In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.

one of the biggest cliches of any serial killer film is also one of the most believable .
you know , the one where the detective looks at a wall of pictures and other police information , and suddenly spots the clue which reveals who the killer is .
sure , it 's been used over and over , but for some reason , it is always fun to watch .
this cliche pretty much describes the level kiss the girls works on : overused , but always fun .
one of my personal rules about watching a film is not how original the film is , but how it goes around giving its story .
this rule applies highly to kiss the girls .
there is something psychologically stimulating in a well - crafted serial killer movie , and kiss the girls is certainly well made .
however , the whole film screams of unoriginality , and so it relies on the power of its actors and the technical detail to pull it through .
well , not only are the actors capable of pulling it through , but they add so much to the film that nearly every flaw is covered up .
unfortunately , one of the most revealing and rather insulting choices by the filmmakers ( one that seven , a film a lot like this one , knew not to make ) was to put the name of the killer in the opening credits .
that may give the actor credit for the role , but throughout the film , hidden in my mind , i was waiting for him to appear on screen , which spoiled the mystery .
however , credit must be given to the director for suspending this knowledge through most of the film .
plotwise , kiss the girls shows almost no originality .
we are introduced to detective alex cross ( morgan freeman ) , a forensic psychologist , and immediately we are given the cliched scene establishing him as the hero .
he gets a call about a woman who has shot her husband and is now threatening to kill herself .
obviously cross succeeds at getting the gun , but this scene is quickly forgotten during the next scene .
at his house , cross is told that his neice , naomi ( gina ravera ) , has been missing for four days .
this provides the motivation for cross to find the killer , but we are never given a chance to establish the relationship between the two , and as a result , we ca n't sympathize with detective cross .
however , what makes kiss the girls slightly original is the introduction of one of the abductees .
. .
before she is abducted .
dr .
kate mctiernan ( ashley judd , the actress of the judd family )
is a smart , athletic woman , and because of these traits , becomes a target for casanova -- what the serial killer likes to call himself .
because of these character - developing scenes , we care for mctiernan , making the abduction scene all that more suspenseful .
after being abducted , mctiernan wakes up and finds herself in a cell somewhere in the woods .
remembering that the killer gave her certain rules , she decides to break one of them by calling out .
when casanova comes to punish her , she breaks out and escapes by jumping over a waterfall .
after she is found , she begins to help cross find his neice .
from this moment on , kiss the girls takes on the form of every other serial killer film , as the two leads search for the rest of the victims held captive .
many people will compare this film to 1995 's seven , another killer film starring morgan freeman , but i presume that the similarities are intentional .
the screenplay , by david klass , is adapted from the novel written by james patterson , and yet i do n't quite see how this story could have worked in novel form .
what makes kiss the girls so good is the acting and the technical and visual impressiveness .
the cinematography , by aaron schneider , is reminiscient of seven , and sometimes i felt that many of the shots were trying too hard to impress us .
sometimes a simple shot is the best one . however , many of the shots are stunning , and unlike seven , most of them take place during the day , in sunlight .
the scene when ashley judd is running through the forest is extremely well done , in more than one way .
the camera work is terrific , but the editing makes this scene work so well .
the chaotic and mtv - type cutting gives the audience a sense of confusion and unawareness , exactly what judd 's character is experiencing .
however , the best aspect of kiss the girls is its actors .
morgan freeman is one of today 's most powerful and believable actors .
detective cross is a very good character for him , although it is just a similar one to the character in seven .
because of freeman 's powerful presence , he carries half the film by himself .
the other half is carried by ashley judd ,
one of today 's most promising dramatic actresses .
in fact , her performance is better than freeman 's , if that is even possible .
her character is more original than freeman 's , and she handles it wonderfully .
we finally have a female character in a movie like this who does more than just scream .
the supporting cast is highly underdeveloped , but the cast members do as much as they can with it .
cary elwes portrays a cop in north carolina , and unfortunately has scraps for a character .
tony goldwyn fairs slightly better , but
we do n't really get to know his character either .
