Customer Reviews

Kiss the Girls

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

One thing I've learned is that just because I love something that doesn't mean that everyone will love it. Heck they may not even like it. What's that old saying? "One person's Treasure is another's Trash"

Despite that I was genuinely surprised when I noticed that a few (just a few)reviewers actually trashed Kiss The Girls. One or two reviewers said it wasn't like the book while another said something really crazy, that it was just like The Silence of the Lambs, so it wasn't worth seeing. Well let me tell you, comparing Kiss the Girls with The Silence of the Lambs is like comparing the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Monument because they're both monuments. This reviewer took the common denominator, serial murderers, and said they're both the same. By extension, all movies about serial murders are like TSOTL and not worth seeing and then perhaps all action movies are like Die Hard also are not worth seeing and so forth.

As for the comments about not following the book, thats why they write screen plays. Every book cannot be put into visual form without some modification, some more, some less and Kiss the Girls was definitely less. Now I have read Kiss the Girls and Silence of the Lambs too. If something was left out, so be it. That's the case in most movies. You can't cram six hundred pages of story into two hours. Now I didn't read it just before or just after I saw the movie but as I remembered it, I thought it followed the book pretty well.

The Plot

The Durham Police Department has problem. Pretty college co-eds are disappearing from area college campuses. Additionally a couple of the women have been located in the wilds tied to a tree, exposed to the elements and wild animals. A note was found at each crime scene that said "Cassanova". Whether the remaining captives are alive or dead the investigators can only speculate.

The latest victim happens to be the niece of Dr. Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman) a well reputed forensic detective and author from Washington. He has assured his frantic sister in law that he will do everything in his power to find out what happened to Naomi.

When Cross arrives in Durham he gets a tepid response from the authorities, being a famous big city cop nosing around in their business. But since this is family, this is personal and Cross will not be deterred. He discovers that there are six other victims, two of which have been found dead and that there is already a task force investigating.

Dr. Kate McTiernan (Ashley Judd) is a remarkable woman. She is an Intern at a local hospital whose hobby is kickboxing. She is beautiful, bright and talented, just the way Cassanova likes them. Kate will make an excellent addition to his collection.

The investigation is going nowhere, the investigators are stymied and need a break, when words comes that two boys found a woman on the bank of a river. It is the break they needed for it is the newly kidnapped Dr. McTiernan who apparently escaped from Cassanova but she is in the hospital and something is wrong with her.

With the help of Alex Cross, Kate recovers from the drugs that Cassanova had given her, however she is of limited help.
She is able to tell authorities that the other victims are alive and being held at some undisclosed location.

Conclusion

Well let's see, the movie is based on James Patterson's greatest novel and Ashley Judd is my favorite actress and Morgan Freeman is my favorite actor. The acting by all is superb, especially Judd and Freeman but everybody did an outstanding job. The directing was great, the story flows well and is extremely suspenseful. The camera work is also excellent as were the sets and the setting. The movie has no flat or dull spots and keeps you guessing full time and there are some unique plot twists that I haven't mentioned, that is the real genius of the story.

Do I like the movie? Da.... are you kidding, I love the movie, in fact it's one of my ten favorites.

While others may argue that this action thriller was a "Silence of the Lambs' wannabe, I found both the plot and the characters to be far more compelling and plausible than in most contemporary suspense films. Of course, having someone as good at presenting the merits of forensic scientist as Morgan Freeman certainly helps, as does the strong performance by Ashley Judd, fresh from her star turn in "Heat" playing opposite Robert DeNiro and Val Kilmer. She is smart, sassy, and more than the match for the serial killer she must face alone here, and shows how well she can play an urbane, well-educated, and resourceful modern woman.

And such talents are required by the somewhat convoluted plot spun from author James Patterson's gory novel of the same name. Filmed in somber tones, much of the action takes place in a makeshift subterranean lockup the serial murderer uses to such gruesome effect. Yet other scenes contrast this muddy environment by depicting the upscale area of the lovely area around the "Research Triangle" area of North Carolina near Duke University and the University Of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Since Judd's character is a surgeon also doing important pediatric research, it shows a number of familiar scenes that denizens of the area will certainly recognize.

