) in the beautiful black & white bio-pic The Elephant Man.

It's a deeply absorbing story where a smile or the smallest of compliments mean the world to someone who lives in such an ugly world.  Lynch wisely hides Merrick's face for a large portion of the film and when we finally do see it, he's developed the story enough so it hardly even startles the viewer.  It occasionally dips into the surreal soundscapes and bizarre "dream sequences" Lynch is well known for but it never takes away from the dramatic impact of the film.  A personal all-time favorite of mine.

5 human beings and not animals out of 5

THE STRAIGHT STORY [1999]

Director David Lynch shows a different side of his art with The Straight Story, based on the true story of elderly Alvin Straight's 240 mile journey to see his estranged brother to make amends with him before it's too late.

Lynch's fascination and love for people becomes all so very apparent with this beautifully woven tale about age, forgiveness, kindness, redemption and family.  It's told with an interesting view as each person Straight runs into is older than the last and makes for some lessons to be learned and taught. Richard Farnsworth delivers his final and most powerful performance with some excellent work turned in by Sissy Spacek and Harry Dean Stanton as well.  It's quiet, slow-burning and majestically layered with so much depth and perfection, one can't deny Lynch's incredible talent in filmmaking.  

5 bundles of sticks out of 5

Lynch (One) (2007)

A portrait of director David Lynch as he wastes time at his desk, photographs old factories, says “Fuck” a lot and occasionally puts in some hours directing his first DV film, Inland Empire (2006). The people that surround him come across as false and I wanted to force blunt things into their eyes; I hate false people. Lynch himself comes across as an occasionally funny, occasionally arrogant and often-times dedicated to a hundred different things all at once meandering artist. It offers no great insight into anything whatsoever, but is a nice snippet of the life of one of the great auteurs of our time.

2½ floors are the biggest ashtray out of 5

Blue Velvet (1986)

Jeffrey Beaumont discovers something strange in a field near his parents' home; his desire to understand its origins leads him into a murky, suburban dream gone awry. What unfolds drags the viewer to a place most of us pretend doesn't exist. Often unsettling, always powerful, the film is an unfurled canvas depicting a surrealist landscape that is both analogous to reality and surreptitiously real. When Blue Velvet makes you feel afraid, remember this: scratch the surface of anything shiny and you’ll likely find something less appealing underneath. The shine isn't merely an illusion, it’s one facet of the larger whole.

5 strange worlds, Sandy out of 5

Dune (1984)

Scratchy sand, suits with piss in the thighs, giant phallic worms, quasi-religious nonsense and a floating fat man. I love Dune.
It’s a mess that requires you to have a deep knowledge of the book that it’s based on to understand it. You’ll need to be able to fill in the blanks to have even a hope of defending it to the haters. There's some dodgy casting and some inspired casting, and the music is hero music at its finest. One thing is certain: the sets are some of the best you’ll find in an 80’s sci-fi film.

4 litanies against fear out of 5

MULHOLLAND DR. [2001]

Taking a trip down Mulholland Drive has never been as weird as David Lynch's surrealist neo-noir thriller of the same name.
Lynch carefully constructs a baffling non-linear Hollywood story about...well...I'm not entirely clear what it was about. Two women played by Naomi Watts & Laura Harring get wrapped up into the murky and menacing world that seems to want to swallow them whole. Meanwhile a troubled film director gets beaten up by Billy Ray Cyrus and may or may not know of these two women. As much sense as this film doesn't make, there's something deep within the subconscious that joins it all together to make it work like a charm.
Merging many of Hitchcock's techniques with traces of Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard, Lynch creates a nightmarish dreamscape that is difficult to shake off. It is phantasmagoria at it's finest and holds a place at the top of my list as one of the scariest films I've ever seen.

5 red lampshades out of 5