User reviews

Look, this isn't a great dramatic film. It won't have you on the edge of your seat. The script is clunky. The dialogue is stilted at times. It didn't transfer well from Robert Parker's novel to the screenplay. Tom is clearly still discovering who his character is.

Regardless of these things ... Tom Selleck is just a likeable guy. Women (and men) want to be with him. Guys want to be him. Since he is so well-liked and relatable, you'll find yourself ignoring flaws and going along for the ride.

This story doesn't rely on blood and guts here. The plot is actually driven by Tom's character's demons which is what really saves it.

Viola Davis could be in a toothpaste ad and still give an Oscar performance. That woman is a force.

This is a movie that's worth the time if all your looking for is a decent story with some decent acting that doesn't make you feel like completely wasted your time and you're tired of gratuitous violence, sex, and the deviant and dysfunctional.

When the body of a fourteen years old teenager is found in the margin of the river in Paradise, Massachusetts, the Chief of Police Jesse Stone (Tom Selleck) and his officer Simpson (Kohl Sudduth) seek clues in the spot. Through a graduation ring of a student that they find nearby the corpse, they identity the dead girl, the local slut Billy Bishop. Meanwhile, his department deals with a domestic violent situation with an aggressive and abusive husband that beats his wife. Along his investigation, Stone discloses that the famous writer Norman Shaw (Gary Masaraba) was too much close to the victim and intended to write the biography of the famous gangster Leo in his next book. Joining the pieces of evidences like a puzzle, Stone unravels the identity of the criminal.

"Death in Paradise" is the second excellent movie that I see with Tom Selleck in the role of Chief Jesse Stone. Both films show simple, credible and effective police stories, with great performances, magnificent cinematography and realistic screenplays. Jesse Stone seems to be tailored to Tom Selleck, who is perfect in the role of the cynical, stubborn and flawed but fair chief of police. I believe this character deserves a TV series, so good these stories are. I have just seen in IMDb that there are two other movies of this character, unfortunately not released in Brazil. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Crimes no Paraiso 2" ("Crimes in Paradise 2")

This is the third in the Jesse Stone movie series and I thought it was the best. Selleck is just perfect as the flawed, but honorable main character. What makes this series so good is what others have written; the pacing of the films is thoughtful; the characters are adult and complex; it has plot and intelligence over car crashes and special effects though it has action and romance in it to be sure. You like Selleck's character instantly and his scenes with his other officers,the State Police Detective and the shrink he see's about his drinking, are all terrific.

In the special features on Stone Cold Selleck says people have a 'hunger' for this type of adult entertainment where plot and story are more important than rapid fire visuals--and that is so true. It's surprising how good this series is--it's way better than 95% of what's in the theaters. Tom Selleck in a really good cop movie or Pirates of the Caribbean part IV--it's no contest.

"Death in Paradise," though not without gun play, is fairly subdued. Chief Stone is perhaps more pensive than usual--and certainly more soulful. Jesse seems depressed and saddened by a wider culture that diminishes and sexualizes young girls, by a father who turns away his own daughters, and by a wife batterer--all in his little town of Paradise. To compound this, his own losses seem to come to the fore, making felt visits to the gruff, thought-provoking Dr. Dix mandatory.

Perhaps, these are what underpin Jesse's unusual dreams, visions, and personal incidentals that seem to put him in direct contact with the local murder victim, Billie Bishop, an upper-income youth who suddenly switches from brilliant student to drugs, indiscriminate sex, and dropout status. Hers is the tragic story of so many runaway girls. And Jesse has another connection to Billie: they arrived in Paradise, a very unlikely place for both, at about the same time, and both were over-qualified and undoubtedly viewed somewhat suspiciously by the locals.

So the childless, wife-less, career-less, college-less, mother-less Chief Stone will not rest until Billie's murderer/user is apprehended. That this man turns out to be two separate men, one a pederast and the other a cold killer, means not only that Stone's perfect cop-ly intuition is, in part, mistaken, but that his justice work for Billie is suddenly jeopardized. But wedded to his sympathetic stand with Billie, a solution must out. And in short order, the confounding knot from the crime scene turns out to be the knot that ties up his murder case. His case closed, Jesse is shown attending Billie Bishop's solitary grave, as he had done the same for his close woman friend, Abigail Taylor, in an opening scene. And at the fade out, Jesse is at the bedside of his comatose sidekick Luther (who has been shot by the wife batterer in the sub-plot) reading to him the bio of their baseball hero, Suitcase Simpson. A bluesy installment indeed, this "Death in Paradise."