After Judd manages to escape from the killer and make her back to the world, she agrees to help Freeman find him. Of course, this is when all hell breaks loose, and a number of unexpected plot twists make this a suspenseful thriller that had me at the edge of my seat for the last half hour. It is a fast-paced movie, one that is fairly intelligent in its approach, and as relatively straight-forward `bang-em-up' entertainment it works quite well. Enjoy!

i'm into the Alex Cross novels these days and because Ashley Judd is one of the hottest little babes alive, i rented the dvd instead of reading the novel. I was not disappointed.

It's a nice thriller almost completely devoid of special effects or tricks. Someone has kidnapped and supposedly raped Alex Cross's neice. It turns out that she is just a number among several other women who have found the same fate. Some are found dead and tied to trees, but why not the rest? What is the serial criminal's motive? What's going on? No one knows until Judd is taken, beaten, drugged and escapes. She's the only one that gets away to tell the tale and help the police find the culprit.

But which culprit? That's the main theme to the story and a damn good one I have to say.

Good film and I hope that there are more to come. God bless Morgan Freeman. He is one of the best actors alive.

Washington, DC police detective Alex Cross (Freeman) receives a call that his niece Naomi has been abducted from the Durham area, and he decides that he needs to go there to help find her. Once he gets there, he is informed that one of the women abducted has been found dead tied to a tree. He, along with Nick Ruskin (Elwes) and Davey Skes (McArthur), the two Durham detectives heading up the task force, head out to the location. Alex is fearful that it's his niece, but is relieved that it's not her.

Meanwhile, we meet Kate McTiernan (Judd), a doctor at the local hospital. Not only is she a doctor, but she's also a kick-boxer. But that does her little good when she discovers a stranger in her house, who knocks her unconscious. When she comes to, she finds herself in a small room. And shortly after regaining conscious, the person who has abducted her appears at her bedside. She manages to get out of the room and escapes by jumping into a river. After she recovers, she decides to help Alex out with his investigation, against his protests. But he realizes that she's his best opportunity to find his niece, so reluctantly agrees.

The abducter starts taunting the police, sending them notes about the women. He signs his notes as Cassanova. Cassanova was a great lover, and Alex deduces that he isn't a killer, he's a collector. He only kills when the women disappoint or cross him. After some more investigating, he finds a connection between Cassanova and a plastic surgeon on the West Coast. It seems that there are also a string of abductions there, but these women all turn up dead, with one of their feet missing.

I can't say any more without giving away too much of the plot. KISS THE GIRLS has a good story, with very good acting by all involved. When Judd's character of McTiernan is in her cell communicating with the other girls, she's so convincing that it's like she was actually there. Morgan Freeman is very good in the role of Alex Cross. The supporting cast is pretty good, as well.

**SPOILER** The only real problem I have with KISS THE GIRLS is that the story, which is good as I said above, is just too similar to a lot of other movies in the thriller genre. It's really frustating to see movie after movie with the "killer is someone we met earlier" plot-line. It might have been clever at one time, but now it is just so common-place, that the viewer almost automatically look for clues as to who the killer is. I had this one pegged not too long after we first meet him.

Based solely on the story of this movie, I would give it a three. It's basically the same movie the viewer has seen before, but with a different twist on the plot. But I have to give it a four because of the acting, especially Freeman and Judd. If Freeman has made a bad movie, I haven't seen it yet. I recommend this movie, but if you pay attention, you can figure out who Cassanova is without too much difficulty. Story rates a three, but the acting pulls it up to a four. Go check it out.

When detective Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman)takes on a series of mysterious kidnappings in which the victims are all lovely, talented young women being collected by a ghostly stalker called "Cassanova," he finds he's in for more than the standard cat-and-mouse manhunt. Not only is one of the victims his own niece, Naomi, but Cross finally learns there isn't one psychotic genius at work...but two. As the kidnappers play their deadly game, each trying to upstage the other, Cross's last hope is the beutiful and indomitable Kate McTiernan (Ashley Judd), the only victim to escape Cassanova's benighted harem. Does she dare to confront her tormentor once more? Dark, sexy, and scary, "Kiss the Girls" is a first-class thriller.

