The actors' idiosyncratic voices, wrapped around such chrome-plated poetry as "the great whatsit" and "va-va-voom," are as hauntingly musical as Aldrich's images.

| Sep 12, 2016

| Original Score: B+ | Jun 16, 2011

This independently produced low-budget film was a shining example for the New Wave directors -- Truffaut, Godard, et al -- who found it proof positive that commercial films could accommodate the quirkiest and most personal of visions.

| Mar 27, 2009

The trail leads to a series of amorous dames, murder-minded plug-uglies and dangerous adventures that offer excitement but have little clarity to let the viewer know what's going on.

| Oct 30, 2008

Kiss Me Deadly delivers the 'white-hot thrills' and 'blood-red kisses' promised by its publicity, as well as reminding us whence Tarantino stole his best riffs.

| Jun 24, 2006

Never was Mike Hammer's name more fitting than in Kiss Me Deadly, Robert Aldrich's blisteringly nihilistic noir.

| May 1, 2006

A crucial influence on what would become the French new wave, an irresistibly seedy trip through the Los Angeles underworld, and a valuable artifact of Cold War anxiety.

| Feb 9, 2006

It's not a horror movie by any means, but like a good horror movie it has images and tiny loose ends that make sense on a subconscious level.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Jan 1, 2000