I enjoyed watching the movie and have currently finished reading the next Jesse Stone book. Hooray for TV movies that are of the quality of big screen movies with well written, defined, true to life characters. Tom Selleck as Jesse Stone is my hero as he struggles with problems of work, alcohol, and loneliness as we all do. The story deals with the subject of child abuse and the resulting trauma that some people try to sweep under the rug or ignore rather than deal with which in this story results in a murder of an abused child. The other returning actors are great as the friends and co-workers who provide their own story lines interweaving with Selleck's.

A couple of truly sad cases come across the desk of police chief Jesse Stone of Paradise, Massachusetts. The first involves the appearance of the body of a 14 year old girl who had been in the water for a few weeks. The second is an ongoing domestic dispute between an abusive husband and his battered wife.

Patient and methodical as always Tom Selleck gets the job done. The domestic couple is John Diehl and Debra Christofferson who steals acting honors here in a scene with Selleck where she talks sadly about how few options she has in life other than stay in this relationship with this dirtbag. One of Selleck's officers is nearly killed because of the volatility of the situation.

The second after long search because she was never reported missing turns out to be Mae Whitman whom we see in flashback. She was the school tramp for the past couple of years. Again someone you can weep for because had she lived she would have had a really horrible life with lots of issues. Of no help is her parents especially her father who actually kicked her out of the house. She was also a few weeks pregnant.

Going through her relationships is what eventually leads Selleck to a conclusion he was supposed to arrive at. But actually it's the knot that came loose that allowed her body to rise is what ultimately leads him to her murderer.

A fine film with one bad slice of humanity for Stone to deal with.

Like the film before this one, "Jesse Stone: Night Passage", "Death in Paradise" is a flawless, highly entertaining television movie that is so powerful and so realistic that it almost looks like something you would have to go see in the theaters. When a low-budget television show becomes that, then you know that you are really looking at a true masterpiece of film-making. I've seen big budget Hollywood mysteries that weren't as good as this. It stars Tom Selleck in another fabulous performance as Chief Jesse Stone, a troubled cop in a small town called Paradise on the eastern seaboard if I'm not mistaken.

What I liked a lot about "Death in Paradise" was how it didn't just focus on one single case by itself. Instead of just Tom Selleck and his team trying to solve the main mystery, the death of a girl, they also tries to handle a second case at the same time, which enhances the power and overall authentistic atmosphere of the movie.

I'll keep my review short and just end it by stating that "Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise" is like "Night Passage" and the sequel after this one, "Sea Change", a fantastic mystery movie and a delightful discovery to find. It's really impressive that a movie this magnificent could have been made on such a small budget, if it was. Most television movies are like that, but I can't be sure. If it was made on a higher budget, I can believe it. It's highly recommended by me.

I will start off by saying the overall simple style and dialogue of this made for TV movie make it a success. It is a guys version of Hallmark/Lifetime movies, with a length that is not too long to hold a viewers interest. As this is the third Jesse Stone movie, and the second that I have seen, I am glad that the supporting characters returned to keep the bond they have created up. The set locations are amazingly rural and real, although some of the cheesy freeze frames during commercial transitions could have been handled better.

The story remains as entertaining as Jesse Stone: Stone Cold. Stone's direct, no bull approach is cool to watch. The story line is a tough one to touch on national television and be appropriate, but they did a good job. The "plot twist" was simple and more of a "when are they going to realize what is going on" versus the "I have no idea, surprise me" type. The sub-stories about Stone's alcoholism could been left out, they didn't really contribute to anything. I am a fan of this series and can't wait to watch the rest, but I would not say it is worth buying on DVD. A single viewing should do ya.

Death In Paradise (2006) is familiar and easy to watch but definitely not as entertaining as the previous two movies. The usual cast are all good and our overqualified police chief Jesse does what he does so well. The climactic confrontation at the end starts off well but soon gets predictable and rather silly. Shame really.

👍 William Devane's first appearance as psychiatrist Dr. Dix. 👍 John Diehl & Debra Christofferson are brilliant as the wife beater and punch bag couple. 👎 Orla Brady as Dr. Lilly Summers, wasn't a fan of the performance. 👎 I found the domestic abuse subplot FAR more interesting than the murder. 👎 The ending is very convenient and typical for a TV movie.

The stage curtains open ...

Jesse: "Do you mind living alone?" Lilly: "No. Do you?" Jesse: "No, I don't mind living alone. I mind being alone."

