After a slow start, Kiss Me Deadly picks up the pace and gets the ball rolling as soon as Mike Hammer delves deeper into the mystery of the girl's disappearance. It gets more and more interesting as time goes on until the final ending which turns out to be unexpected. Tough characters appear one by one throughout. It's gritty on the noir level because, quite simply, people just die. Furthermore, they're pushed over for selfish aims and thus mercilessly killed.

Since the release of Sunset Boulevard in 1950, Hollywood hadn't been dark again until The Big Knife five years later. As strong as the cast is which includes three future Oscar winners, it's Jack Palance who gives the most powerful performance which leads to the shocking ending.

Like The Wild Bunch and The Hunting Party, Ulzana's Raid is a brutal Western picture. Believe it or not, the fighting between the US Army and various Apache nations in the southwest from 1849 to 1886 is the longest war ever in U.S. history which ended with the surrender of Geronimo. The brutality shown by the Apaches did happen for real.

The Dirty Dozen is a well-known war picture despite the misleading title because there are actually fourteen involved in the mission. Performance-wise, none of the actors stands out. So, it's the chemistry of the group that makes the film watchable. Of course, having Lee Marvin on board is a bonus.

Despite being totally forgotten, The Killing of Sister George has a reputation. What a total surprise that Beryl Reid, Susannah York (who's way, way better than Julie Christie), and Coral Browne weren't Oscar-nominated. That has to be the best performance of their careers. Is it because of the controversial content? For 1968, the lesbianism must have been shocking to see on screen.

What a cast: James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Krüger, Ernest Borgnine, Dan Duryea, George Kennedy, and so on. That's five Oscar winners among them. Of course, James Stewart is believable for a pilot because he had flown missions during WWII. The whole thing is reminiscent of Alive except it takes place on the desert with Hardy Krüger stealing the show.

Highly influential to The Wild Bunch and the Spaghetti Westerns by Sergio Leone, Vera Cruz offers an interesting contrast of acting styles between Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster. All draped in black, the latter plays a quite likeable character for a hard-to-figure-out heel with a violent streak. It's amazing to see him dominate the screen although the former did a good job of holding his ground.

Too Late the Hero is an impressive war picture with heavy British flavor that's topped by a dramatic ending. How the men made their individual decisions is what makes the film compelling whether they're selfish, weak, stupid, reluctant, or cynical. Ronald Fraser has done the best job of showing his feelings while the winner is Michael Caine who steals every scene with a bunch of witty lines.