gina ravera gives a good performance , but again she is n't in many of the scenes .
so as a result of all these small supporting parts , the weight of the film lies on the two leads , and they do a phenomenal job .
some of the best acting of this genre , and some of the best acting of the year .
two other essential aspects of the film are quite good .
director gary fleder does a good job of controlling his actors , but the second half of the film loses believability , especially during the revelation of the killer .
he also does n't handle the suspenseful scenes as a better director would have , losing a lot of tension during many scenes . however , to his credit , he does manage a terrific first half .
part of the blame falls on david klass .
i 'm sure the book developed many of the lesser characters more , but klass focuses on the two main parts .
while this may give the two leads more screentime , many of the small characters are one - dimensional , and the killer , when revealed , is extremely implausible .
thanks to the smart dialogue adapted from the novel , kiss the girls
always seems intelligent .
none of the conversations are laughable , and all move the plot forward without seeming forced .
one of the biggest problems i had with the movie was the motive of the killer .
i blame this mainly on the casting director , because the killer 's motive is because of rejection from women ( or so i assume from the opening monologue ) , but the killer himself is very attractive ( one of my friends is a , shall we say , big admirer of the killer ) .
kiss the girls is rated r for terror , violence , language , and suggested sex .
with all the implausibilities of this film , and with the mediocre second half , kiss the girls somehow manages to thoroughly entertain
.
in fact , i had the urge to see it again just for the performances .
the cinematography adds a lot of mood to the already creepy tone , and the script is usually smart .
this is clearly one of those movies which rely on the acting to pull it through .
morgan freeman is possibly today 's most convincing actor , and ashley judd adds another notch on her acting belt .
i must also say that i loved the ending .
the showdown between good and evil was quite tense , and the resolution of the scene makes almost anyone cheer .
perhaps it may not be possible , but most of the film is n't anyway .
P

movies based on video games , such as street fighter or mario bros . , have never generated much interest at the box office .
but when the first mortal kombat movie came out in 1995 , it did surprisingly well .
with a simple story , a pulsating soundtrack , and lots of awesomely choreographed fight scenes , the movie moved quickly and displayed lots of energy .
it got my vote for ' the movie where i expected the least and got the most ' .
and , if you have n't had the opportunity , i would definitely recommend that you see it on video .
in the world of mortal kombat , based on the popular arcade game , dark forces from outworld try to infiltrate earth 's realm with the ulimate goal of total conquest and the destruction of humanity .
the mortal kombat refers to a competition , fought by human mortals against outworld 's minions , which if won , will guarantee earth 's safety for another generation .
mk2 picks up almost immediately after the humans return victoriously from competition .
despite their victory , however , a gateway has somehow opened , and outworld continues in its quest to conquer earth .
outworld 's warriors include an impressive collection of fighters , including shao kahn , mintoro ( a centaur ) , sheeva ( a four - armed ogre ) , and sindel .
earth 's mortal warriors , under the leadership of the benevolent god , lord rayden , includes liu kang , princess kitana , sonya blade and jax , who must fight against outworld 's forces .
it 's an easy enough premise , but unfortunately ( very unfortunately ) , the writers try to do too much with the movie
.
it is only a video game , after all , but the on - screen version tries to go beyond it 's comic book boundaries by adding depth , a conceptualization of self - worth , and worst of all , a love story .
this becomes very awkward , because all of the players are fighters and nothing more .
they are likable and impressive when they are showcasing their martial arts and fighting skills , but look extremely awkward and uncomfortable when they are required to actually act .
this becomes embarrassingly apparent
, for example , as the movie tries to develop a romantic bond between liu kang and princess kitana .
the original mk was smart in letting the players do what they do best .
they spoke little , but fought a lot .
thus , the movie was easy to digest .
however , mk2 tries to give these players a certain amount of depth , an element that was lacking in the first movie , but the attempt here fails miserably .
this uneasy feeling is readily apparent , for example , whenever you hear lord rayden speak .