"Death In Paradise" is the 3rd installment into the Jesse Stone crime/drama series of television films starring Tom Selleck in the lead role. Building off of the first two films, this one has settled in nicely with some familiar faces and with some new ones, as well. Selleck has the character of Jesse Stone down so well, he IS Jesse Stone. The blunt honesty that we've come to love is still here, with an undeniable presence of someone who is after justice, and is willing to stir the pot to get results.

The story starts off with Suitcase discovering another apparent murder victim who appears to have been a young female that was underwater for a few weeks before the bindings that were holding her under the surface became loose. Concurrent with this investigation, Stone is dealing with the victim of spousal abuse from a local car salesman who is ignorant and selfish. As the murder investigation unfolds, the trail leads Jesse to a reknowned best selling author who preys on young girls and a mob figure who sees himself as above the law.

The deep flavor of character study and arc is on full display in this chapter with Jesse meeting up with a psychiatrist who he finds a common ground with, as the doctor is a former cop who struggled with alcoholism. We meet Sister Mary John, a nun who will show up again more than once in future films. This particular movie played a little more to the strengths of the intrigue behind the murder, as Jesse is being haunted by visions and dreams of the dead girl. He still has Reggie, his dog companion.

As with the others, I loved this film as well. Jesse Stone is exactly the type of person you would want to have in your corner, and the person you would never want to cross and get on the bad side of. He is good at his job - he is the Police Chief, therefore, he knows everything. This one comes with a high recommend. I've seen it numerous times and have yet to tire of watching it. I always seem to get something new out of it with each new viewing. If you enjoy a good crime/drama film, this is right up there.

Not a bad thriller. Jesse Stone's character is slowly being built.

There is not much new in the film, slow but well made.

The third film in the Jesse Stone series which was based on the third book by Robert B. Parker. The most complete film, for me it is the best from the first three. You will find it a lot different than the previous two, it's filled with a lot of suspense moments till the last minute. I think retaining the same director so far for the series worked so well. It was just a 90 minute film, but feels it runs for very long and that is not in a boring way, but from the development wise, it is a well made film.

In a small town, like what Jesse says who he mostly gives out parking tickets gets a new case to get engaged. This time it is a death of the young teen girl whose body was washed up on the river's edge, but completely unidentifiable. Jesse follows where all the clues lead and after getting the details about the missing children around the town of Paradise, he moves on one step closer to identify the victim as well as to mark the suspect. But then again, the twist and turns brings more interesting aspect of the story and his big city experience comes into effect after his co-worker was badly hurt in a shootout.

In this, it was Mae Whitman as in a guest appearance, but it was too short as she stays for only a couple of minutes. The other one was Stephen Baldwin, whose character adds more flavour like abolishing one film one case kind of mindset in a cop theme. Because in the real police work, they deal multiple cases at a time.

In this, as well in the lead Tom Selleck was awesome. But while his character over obsessed with the case, the film reveals his psychological side of the desperation to bring the justice to the dead girl. Like the girl appearing in his dream and particularly in the station, he hallucinates about her which describes him in a completely different angle for a second. Besides, there's slight sentiments in it and so it also digs on his new romance interest for a school principal, but the Jesse is very clear on what he's seeking after leaving the LA that his job comes first.

"This job in Paradise is my last job. I get off the bus here."

In some case, finding the suspect alone is not valid to prove someones crimes, so what this story's notion is to find the motive which automatically going reveals everything rest behind the crime. I think very smartly written story, I was fascinated by all the development like step by step how a death enquiry takes place. Released in the same year as the previous film, this is another wonderful detective film made for the television.

Solid performances, particularly Davis Viola and Kohl Sudduth who are the regular cast did not fail to deliver in their small screenspace. But I expected the big contribution, and I hope in the following film they would achieve that. So in this you are going to witness the Jesse's job commitment, his personal life was sidelined to a marginal. Particularly his ex-wife never calls which I thought kind of annoying in the first two films to taking over than the usual. Jesse does not drink in this, but can be seen him with a coffee mug in most of the parts.

If you like murder-mysteries, then this is the film to pick, but I suggest to go for the whole series, begin with the first. I have seen only three films, but I think it is worth giving a try. There's only small clichés like how the police department works, but the narration was very good with the full details. The pace was excellent against the strong story and the character developments. Jesse's courage was another highlight. He always takes risks his life, especially dealing the situation when men are armed and pose a serious threat.

Sure, the film will live up to anybody's expectations and also it can be watched by everyone. You probably have seen many cop films, but this is one of those must not miss. I'm happy for this part to focus on the child molestation topic. Like I said in my last review, so far so good and particularly standing up to this film's standard is quite what I'm looking for in the next one. Anyway, it won't too long for another review in the Jesse Stone series.

9/10