Customer Reviews
Just what we expected! 
2008-08-28
the product arrived in great condition, we watched it that night. I couldn't believe the speed at which it came-I wish that 3rd party retailers for Amazon would ship their items with such enthusiasm. Amazon needs to instill a condition in regards to 3rd party retailers, that they must send their items (books & movies) using USPS Priority Mail-the cost that is charged is the same versus having to wait four weeks for your purchases. Not only using USPS Priority Mail to speed up delivery, using Priority Mail will ensure a much better chance of deliverys not getting lost. That has happened twice in regards to books I've purchased through 3rd party retailers. Amazon, please listen and please do something about shipping by 3rd party retailers who sell their products (books & movies) through you.
A smooth flowing Movie 
2008-08-28
Jesse Stone - Night Passage
The movie reminds me being in a small bar with a pianist playing a light piano with the lights down dim. There is some talking but it is soft.
I just loved the flow of the movie, the perfection of Selleck for the main character. Jesse Stone, played by Tom Selleck, a sheriff in a small town, does not say very much, his face is full of expression. What he does say is meaningful. It is surprising that Jesse Stone, a man with a lot of painful baggage, can be so understanding around everyone he meets. Everything about the character is direct. It is rare for me to find a movie that will entice me to read the book, but this one certainly has done that for me. It is unfortunate, for me, that the author, Robert Parker, has written a series of book around this character. I just hate it when I find a book, that I would like, and then discover there is a series of them on one character. Well there goes again, hours and hours of time committed, locked into the storytelling of some author.
The movie is just wonderful in every way. Robert Harmon, a distinguished made for TV Director has done a spectacular job. I give this a 8.5 out of 10, or a 4 stars out of 5.
The first (chronologically) in the series 2008-08-08
Jesse Stone: Night Passage
Although this movie is supposed to be the second in the Jesse Stones series, it chronologically takes place before the first, Stone Cold. Jesse Stone (Tom Selleck) is fired from the Santa Monica PD for excessive drinking. So he takes his bloodhound Boomer and drives across country, where he accepts a job as the Chief of Police of Paradise, Massachusetts, a tiny seaside town.
Like the previous movie, he's hung up on his ex-wife Jen, a cutthroat reporter who cheated on him with someone named Elliot. He's also an alcoholic and a man of very few words (I wonder if this is also true in the books by Robert B. Parker). The town council hires him because he's a loser they think they can control and, boy, are they wrong. The old sheriff, Lou, is on the take. Abby Taylor, the town's lawyer, is still a b&tch and he hits on her at their first meeting. So, all in all, the characters are not very likeable, except maybe the dog.
Like Stone Cold, there are two storylines. One involves the former police chief's murder and the other involves a case of domestic abuse. Not surprisingly, the two cases eventually intertwine. Joe Ginest (Stephen Baldwin) seems to keep cropping up all over the place--wife beater, murderer, money launderer, bag man for the local mafia, etc. And there's a very nice set-up and climax toward the end, but it was a tad predictable. Still, a very enjoyable movie.
I would ignore the order the movies were released in and watch them in chronological order: Night Passage, Stone Cold, and Death in Paradise.
Parker books are now movies 2008-08-03
Tom Selleck makes a fine Jesse Stone. The dialog that Parker writes is very entertaining.
Excellent 2008-07-12
Jesse Stone - Night Passage
An excellent prequel to the entire series. I only wish it had come out first.
A perfect role for Selleck 2008-07-03
A prequel to "Stone Cold" in the series of Jesse Stone novels by Robert B. Parker the story picks up after Jesse Stone is fired from the Los Angeles Police Department. He becomes an unlikely candidate recruited by the town board of selectman to become police chief of Paradise a small town on Boston's North Shore. The board hopes his failed experience will keep him from digging too deep into the town's secrets. Hungover on his first day on the job he must investigate a domestic abuse case that ends up leaduing to a money laundering scheme perpetuated by a manager of a local bank.Run Time: 89Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 043396144699 Manufacturer No: 14469
Very good movie 2008-04-14
Very good movie, but why it's the second movie of the show? The first
was Jesse Stone "Stone Cold".But in the first is the result of the second! Anyway the both are excellent and Tom Selleck is a very good
actor.
