close is a lingerie shop without a front window

Average rating: 6.5 (which doesn't even begin to tell the real story...)

Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) - "Veteran police detective Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) is only days away from retiring when he and his tough partner, Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson), are roped into an important internal affairs case. Working with the beautiful, no-nonsense Sergeant Lorna Cole (Rene Russo) and aided by the shifty informant Leo Getz (Joe Pesci), Murtaugh and Riggs begin to close in on a black-market weapons operation involving corrupt cop and arms dealer Jack Travis (Stuart Wilson)."
length: 1 hour, 58 minutes

source: I own the DVD series
I watched it because: I bought the set and wanted to watch them in order

    previously reviewed here
IMDB: 6.7/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 60% Audience: 61%
my IMDB: 6/10

MPAA rating: R

notable quote: "'After all the shit we've been through, don't you get it? Don't you get it? When you retire, you're not just retiring you, you're retiring us. You're retiring us.'

    'That's not my problem. That's not my problem!'

    'You're the only family I've got! I've got three beautiful kids, I love them, they're yours. Trish does my laundry, I live in your icebox, I live in your life! What am I gonna do? What am I supposed to do?'"

directed by: Richard Donner

my notes: a little Joe Pesci goes a long way. The super-sexy interplay between Gibson and Russo breathes some life into what would have otherwise been a stale montage of reruns from the first two films. It's worth seeing but maybe not worth remembering too well.

    Roger Ebert's review is here, with which I mostly disagree.

overall:  marginally recommended

 

Cimarron (1960) - "After Sabra (Maria Schell) marries cowboy Yancey Cravat (Glenn Ford) against her parents' wishes, the newlyweds travel to Oklahoma to participate in a land rush for territory taken from the Indians. Settling down in their new community, Yancey becomes locally prominent as the editor of the town newspaper. When he turns down an offer to run for governor because his oil-money backers would demand more property from the Indians, Sabra's disapproval drives Yancey to leave."
length: 2 hours, 27 minutes

source: I bought the DVD... 
I watched it because: ...on the strength of my interest in Glenn Ford
IMDB: 6.4/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 53%
my IMDB: 4/10

MPAA rating: Approved

notable quote: "Oh, you women. If you didn't have anything to worry about, you'd worry about that."

directed by: Anthony Mann, Charles Walters

my notes: It was with this film that I finally accepted that my affection for Glenn Ford is limited to a couple of movies I've already seen. Much of the stuff he made was crap. For instance, this film is a mess. Misogynistic hedonist with a VERY chequered past inexplicably marries a buttoned-up woman half his age, and promptly hauls her cross-country with a plan of farming in Oklahoma. 
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Art Direction - Set Decoration, Color—George W. Davis, Addison Hehr, Henry Grace, Hugh Hunt, Otto Siegel

• Best Sound—Franklin Milton
overall: not  recommended

A Very Long Engagement {Un long dimanche de fiançailles} (2004) - "Mathilde (Audrey Tautou) is told that her fiancé (Gaspard Ulliel) has been killed in World War I. She refuses to believe this, however, and begins trying to find out what actually happened on the battlefield the night he was supposedly killed, enlisting the help of a private investigator. During her search, she stumbles across evidence of the inhumane and morally bankrupt system used by the French to deal with deserters, and hears from other men who were sentenced to extreme punishment."
length: 2 hours, 13 minutes

source: I borrowed the DVD through the public library
I watched it because: Tchécky Karyo is in it
IMDB: 7.6/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 79% Audience: 85%
my IMDB: 9/10

MPAA rating: R

notable quote: "Tears say what you can't say."

directed by: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

my notes: I LOVE this movie! Sad, sweet, funny, ridiculous, sexy, heartbreaking, and lovely. Beautifully filmed, amazing cinematography, terrific lighting and costumes. The casting is outstanding, in particular: Ticky Holgado (sweet and funny Germain Pire), Marion Cotillard (gorgeous and psychotic Tina Lombardi), Jérôme Kircher (indescribable Bastoche), and especially Albert Dupontel (ridiculous and mesmerizing Célestin Poux).

    Roger Ebert's review is here, with which I completely agree. 

Academy Award nominee:
• Best Cinematography—Bruno Delbonnel 

• Best Art Direction—Aline Bonetto
overall: highly recommended

The Expendables 3 (2014) - "Years ago, Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) co-founded the Expendables with Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson). After Stonebanks became an arms dealer, Ross was forced to kill him—or so he thought. Now, Stonebanks is back and he's on a mission to end the Expendables. Ross decides that the way to fight old blood is with new blood, so he assembles a team of younger, faster, more tech-savvy recruits. The battle to topple Stonebanks becomes a clash of old-school methods vs. high-tech expertise."
length: 2 hours, 6 minutes

source: I borrowed the set through the public library
I watched it because: I want to watch them all in order
IMDB: 6.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 32% Audience: 48%
my IMDB: 7/10

MPAA rating: PG-13 ...WTAF??!

notable quote: "I missed you, too—you demented bastard."

directed by: Patrick Hughes

my notes: this must have been incredibly fun to make. Everyone on the cast is insane, and they become more so as they go. As always, Jason Statham is my favorite, particularly given the microscopic scene time of Jet Li. Also kinda like the adorable combo of Antonio Banderas (Galgo) and Ronda Rousey (Luna). The allusions to the collective filmography are hilarious, well-timed, and incredibly nostalgic. Go Expendables! Let's get to the choppa!

    RogerEbert.com's review is here, with which I vehemently agree.

We’ve come to the part of the review where I’m supposed to justify my favorable rating by telling you to “turn your brain off” in order to enjoy The Expendables III [sic]. I’m not going to do that, because that’s an insult to you, me and the movie. Instead, I want you to pay close attention to The Expendables III, because if you’re on its wavelength, you’ll discover an incredibly self-aware streak of obsessive compulsion running through it. When it comes to nostalgic detail, this is a Russian nesting doll of a movie. Allusions beget deeper allusions, tying the levels together in an almost endless game of “Six Degrees of Action Movie Separation.” There’s a Marvel Universe-sized dollop of slavish devotion for fans of Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Statham and Gibson. 

overall:  recommended

 

[the title quotation is from Lethal Weapon 3]