Last batch of August movies.

148. (685.) Pacific Rim (2013)
A truly beautiful monster movie with a terrible premise. I liked it, but I watched most of it without paying much attention to what people were saying. It has more than a passing similarity to Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, another beautiful monster movie that doesn't make much sense.

149. (686.) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
I avoided this movie for years because it is a Tennessee Williams play staring Elizabeth Taylor. My loss. It was fantastic, though that was more thanks to Burl Ives' performance than anyone else's. I read online that it was Williams' least favorite adaptation of his work. That sounds about right. It's the only Tennessee Williams work I've ever enjoyed.

150. (687.) The Mating Season (1951)
A screwball comedy with a premise that's hard to swallow wherein a newlywed's mother is mistaken for his cook. I thought that some of the characters were unnecessarily broad, but the movie wasn't trying to expound on the human condition, just entertain you for an hour and a half. Mission accomplished.

151. (688.) Pickup on South Street (1953)
The failure of this film is in it's star, Richard Widmark, who plays the protagonist as an unlikable heel from beginning to end. Just because the villains are dirty Communists doesn't mean that the hero should get to be a runaway asshole.

152. (689.) Fired Up! (2009)
Cheerleader comedies always make money (box office lessone no. 1: sex sales!), so someone got the bright idea of making a movie about two guys pretending to be cheerleaders to get some girls. To say it's not a great movie is still probably over-selling it, but it beats watching a two-hour block of most sitcoms.

153. (690.) Nine Lives Are Not Enough (1941)
More Ronald Reagan, the star of the month! Reagan plays a charming reporter in this comedy/murder mystery that has absolutely no relation to its title. (It's almost like the studio had a snappy title, and they just pinned it to this script rather than let it go to waste.) Reagan is far better suited to physical comedy than the action and dramatic roles of the other films I saw him in this month.

That's it for August! Football has gotten in the way of movies in September, so next month's list will be much smaller.

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