not only does he talk in riddles and offer enigmatic ( e . g . useless ) advice , but he speaks so slowly as if to simulate infinite wisdom .
try reading this half as fast , and you 'll hear what i mean .
but the movie is not a complete fatality .
fight scenes are well - choreographed , highlighted by terrific acrobatics and agility .
and players of the game will be rewarded with the inclusion of practically every character from the video game , although their screen time amounts to nothing more than a cameo .
even if you 're not familiar with the video game , each fighter has their own costume and unique weaponry to easily differentiate themselves .
but it 's just too little of what movie - goers and especially fans of the game will expect .
oddly , the inclusion of the human element actually pollutes the purity of the mortal kombat essence . and the poor acting results in a muddled movie that offers the viewing audience little chance for survival .
( i am now talking very slowly as if to simulate infinite wisdom ) .
rent the first one , but the sequel is for kombat fans only .
N

michael robbins ' hardball is quite the cinematic achievement .
in about two hours , we get a glancing examination of ghetto life , a funeral with a heartfelt eulogy , speeches about never giving up , a cache of cute kids ( including a fat one with asthma ) , a hard - luck gambler who finds salvation in a good woman and a climactic " big game , " where the underdogs prove to have a bigger bite than anyone ever imagined .
all that 's needed is a guy getting hit in the nuts and a food fight to have the first film solely based on cinematic clich ?
s.
i ca n't wait to see the deleted scenes when it comes out on dvd .
obviously
, hardball is a strikeout of a movie that never gets the bat anywhere near the ball .
it stars keanu reeves as the aforementioned gambler , who seems to owe every bookie in chicago an amount of money that rivals the gross national product of guam .
out of solutions , he begs his successful corporate friend ( the always welcome mike mcglone ) to lend him $ 5 , 000 .
instead , mcglone offers reeves the chance to help him coach a youth baseball team from the projects for a nice weekly stipend .
reeves , who wants to keep his fingers , accepts the offer , but discovers mcglone is only too happy to let him handle the team entirely .
the drowsy - voiced protagonist must teach the sassy inner city kids the baseball basics in a life of absentee parents and merciless gangs .
and maybe , just maybe , they 'll play in the big championship game .
one of the glorious surprises in the screenplay by john gatins ( summer catch ) , adapted from daniel coyle 's non - fiction book , is that there are n't any .
the movie coasts from heartfelt moment to heartfelt moment like a zombie .
that would n't be so bad , if the characters had an ounce of subtlety or humanity to them .
most of the kids ' time is spent yelling at each other , talking in slang and acting surprised .
there 's little that 's naturally amusing about them , as they all seem to know the cameras are rolling .
the worst of the lot is a tough - talking younger player ( dewayne warren ) whose sole purpose , as the movie unfolds , is being an emotional pawn , a tactic so utterly despicable i ca n't find the right words to express myself .
the adults also do n't fare well .
reeves is impressively uninspiring as the down - on - his - luck loser .
the character is poorly written , but reeves gives another charisma - free performance .
every time he speaks , he sounds like he just got up from a long nap and is gradually waking up .
kids are supposed to rally around this guy ?
diane lane , who co - stars as reeves ' obligatory love interest , remains a glowing screen presence ( see my dog skip for better proof ) .
it 's too bad that her role here consists of uttering lines like , " these kids trust you , and they do n't trust anyone ! "
then there 's d. b. sweeney as an evil rival coach and john hawkes as reeves ' scummy betting buddy and other unoriginal characters you 've seen before and
hope never to see again .
i wanted hardball to be good .
robbins ' varsity blues was a funny and alternately taut tale of texas high school football that had ali larter smothered in whipped cream and jon voight sneering at everything that moved .
i have n't seen robbins ' goofy ready to rumble in its entirety , but i am intrigued that " macho man " randy savage and martin landau can exist in the same movie without there being serious worldwide repercussions .
robbins obviously needs to go back to his forte -- making sports movies for guys and not cutesy , cuddly pap such as hardball , which also manages to annoy and insult the audience .
here 's hoping that happens in the immediate future .

N