KISS THE GIRLS will not disappoint anyone looking to spend
90 mins transported into another space and time, mainly,
in Raleigh, North Carolina where Morgan Freeman
investigates the disappearance of a family member of his,
a bright young girl with musical training, at the same
time a rash of rapes, disappearances of certain talented
women are occuring in the so-called Research Triangle,
which was hip around the time the Y2K bug mania was
happening, back in 2000.

We see Ashley Judd, the protagonist, once again reprise
her role seen in Double Jeopardy, as a young woman faced
against all odds, to survive a terrible ordeal, having to
build physical stamina, mental determination and endurance
to overcome all of those challenges put forth.

Here again, Tony Goldwyn (earlier seen in Kuffs, also
with Judd), packs a powerful performance as an
upstanding citizen having a dark, dispicable, insidious
side to him, in participating with the sex ring-master doing
the abductions of the victims, and those horrible serial
crimes.

Quite simply, the filming quality, action sequences
indoors and outdoors, the acting, and at -times, alarming
and frightening sequences - make this movie a worthy
addition to your collection.

Kiss the Girls is a disturbing, well-crafted movie that exceeded all of my expectations. It is not what I would call horror per se, but there are certainly some realistic scenes of violence in it. This movie pulls no punches; any ghastly images are there not for shock value but for the simple reason that the story demands them to be there in order for the film to be as powerful as it is. Someone is kidnapping young, attractive girls in North Carolina's Research Triangle area; three have been found dead in the woods, but the rest remain missing. One of the missing is the niece of Washington, D.C. forensic investigator Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman), and he goes to Durham to help find her. Soon thereafter, medical doctor Kate McTiernan (Ashley Judd) is kidnapped from her home. She wakes up to find a masked man telling her how much he loves her; this self-named Casanova has assembled a harem of sorts for himself, keeping the missing girls locked up in separate rooms in an unknown stone-walled location. McTiernan is the only victim to break her captor's rules and survive, and she becomes Cross' greatest asset in his hunt for the criminal. The eventual outcome is somewhat complex, but the terrific script allows for little misunderstanding on the part of the viewer. Most importantly, the conclusion is both spectacular and largely unforeseen; Kiss the Girls triumphs in delivering a thoroughly satisfying ending, a fact which distinguishes it from the majority of action/thriller/psychological horror movies.

Is there a better actor in Hollywood than Morgan Freeman? His virtually perfect acting is greatly complemented here by Ashley Judd's own superb performance. The role of Casanova is also played extremely well, guaranteeing the high-impact drama of the incredible conclusion. As a native North Carolinian, though, I would like to say that the accents of the Durham policemen were not really accurate. I have no other complaints at all. Some may be interested in knowing there is no nudity in this film, which is somewhat refreshing. If you like a suspenseful thriller along the lines of Silence of the Lambs, you will almost certainly enjoy Kiss the Girls immensely.

I'm not usually one to get psyched up in any way while watching the tube, but this one succeeds in getting the heart pounding and the chills running up one's back. A little confusing at first, the movie keeps the viewer guessing (or rather, not even trying to guess because one can't figure things out fast enough) till the very end. The final scene in which Morgan Freeman (as Alex Cross) manages to literally 'defuse' the situation, is brilliant. (and no, I'm not referring to whether or not he actually catches the villain(s), but to a last puzzle: how to fire a gun in a room filled with gas?)
A thriller in every sense of the word, it's one of the better movies I've watched lately in terms of acting and plot, and should leave all but the most finicky of viewers pleasantly satisfied.

Morgan Freeman plays detective Alex Cross, who is on the hunt for a serial killer who calls himself Casanova. His only hope in catching the killer and rescuing his neice, Naomi, is the young woman who got away. This movie's filled with thrills, action, mystery, and great suspense. Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman deliver great performances. This movie is highly recommened to action, suspense and mystery movie fans. I guarntee it'll be a blast!

