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.

Blazing Saddles (1974)

A classic that has persisted more than 50 years, this send-up of the Western genre is as irreverent today as ever. Only his third film at the time (following The Producers and The Twelve Chairs), and released the same year as Young Frankenstein, Mel Brooks was on fire in the 1970s. The plot concerns a dead end little town being appointed its first black sheriff, Bart. He befriends the local drunk held in a jail cell as they plot a way to turn things around for both of them. The details are not as important as the brass balls sense of humor it carries throughout, which honestly feels quaint in some respects. It's a direct reaction to the 1950s, but the social commentary is sharp and never punches down. Most filmmakers wouldn't possess the nuance to attempt such a thing today, so it remains another capsule frozen in time. This is essentially a live-action cartoon, and like Monty Python, contains a holy grail of classic gags.

5 bean-fueled campfire scenes out of 5

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)

The first filmed version of Roald Dahl's famous book is the only one you really need to see. The screenplay was written by the author himself. I know that alone doesn't guarantee success, but thankfully everything else in the production came up as polished and golden as the tickets that grant the five young protagonists access to the secret world of Willy Wonka.
Wilder plays the chocolatier like a ringmaster with an enigmatic but caustic edge lurking beneath his multifaceted surface – he's a candy box of moods.
Wonka's the guide but it's Charlie Bucket who the audience are more in tune with. Charlie is poor in pocket but rich in heart. He recognises moments of self-pity when they appear but half the time is powerless to quash them completely. He'd be bullied in real life, but in Dahl's world he's a shining light of redemption that provides both the warmth of a kind heart and the selfless sadness that is often tethered to the same emotional machine.

4 disappearing rabbits out of 5

See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989)

A blind man and a deaf man are both present at the scene of the same crime, with each man witnessing it in their own unique, limited way. It’ll take both of them working together to do anything about it.
The plot is terrible and I'm still not sure if Spacey was trying to be awful or just turned out to be, but Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor make a perfect bumbling double act with a real warmth between them. I find them hilarious, Pryor especially. Some people may take the opinion that the jokes are inappropriate or offensive, but don't ignore the fact that the two men are laughing at and with both sides of the equation.

3½ phoney accents out of 5

Young Frankenstein (1974)

This movie ages like a fine wine. Every time I see it, it just gets better and better. It’s almost like canon to me, which is why I included it in my mini Monster marathon. Combines all the best elements of the series, with a little bit of King Kong thrown in. Gene Wilder plays his manic bit to a T as Dr. Franken-steen, the grandson of the original inventor, and Marty Feldman's eyeballs remain as swoon-worthy as ever. It's such a simple idea and that’s why this spoof works. Doesn’t try too hard to outdo the original, but instead has fun with the source material and allows the actors to have a blast with it.

5 enormous Schwanzstückers out of 5