Watch Jesse Stone: Thin Ice For Free

Excellent but underrated film

Don't listen to the negative reviews

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I understood this movie much more when I learned that this was the first episode in the series that was not based on a book. It seems the writers were not allowed to create new scenes or dialog and were forced to cut and paste from the previous movies. how many cop/donut jokes can be straight armed out the screen before an intelligent audience starts to feel abused? How many "pals that have sex" can one over the hill emotionally detached has-been hook up with? And how many people over the age of 6 use the word "pal?" And really, has anyone looked up the definition of alcoholic? Two drinks per night for a 200lb adult male is not alcoholism, it's good for your heart. I doubt he could even get a buzz off that.Others have reviewed this series saying it is sparse and hard hitting. I more or less agree in respect to the first several installments, but not this one. It was boring, predictable, repetitive and lacking in drive. I don't blame the actors. It seems they did their best with a cut and paste script.The only reasons I can think that this movie would be worth watching is if you were wholeheartedly committed to the series, rented it for free from the library, or you were uncontrollably hot for Sir Tom.

I just saw this after not paying close attention to TV listings months ago.At the start of this movie based on a Robert Parker novel, Chief Stone is on a stakeout with his friend Captain Healy, the Massachusetts head of homicide. The two are talking and not paying enough attention when someone shows up and shoots both of them. Stone, naturally, recovers, but Healy may not.Town councilman Carter Hanson wants to hire his nephew to replace D'Angelo, though what he really wants to do is get rid of Stone, whose reputation is hurting the town's image as a tourism destination. Eilzabeth Blue shows up wanting the Paradise police department to find her son who was kidnapped seven years ago. She has received a letter from Paradise suggesting her son may be alive in Paradise. Actually, she didn't see the letter for two years because her ex-husband hid it from her. Stone doesn't really want to investigate but Rose does.Stone's ex-wife Jenn, who does the weather on a Los Angeles TV station, calls to say she is moving in with her producer. Stone doesn't approve. His dog doesn't either, but I think the dog is reacting to Stone drinking again. Dr. Dix doesn't approve of much of anything Stone does, and one wonders where he's getting the nearly $200 he has to pay per hour. Jenn has talked to Dr. Dix, who won't reveal what she said.Sidney is Stone's latest girlfriend; she is investigating him for Internal Affairs after Stone shot his shooter, which is standard procedure. But she is also investigating him because he is "on thin ice" with the town council.Suitcase provides a critical clue in the Blue case. One would expect Stone to be so smart he'd see it, but I'm sure this makes Suitcase look good.Tom Selleck gives his usual fine performance. Even though Stone meets a new standard for unethical behavior, Selleck makes us like him. Actually, Stone is more moral than the town council on one issue. Stone doesn't seem to want to be liked except by his friends, but that doesn't matter.The lead actors all give good performances as well, and Camryn Mannheim stands out among the guest stars. Many of the guest actors also give good performances.Somehow I didn't enjoy this as much as other Jesse Stone movies, but it was still worthwhile.

This latest Jesse Stone feature is the first one of the series which is not based on a Robert B Parker novel. Even so, it rings true to the series and is, in my opinion, one of the best written in the series.While the interaction between Rose (Kathy Baker) and Jesse (Tom Selleck) is not as warm and caring as the relation between Jesse and Molly Crane (played by Viola Davis in previous episodes), the dialogue is crisp and taut with meaning. It is good to see Kathy Baker given some major time in one of these episodes. The same thing holds with Jesse's dealings with Suitcase. The dialogue is crisp and razor sharp with all the wit and irony that I expect from Robert Parker characters.A previous reviewer talked about this episode being character driven. I think that is true of all of them, but definitely more so than usual in this episode. The dialogue in this one helps define and shape the characters as never before. I thought it sparkled. The back and forth between Jesse and the woman who is investigating him, Sidney Greenstreet - who saw that one coming? - is ironic, witty, urbane, and has just the right feel to it. The same is true for some of the scenes with Kathy Baker. There is a lot of irony and an attempt on Jesse's part to seem more hard-nosed than he actually is.Some may think that the plot lines were rather weak, but they were really not as important to character development as the dialogue which builds up the growing relationships between Jesse and Rose, Jesse and Suitcase, and Jesse's new female interest, Sidney.******** WARNING! Here may be spoilers! Read at your own risk! ******* There must be some unstated rule that Jesse will always be in conflict with the town council. While it demonstrates Jesse's desire to do the right thing, no matter what the cost, the conflict in this episode seems a bit contrived, but we do get to see Jesse push back, and it does tend to set up the forthcoming episode - where we hope, Jesse will prevail, once again.Obviously, there are lots of loose ends to tie up with Captain Healy and the motive for the non-stakeout stakeout that opened the show. While we know who shot Healy and that Jesse got him, we still do not know what the motivation was. Hopefully that will be cleared up in the next episode.I confess that the plot involving the kidnapped child was a bit weak, but Camryn Manheim gave the mother's character more depth and poignancy than might be expected. Her performance also gives substance to the conflict between Rose - who wants to open up the investigation - and Jesse - who is against it. Yet we see that Jesse's heart is in the right place as he allows Rose to investigate on her own time and even helps her. While the relationship between Rose and Jesse is not the same as that between Jesse and Molly, I think we can look forward to some deepening between the two in the next episodes - assuming Kathy Baker is willing to reprise her role. I hope she does. This plot line gave us a glimpse of both Jesse's and Rose's inner workings.I really appreciated the fleshing out of Jesse's relationship with Suitcase. Again the back and forth banter between the two signal a growing intimacy which was lacking in previous episodes. I look forward to how this relationship will develop. All in all, this was a satisfying new episode in this series. It bodes well of things to come!

Tom Selleck returns for a sixth time as chief Jesse Stone in Paradise. This time he's on the trail of who shot Captain Healy (Stephen McHattie) and himself one night while they were parked doing surveillance. Meanwhile a woman (a very compelling Camryn Manheim) from Albuquerque arrives clinging to a thread of hope about her missing son. Jesse prefers not to take the case but allows Rose (Kathy Baker) to take up the case herself. Simultaneously Captain Healy warns Jesse against pursuing the shooter, and the town council prepares to discipline Stone. Like the previous films, the story develops deliberately. Selleck is perfect in the title role as usual. The film touches on minor threads from previous story lines, like Luther's cognition, while maintaining its focus on the present. William Devane returns as Doctor Dix and Kerri Smith returns as Sister Mary John. This is the first film in the series with an original script not based on one of Robert B. Parker's novels. Once again Robert Harmon directs. The background music really does add a nice touch. I wonder if Leslie Hope's Sidney Greenstreet character is intended to be a joke for film buffs. **1/2 of 4 stars.