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Product Description
The lone escapee of a serial kidnapper is determined to rescue the fellow captives she left behind in this race-against-time suspense.Genre: Suspense
Rating: R
Release Date: 12-DEC-2003
Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com
Coming after The Silence of the Lambs and Seven, this thriller about a collaboration between two serial killers feels like a pale attempt to cash in on the success of those earlier, better films. That's a pity, because this film certainly has its strengths--particularly in the central performances of Morgan Freeman as a forensic detective and Ashley Judd as a would-be victim who escaped from one of the killers. Director Gary Fleder demonstrates visual flair and maintains an involving undercurrent of tension, but as this adaptation of James Patterson's novel approaches its climax, familiar elements combine to form a chronic case of thriller déjà vu. It's altogether competent filmmaking in the service of a moribund story of competing psychopaths, and by the time the serial killers reach the home stretch of their twisted contest, the movie's dangerously close to Freddy Kruger territory, with a finale that could've been borrowed from any dozen similar thrillers. --Jeff ShannonSimilarProduct
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Customer reviews
Kiss the Girls - A Non Love Story 
by .. Mr D. (Cave Creek, Az United States)
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.
A suspenseful thriller that wildly exceeded my expectations by .. Daniel Jolley (Shelby, North Carolina USA)
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 would give this a 12 on a scale of 1-10 by .. Donna Hays (Mendenhall, MS United States)
Morgan Freeman plays a Crime Scene Physcologist who leaves his jurisdiction to head to the college town in North Carolina, where his neice has been abducted by a serial killer/abductor. The intense criminal mind of the abductor feels he must capture smart, beautiful women and hold them captive until they fall inlove with him. If they disobey he ties them to trees for the wild animals. Ashley Judd plays an extremely smart doctor who gets abducted and then ultimately escapes. She then helps Morgan Freeman head up the investigation into the world of one sick mind. It's a very intensive thriller that will have you hanging on the edge of your seat and you won't know the true identity of the killer until the end. Ashely Judd gives her usual outstanding performance, as does Morgan Freeman. I'm not usually a thriller movie buff, but this one might just make me change my mind.
A Fantastic Riveting Thriller! by .. James Gibbons (Hawley, PA United States)
Kiss the Girls is one of the best thrillers Ive ever seen. Ashley Judd's performance as Kate McTiernan is absolutly flawless in everyway. Morgan Freeman does a dazzling performance as detective Alex Cross. The director, Gary Felder, does a great job adapting the book onto the screen.
The DVDs picture is very clear and the sound is extremely crisp right down to the breaking twigs. The special features are not so good. All there is a theatrical trailer, I wish there were more. The lack of special features dont take away from the film though.
Kiss the Girls is about Alex Cross who is trying to find the kidnapper and murderer who calls himself Casanova. Cross is drawn into the case when his niece is kidnapped by Casanova. When a woman is killed Cross gets nervous that it might be Naomi. Its not. Kate is a doctor who gets kidnapped by Casanova but fights him and runs through the underground lair. She gets outside, runs to the edge of a stream that is far, far, far below her and Casanova catches up. She jumps.
Does she survive??? Will Cross ever get his niece back???? I wont tell because this film is full of thrills and chills that you wont want to know until you experience them. I love this film and I hope you will too. Thanks
Judd and Freeman team up for great film. by .. ()
I have to say. I am very critical about my thrillers. Don't get me wrong. They are my favourite, but they have to be VERY good. So for me to have liked this movie, it had to be VERY good. And guess what??? It was VERY good.!!!!!!! I simply loved it. Freeman once again outdoes himself in playing a detective tracking down a serial killer. When one of his own family members becomes the next victim, he turns to the only one he thinks can help him,: An escaped victim of the killer and also a doctor, played by the one and only Ashley Judd.