Kiss the Girls | | Cast : | Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Cary Elwes | | Director : | Gary Fleder | | Studio : | Paramount Studio | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | October 03, 1997 | | DVD Released Date : | December 12, 2003 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 04, 2005 | | Summary | Color Me Disappointed | Content
 | I really wanted to like this film. I'm a James Patterson fan. Kiss the Girls was one of the first things of his that I read, and I still think it's one of his best. To make matters worse this intricate tale of a serial killer collaboration spanning two coasts was well acted by all participants, especially Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd. Unfortunately, script and direction totally missed the mark.
Actually I can't really fault the scriptwriting, it's just that it uses Patterson's book only for inspiration, and then heads of for parts unknown. Either writer David Klass or Director Gary Fleder decided they could write a better thriller than James Patterson, and they simply should have called the film something else entirely.
Forensic Psychologist Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman) is drawn into the hunt for a serial kill when his niece Naomi disappears from her law school at Durham, North Carolina. A killer who styles himself 'Casanova' is kidnapping women and keeping them as a harem, disposing of those who don't fit in. One victim -Dr. Kate McTiernan (Ashley Judd) - escapes and joins Cross in what turns out to be a cross country hunt for not one, but two killers.
As the film stands on its own, it is a decent police procedural, only marred by the apparent ineptness of the hunters, who first go after a red herring and then let one of the killers dribble through their fingers and who continually make mistimed moves. Director Fleder goes out of his way to make the killers look intelligent at the cost of Alex Cross, the FBI, and the Durham Police. This is overplayed way beyond what happens in the book.
Well, it is very rare that a fictional serial killer does make the police look good, but this time the device is pushed to the point that the film never quite decides what it wants to be and loses its impact. And the ending is a complete rewrite of Patterson's and lacks the final punch. This film came out as a quick attempt to capitalize on the success of Silence of Lambs and in the process of imitation, the production never quite captured what made Kiss the Girls a strong novel on its own.
So - Watchable, but not great. Interesting, but not riveting. If you haven't read the book you will probably like it more than I do. |
| Rating | | | Date | April 20, 2005 | | Summary | Freeman, Judd, and lots of suspense... | Content
| Based on author James Patterson's best-selling thriller, Kiss The Girls is one of those rare films that translates well from the pages of a novel to the big screen of Hollywood. Such a transition is especially fluid when Morgan Freeman is cast in the role of the leading character. Like Tom Clancy's books (which did well as films with big name stars filling the lead roles), James Patterson's books exhibit immense promise as tinsel-town screenplays. Along Came A Spider is the latest example. But Kiss The Girls can stand on its own as a thrilling murder mystery steeped in suspense...
When Washington DC Detective Dr. Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman) learns that his niece, Naomi (Gina Ravera), has been kidnapped, he travels to North Carolina in an effort to aid in her recovery. When a pattern of similar events draws authorities to the conclusion that the kidnappings are the work of a serial killer who calls himself "Casanova," Alex Cross begins working alongside Dr. Kate McTiernan, a woman who recently escaped becoming the vicious serial killer's latest victim...
But as Alex Cross and Kate McTiernan get closer to uncovering the true identity of Casanova, a killer who preys solely on young and beautiful women, Kate is yet again targeted by the killer - who's deeply disappointed she escaped the first time. Is Naomi still alive? Will Kate and Alex catch the killer before he catches them? And what is the true identity of this criminal mastermind? Kiss The Girls will keep you guessing until the end with its brilliantly conceived and well authored screenplay...
Ashley Judd exhibits the talents which turned her into a Hollywood star with her role as Dr. Kate McTiernan, but the true show stealing performance belongs to Morgan Freeman for his role as the lead character Alex Cross. Patterson goes to great lengths to build a bond between Cross and his readers in Kiss The Girls, and that character development translates well onto the big screen. Moreover, Freeman is a likeable guy. He speaks in soft, but assertive, whispers. He's always in control of himself, and he plays characters that are generally honest, straight-forward, and humble. How could you not like a guy like that?
Freeman's wide-reaching appeal among audience members adds depth to a movie that would otherwise consist solely of plot (which isn't necessarily bad for a movie in this genre). But that's why Kiss The Girls is a better than average murder mystery. In between the clues and the thrilling suspense sequences, the viewer isn't bored. That results in a more enjoyable movie experience, and that's one of the reasons why Kiss The Girls is a definite must-see film you won't want to miss...
