headhunter46 It this first episode of the Jesse Stone series Tom Selleck portrays a small town cop who is forced to deal with killings that seem to keep piling up. He had been a big town cop so he had more experience than the average small town cop which proved to he his edge in this intriguing TV movie. It looked might good to have been made specifically for TV.I like the pace this and all of the Jesse Stone series move at. I bit slow for those who like to see cars flying through the air and buildings exploding. With Jesse Stone it is ninety percent mind work. We get to see his facial expressions, watch his actions as a gateway to what his thoughts are. He speaks only when he needs to, He is a straight shooter, no games, no politics. He truly is a sensible, good cop kind of guy.I saw this a few years ago and recently when I watched another I decided it was time to come and post a comment. I'm going to start on the rest of the series. The DVD rental store nearest me told me it is hard to keep the Jesse Stone movies on the shelf. They have a way of disappearing. Evidently people like them so well they keep them and offer to pay for them.

classicalsteve The challenge for actors that star in popular long-running TV shows is that they become forever fused to their character, sometimes called "type-cast". Most middle-age audiences will forever think of Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum of the 1980's hit show Magnum PI. But Selleck, after-all, is an actor, not Thomas Magnum. He was an actor playing a part, and after the series ended, Selleck had to find new roles to conquer Unfortunately, directors are often reluctant to cast actors with strong associations with a particular television role. Luckily, for the film Stone Cold, Selleck offers a presence quite distinct from the happy-go-lucky Hawiian-shirted private detective who sported a Ferrari. Here, Selleck walks in the shoes of a far darker, even introspective, character in a small town in rural Massachusetts.Although their occupations are similar, a young independent private detective versus an LA cop in the twilight of his career, Jesse Stone and Thomas Magnum are quite polar opposites. Magnum would crack jokes, score with beautiful women, and put down the bad guys all under a blazing Hawiian sun. In Stone Cold, the gloomy mists off of Cape Cod are the backdrop to a haunting but compelling story of a tired urban investigator tracking senseless serial killings in a town where the entire police force is barely four people.There is a very deliberate but tempered pace to the film which matches the feel of a small New England community that is quite removed from the hurry and worry of New York or LA. Nothing is rushed. Just as the locals walk at a slow but steady pace through their neighborhood, this film also is a very one-step-at-a-time story. I felt like the the filmmakers wanted you to see and feel the fog-ridden ocean, the quiet streets, and crisp air of New England life as much as the other aspects of the story.All in all, a satisfying viewing experience, with an outstanding performance by Selleck. And it looks as though the character of Jesse Stone continues in new films. Selleck has found a new niche that is an appropriate sequel to the TV show of his younger days. Jesse Stone is a very different kind of Thomas Magnum.

jimwoodward1943 If they made 100 Jesse Stone movies I would watch them over and over again. Ten times the entertainment factor of anything Hollywood has produced in the last 30 years with the exception of Monte Walsh and Quigley Down Under. Guess you could say I'm a die-hard Tom Selleck fan. Well worth the time spent - Stone's life style seems more real than the other used dish-water stuff coming out of Hollywood these days. Even though some of it is tongue-in-cheek police work, I would sure like to see some of this style of police work put into place by local police. Like the injunction against the character played by one of the Baldwin boys, Stone does not let that stand in the way of protecting the bruised and beaten wife of the character played by Baldwin. What he does is something that most people would like to see done these days, notwithstanding the positions of the ACLU and Amnesty International.

ctnegative This movie reminded me of a Miles Davis CD cover, Blue Moods. Everything on the screen is blue: the weather, the sea, the rain, and the the main actor's state of mind.The story is simple, yet realistic. No special effects, not one of those "video-game" movies with nothing to say, but a sensible and reasonable plot.A fallen from grace L.A. detective, "exiled" from the big city due to past problems, tries to make a living as a small town police officer. He must find a way to deal with local, mysterious crimes while putting his life together, and keeping his moral code despite of an always present sense of loss.It's a picture of real life, ladies and gentlemen, not good or bad, just as it is. May be a peasant theme for some, but for me it felt like an oasis on Hollywood's present cultural desert.