366 Days at the Drive-In: Day 195

The Date: April 12

The Movie: Heathers (1988)

What Is It?: High school kids stage the suicides of more popular high school kids before blowing up the school. The message: teenage suicide— don’t do it. Wait, no. That’s not the message. The message is don’t be a dick to Christian Slater or Winona Ryder. A fair message for sure.

Why Today?: Empire Magazine listed Heathers as the 412^th best movie of all time and today is 4/12. Hey, you try finding an appropriate movie for every goddamn day of the year! I’m gonna grab some corn nuts, a bottle of Perrier, and my stuffed Tweety Bird and crawl into bed for a couple of months. Goodnight.

Review: 'Superman: The Atomic Age Sundays 1953 to 1956'

Boy oh boy, do I pity today’s kids. They’ll grow up believing Superman is a dark, tormented soul who goes around destroying cities and murdering his enemies. Had they grown up in the fifties, they might have thought of their pajama-wearing hero as a rapscallion who escorts Lois Lane through the Trojan War or the pilgrims’ voyage to America in a bizarre bid to conceal his identity. They might have been tickled by how he turned a garbage dump into a vacation resort to protect some investors who’d been duped by a diabolical duo from Krypton. They might have seen him help a narcoleptic Hercules save face, ride a Pegasus, or match wits with toddlers. They might have cheered him on during a pro-wrestling match, marveled at how he was tricked into appearing on “This Is Your Life”, or witnessed him getting amnesia for the zillionth time. Basically, they might have thought Superman was fun.

So do that dark, tormented eight-year-old you recently took to see Batman v Superman a favor and get him or her a copy of Superman: The Atomic Age Sundays 1953 to 1956. IDW’s second volume devoted to Superman’s fifties Sunday comic strips is as colorful, kooky, and sweet natured as the first. It’s nice to see how a guy who could punch you through a Formica floor always figures out how to use his wits rather than his fists to solve problems and thwart crimes. He even takes a break from his grander duties to rescue a parrot! There’s a superhero I’d like to hang out with.

Superman’s arch nemeses are on short order. The only recurring villain is the less-than-formidable Prankster. There’s a nice amount of Lois Lane, though, and the stories are consistently amusing and outlandish. As was the case with the first volume of the Atomic Age series, extras are sparse with another short introduction from Mark Waid and another selection of Wayne Boring comic book covers, but the main attraction is lovingly presented and a timely reminder that Superman is supposed to inspire joy, not existential dread and migraines.

366 Days at the Drive-In: Day 194

The Date: April 11

The Movie: Pet Sematary (1989)

What Is It?: Mary Lambert’s adaptation of Stephen King’s variation on “The Monkey’s Paw” is a glorious exercise in bad taste that manages to work in a neat performance from Herman Munster, a neat Ramones song, and a really scary sister. It’s a mess, but I’m not convinced that messiness became a bad thing.

Why Today?: Today is Pet Day.

366 Days at the Drive-In: Day 193

The Date: April 10

The Movie: Punk Attitude (2005)

What Is It?: Don Letts’s era-spanning punk doc lingers a bit too long after the seventies, but it’s still awesome hearing the whole filthy and furious story straight from the mouths of Siouxsie Sioux, Captain Sensible, Mick Jones, Chrissie Hynde, Polly Styrene, David Johansen, Tommy Ramone, and too many other legends to mention.

Why Today?: Today is Safety Pin Day. Clearly, there is a bullshit holiday for everything you could possibly think of.

366 Days at the Drive-In: Day 192

The Date: April 9

The Movie: Boogie Nights (1997)

What Is It?: Like yesterday’s Spider Baby, Boogie Nights is another rather unconventional story of family love. These folks aren’t actually related, which makes their porno business less grotty. As much as I appreciate stuff like There Will Be Blood and The Master, Paul Thomas Anderson is at his grooviest when he’s at his most playful, and despite all the scenes of murder, suicide, drug abuse, and Julianne Moore weeping, Boogie Nights is one of his most playful pictures. Marky Mark’s prosthetic penis is Hollywood’s greatest star.

Why Today?: Today is Name Yourself Day, but keep in mind that Dirk Diggler, Rollergirl, and Chest Rockwell have already been taken.

366 Days at the Drive-In: Day 191

The Date: April 8

The Movie: Spider Baby, or the Maddest Story Ever Told (1964)

What Is It?: Exploitation king Jack Hill tells a repellent story of inbreeding, incest, cannibalism, rape, murder, and madness and makes it really funny and weirdly moving. Lon Chaney Jr. is wonderful in one of his final roles as the caretaker of a family of kids with brains that age in reverse in late childhood. Jill Banner, Beverly Washburn, and Sid Haig all flaunt their cult stardom potential.

Why Today?: On this day in 1968, Spider Baby was finally released after four years in the can.

Review: 'The Stuff' Blu-ray

Tasty white gunk called the Stuff is the latest culinary craze. Corporations dispatch spies to learn the recipe. Families stockpile containers of it. Swimsuit models hawk it in neon-lit T.V. commercials. The only problem is the Stuff is a sentient monster: part Blob, part body snatcher. 

As pointed as writer/director Larry Cohen’s satire of corporate immorality, our junk food-addicted culture, advertising, and the military is, and as sadistic and cynical as its unexpected finale is, The Stuff mostly plays as good natured schlock with its sloppy and choppy editing, delightfully cheesy special effects, and Cool Whip villain. 

366 Days at the Drive-In: Day 190

The Date: April 7

The Movie: The Conversation (1974)

What Is It?: An unusually intimate thriller from the grandiose Francis Ford Coppola. Gene Hackman plays a schlub so wrapped up in his work as a surveillance expert that he doesn’t appreciate the fact that Teri Garr likes him, which is the film's true mystery. What an idiot! Nevertheless, I’ll take The Conversation over The Godfather any day.

Why Today?: On this day in 1939, Francis Ford Coppola burst out of his mother’s womb and demanded more obstetricians and nurses even though his delivery had already gone way over budget.

366 Days at the Drive-In: Day 189

The Date: April 6

The Movie: Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)

What Is It?: Woody Allen’s most humane and touching film finds Mia Farrow escaping from her shit-bag husband (her movie one, not her real one) by watching the same dopey romantic comedy over and over. She spends so much time at the local cinema that the characters in the picture eventually take notice of her and one leaps off the screen to woo her. Lovely, lovely stuff.

Why Today?: On this day in 1869, celluloid is patented.

366 Days at the Drive-In: Day 188

The Date: April 5

The Movie: Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

What Is It?: Roger Corman’s funniest movie was shot in about two minutes for the cost of a donut…and that’s 1960 donut prices, which means the donut dealer actually paid you to buy his donuts! Corman made the most of his teensy shooting schedule and budget with an outrageous yet endearing tale of a boy’s love of a girl and a houseplant’s love of eating people.

Why Today?: On this day in 1926,  Roger Corman is born. May he never die.