A highly intensifying and intelligent suspense thriller, "Kiss the Girls" sets a precedent for the genre into which it is born. It has all the classical elements of a first rate thriller film: an involving story, a dark and unsettling tone, smart characters and a stellar cast. But what sets this movie apart from others of its kind is its superb intelligence, which contributes to the way the story moves, and a terrific cast that plays out their characters with unmatched superiority when it comes to dialogue and brain power.

As the movie opens to its beginning credits, a man is telling an unknown person about his past voyeurism over two teenage girls, both of which he kidnapped and one of which he killed because she rejected him. This is all done in a series of floating images, intermixed with a frightening score and the deep voice of the killer, whose voice never breaks in its seriousness. As the movie progresses, detective Alex Cross learns that his niece has been kidnapped, only a day after a woman's body has been discovered tied to a tree in a string of killings following abductions of numerous women. Since all of the women have not been found, Cross is able to hypothesize that the killer does not kill on a whim, but "collects" women and keeps them hidden from the rest of the world. This character really gives Morgan Freeman a chance to play the detective we all know he can be, and he does it with the same bravura that made his acting in "Seven" such a success.

Enter Kate McTiernan, a young medical intern who becomes the latest addition to "Casanova's" collection. She is kidnapped from her home and wakes up later to a dark room, where she is bound to a bed. After she learns that there are other women in other rooms close to her, she becomes more and more determined to escape, and succeeds in her task. After being in a coma, she makes acquaintance with Cross, who begins examining her mind and thoughts to find out what exactly happened to her as well as any clue as to the location where she was taken. As she begins remembering more clues, they begin an undercover hunt for the killer, making their way between Los Angeles and North Carolina in order to capture who they think is the killer. What they will ultimately discover is that they are dealing with more than what they originally think, and the results of their trophy may end up causing more harm than good.

The movie is based on the novel of the same name by James Patterson, who is one of the better modern suspense writers of our time. It is clear that the movie has captured the true core of the novel, because in watching it, I was able to see many of the different Patterson techniques. The movie is a true innovation in that it takes all of the basic elements of a thriller and bends them to its own satisfaction and liking. What we think is going to happen really turns out to be something else waiting in the wings, and once the secrets are revealed, all the stops are pulled out and the showdown is underway.

However original it may be, the film does derive a certain amount of inspiration from the film "Seven," which is a novice for it usage of heavily dark images and intensely damp and moldy settings that give the movie a dirty, unclean feel. "Girls" uses this similar technique as well, mostly during scenes of heightened suspense as well as sequences that involve the seduction of the kidnapped women by the elusive, mask-wearing "Casanova." Whenever he appears onscreen, there is always a shadow that falls on him, whether it be half of his form, or the lower half of his masked face. This adds so much more to the suspense and the unknown in this film, also allowing the viewer to use their imagination when it comes to putting the whole image together in their mind.

The film is superbly adapted from the novel, with a greatly intelligent script and a story that never stops moving until the highly climactic ending. Throughout the movie, Cross and McTiernan have a terrific lingo of intellectual connection going, and the film is great in allowing them to help each other out in finding clues instead of pitting them against one another. They do share the same motive, which is to capture the killer, but while Kate has more incentive to find the suspect, Cross is the one who really ends up going overboard in his pursuit, pushing the envelope when it comes to finding clues. The killer's motive is also a welcome aspect, giving us something much higher and deeper than just dead bodies and wanton revenge.

The acting is probably the most intrical part of the film, with two leads that pack a power punch of credibility and painstaking recreation of the characters from the novel. Morgan Freeman is able to embody everything that Alex Cross is, an ambitious detective whose extreme knowledge of crime and diverse criminal minds sometimes take him too far is his hunt. This is Freeman at his best here, giving us a high-caliber performance that keeps the suspense aspect of the film going. Ashley Judd breathes irrepresible life into the character of Kate McTiernan, who adds to the suspense as well as giving the story an emotional outlet. She comes off as strong and smart, using her brain as well as her high-order thinking skills in maintaining her character's personality and traits.

"Kiss the Girls" is not like your everyday thriller, which is what makes it so refreshing. Unlike the many others before it, we are able to identify with the characters on a highly personal level, and we are right there with them as they go through the story's twists and turns. The movie comes out in the end as a successfully-adapted thriller!