‘Life Stinks’ (1991) … and so does this movie
Mel Brooks Monday (Movie review): The writer-director-star struggles without an existing movie to provide a foundation for jokes.
Comedy
‘Life Stinks’ (1991) … and so does this movie
Biting satire of ‘Network’ (1976) has become soberly prescient
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): Lumet’s brilliant boredom-killer both satirizes and educates about the inner workings of a TV network.
‘Muppets from Space’ (1999) presents epic, funky identity quest of the Great Gonzo
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): In riffing on “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” the late Jim Henson’s studio crafts a deeper character journey.
‘History of the World: Part I’ (1981) is a rough lesson
Mel Brooks Monday (Movie review): Even comedy legends misfire sometimes, as proven in Brooks’ centuries-spanning collection of sketches.
‘Dracula: Dead and Loving It’ (1995) takes Brooks back to Transylvania
Mel Brooks Monday (Movie review): And also back to basics, as the director/co-writer sets aside industry references and simply spoofs Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.”
‘Robin Hood: Men in Tights’ (1993) a tight parody – with an English accent
Mel Brooks Monday (Movie review): Mildly hampered by goofiness and familiarity, the film is nonetheless quite funny as new actors pick up the Brooks baton.
‘Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!’ celebrates a hilarious career
TV review: This nearly four-hour documentary somberly yet happily chronicles a resume defined as much by friends and kindness as by laughs.
‘Paradox of Chudnovsky’ (2025) takes its time reaching ‘TMNT’ fans
Turtle Tuesday (Comic book review): The Mirage timeline quietly got expanded when this under-published issue was included in “Best of Renet.”
‘Blazing Saddles’ (1974) sends up Westerns before running out of gas
Mel Brooks Monday (Movie review): Brooks proves there are a million ways to laugh in the West, even if he can’t figure out an ending.
‘Princess Bride’ (1987) both less and more than I remembered
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): Some of the simplest films are the most beautiful, as this ubiquitous childhood gem gets more timeless with time.