The DVD Report |
| Rating | | | Date | March 30, 2005 | | Summary | No! No! No! This is probably the worst thriller... | Content
| ...I have ever seen! And I mean it! It makes "Taking Lives" look like a classic, and seriously -how many more of these uninteresting, predictable, bad-acted and full-of-flaws- thrillers will Morgan Freeman waste his talent on. He used to be my favorite actor, but now after seeing him in so many thin-plotted "look-like-made-for-tv"-thrillers I've changed my mind. And his contribution in Stephen Kings' "Dreamcatcher" was perhaps his biggest disaster so far (well, perhaps next to this). Not that he is the problem in any of these movies, it's simply just that not even Freeman can save a paperthin-plotted B(!)-thriller like "Kiss The Girls". The problem is not that it resembles you of previous famous thrillers like "Seven" and (especially here of course to) "The Silence Of The Lambs" because thanks to those "Kiss The Girls" starts out well. My first reactions after a well-functioning opening was "this will be good!" Already after the first 30 minutes you can tell it will be better than Morgans' previous "Along Came A Spider". Yes, the movie is great and slowly builds up until...! Well, one of the many girls cidnapped by a "serial"-killer (or whatever) manages to escape the prison-cave, good for her of course -but they make a big point of that this girl has been heavily drugged, and her legs did not carry her far. With the killer behind her she jumps into a waterfall, and is picked up by someone further down the river. Now the killers' "lovenest" located, right. He finds himself in these woods, right? Not far from that waterfall straight up that river right? So the policeforces send out a rescue-theme to find the other victims still trapped in that dungeon-like place that the now only alive witness who has managed to escape the killer not quite can tell is a basement or a tunnel, right? (Puh, this was a long sentence, sorry! But this is such a lowpoint!). No! Instead they keep fooling around, investigating various suspects -and the girl who managed to escape becomes Lara Croft, fearless it seems! Of course they find the tunnel before the credits starts to roll, but come on! So unrealistic it's not even entertaining! A child would shake its' head over this, and it's impossible to see through the fingers here. The movie is "butchered", and becomes like some parody on itself. I find no excuse for this from the moviemakers -and Morgan soon must start to be more "picky" about the scripts they keep sending him. This is embarrassing -and a waste of time. I wanted to turn the damn movie off -and after seing the ending, well, that would've been a clever thing to do! The killer is one of those you've expected as a possibility of course. Freemans' character suddenly looks like a fool, and you don't care if the killer gets away or not!
I will never watch "Kiss The Girls" again! A disaster! |
| Rating | | | Date | March 21, 2005 | | Summary | A Serial Killer Thriller! | Content
| This is one of my favorite serial killer movies. The acting is superb, the plot is told very convincingly, and the scary mystery is worth a watch more than once.
The acting... some of the best acting by a couple of the best actors in thrillers. morgan Freeman(Se7en/Shawshank Redemption) gives another stunning performance which thankfully, he was recently awarded for. Ashley Judd(Double Jeopardy/High Crimes) gives you acting that is so believable... you want to see her other movies. Cary Elwes(The Crush/Saw) who I thought gave his best performance in what i would say is his best movie, in everyway. Gary Fleder directed this to perfection... another great mystery of his I liked was Don't Say A Word, with (michael Douglas).
I never read the book for this, like I hadn't for a lot of movies. Still, I can't compare a movie to a book... I only compare it to what I expected. Kiss the Girls was way over my expectations. It makes Gothika and all the Scream films look ridiculous... being a serial killer mystery like those.
If you hadn't watched this movie... please give it a try. I haven't talked about the story one bit, and already you know it sounds surprisingly interesting. It won't be a waste of your money, I promise! |
| Rating | | | Date | February 25, 2005 | | Summary | hauntingly scary | Content
| Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman are perfect people for this film
Freeman always adds a touch of sarcasm, wit and other things among his dialogue. I like that. he really grabs your attention on screen. only watched this once on dvd. but I assure you it will be worth the watch every time i see it. the visuals of the girls being hurt or killed terrified me. the killer is one sick, twisted individual. not only that but the ending really makes you wonder what happens next or if anything at all. give this movie a try if you have'n't already. the title is hauntingly enough scary with the mask fading between the 2 faces. |
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