A watch and keep it!
Great production values 2008-04-03
I'll skip commentary on the plot or Tom Selleck. Most people have covered these very well. My perspective is production quality. Generally, television movies are merely okay when judged by music and camera work. After all, the little screen is cheaper than the big screen. The stunning production of the Jesse Stone series sets it above anything seen ever.
I would love to know the location setting. I was born and raised in MA and can't imagine a village like Paradise within commuting distance of Boston. The entire North and South Shore above and below Boston are teeming with residents so tightly packed that merely setting off to pick up milk takes resilience and cunning.I'm thinking that it's really Canada or the state of Maine.
It's the harsh and compelling scenery of the shoreline wrapping around the tiny town of Paradise that sets the appropriate mood for the brooding and iconoclastic new police chief, LA fugitive Jesse Stone. Gorgeous, sunny fall days full of spectacular, sharply displayed color recede into damp, rainy, foreboding nights full of those quietly desparate people who rarely dare to leave. The camera work is as stunning as I've ever seen out of Hollywood. One could find entertainment playing this DVD over and over even with the sound turned off.
Crank it up, though. Don't miss the poignant score artfully articulated by Jeff Beal. I hope the soundtrack will be released as well as future movies. I always play the credits that role too briefly at the end. Big screen movie credits go on interminably citing the great contribution of everyone from the executive producers to the gal that keeps the coffee fresh on set. The Jesse Stone series is just a few names at the start and the end. Still, I find it hard to shut the television off until the last note is played.
The cast is a great blend of old pros and new talent. Selleck's trademark laid back style envelopes the storyline like a perfectly broken in leather chair. Kohl Sudduth as Luther "Suitcase" Simpson, the eager young officer, moves into a favorite son roll that contrasts very well against the paternal Jesse Stone. The dispatcher is commandingly played by the amazing Viola Davis who takes her character from skeptical resentment to protective admiration swiftly and smoothly.
Saul Rubinek, the crooked but likeable banker squeezes two movies out of what is usually a throwaway roll. Rubinek may be one of those names you can't place because he's pretty much a utility actor rather than a first stringer. But he's never failed in being a notorious scene stealer in the best sense of the term. He has capacity to spare in his acting and prevents any flattening of character. The viewer roots for his comeuppance and then regrets his punishment.
The Tony D'Angelo character simmers in petty irritaion as the oldest cop at the station who's forced to play bridesmaid to every bride when the job of chief is 'stolen' from him by the incoming LA stranger Stone. Vito Rezza's expressive face and talented posturing creates an enduring tribute to the self-obsessed "little guy" steeming in his own resentments and obsessed with lame efforts to get back at the new chief.
But the real prize is the main character. There's a great deal of viewer satisfaction in seeing a powerful, confident man who, despite his own personal demons, sees crime and punishment through a complicated but common sense lens. Whether in a big city or a tiny village, he operates on his own keenly tuned intution, dispensing justice with supreme condidence. In this world of man-made conflict it is very rewarding to see a man who can un-make the troublemakers.
Jesse Stone is FANtastic! 2008-03-10
Anyone looking for Magnum P.I. in the Jesse Stone character should look elsewhere. Tom Selleck does a magnificent job in his portrayal of a rough, very flawed, but brilliant sheriff as he cracks the case, but interacts genuinely with his fellow officers and the people he serves. I enjoy this series and have all of the Jesse Stone DVD's. PLEASE GIVE US MORE! Terrific series! Intense, dramatic, wonderful sound track and scenery...you really care about these people. Don't miss this one!
First in the series - not a bad start 2008-03-08
I hoped the movie would do justice to the story. It almost does. The problem is not with Tom Selleck - he's perfect for the part. The problem lies in the way the story was butchered to make the film. They could have done much better - hell, I probably could have done better and I've never written a script. Still it was good and entertaining.
