Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Beautiful, moving film.

As Good As It Gets

Blistering performances.

The fourth film in the Jesse Stone franchise, but it was based on the fifth book by Robert B. Parker that follows right after the 'Stone Cold'. Initially I thought only the first two films were not in the order, but now it looks the entire film series was so random adaptation. Anyway, if the connections between the films are proper, then there won't be any complication to follow the series for the viewers.I liked the third film a lot, but I'm not in the same mood after watching this. It is still a good film, yet compared to the previous one, no way near to that standard. Now Jesse back to alcohol consumption, because he has no case to deal other than giving out the parking tickets. But his psychiatrist advises him to get engaged in something so he can be sober again. That's where Jesse decides to dig on an old unsolved case. It literally takes us to the early 90s when a bank in the town was robbed.Jesse and Co finds some new evidence after visiting the 15 year old crime scene and try to put all the puzzle pieces together. Even he visits victim's parents in a surround town. Besides that, he also manages to handle a rape case. With all this, where the narration heads and how the film ends was told in the final act. This is a very important phase in the series, where some viewers would lose interest and some would be intrigued to keep going.I think the first two acts were good, moved on the right path and then in the final segment, especially after learning where it is headed, I kind of lost interest. But overall film was good and I won't attack to degrade it. Because still many more films to come and it has time to recover, particularly my expectation is high for the next one. So this film was kind of fallen short, but the better way to say is it slows down to bring normalcy."If you've got nothing to do, find something to do. If it's not important, make it important."It's good to see Kohl Sudduth back in the action, but after that fatal accident, now he's kind of reborn and the new him feels so weird, sometimes annoying as well. The sad part is Viola Davis having a baby and moved to LA. I think that is the end of her in the series. Her replacement was Kathy Baker and feels much better contributor. Also very appropriate to hang out with Jesse as a co- worker, mainly because of the age factor.There's no change in Tom Selleck, he as always great in the title role. His ex-wife's phone calls returned, but not annoying as it was in the earlier films. Also like his drinking habit back on the track. I think women are his main issue, especially after the divorce, it seems many women are eager to be a part in his life. But while he's engaged to do his job, they are becoming an unavoidable obstacle. So he has to decide what he needs and his work needs, so he complies with that like in the previous films.Should all the cop films must have a gun battle to prove it is a violent affair. This one has one at the very end, a surprise addition to end on the strong note. So someone dies here and the reason is very loud and clear. Jesse also goes down in one particular scene, which is very unusual to witness. Because a tough guy like him always pays good attention about happenings around him. Well written and directed with good performances. It maintained the stability in the series, but not the best film.Anyway, I liked the twist, but it was not stunning kind. Besides, Jesse's decision to close the case like as he wanted was a negative appeal. But thinking from the other side, it kind of justifies, only for the film, not in reality. You won't always expect moral stories, maybe that's the point here. I don't understand having a dog in the house and it does nothing. Reggie looked so depressed, and why it was portrayed that way is not clear. Particularly what happened in the scene before the credits roll brings doubt on Reggie as part of the film. I hope he gets better in the follow-up films.This film has some quantity of suspense, so you will be attached to it to know how it all concludes. The revelation is not good enough, particularly I was not satisfied, but that is the simplicity, not trying to be too smart. As being a part of the Jesse Stone series, it can be very much acceptable knowing the ups and downs are common in a film franchise. The next film as well hold the key to carry-out the rest of the films in the series, so I'm eager to review it once I finished watching. Till then bye.7/10

Selleck does not get enough credit for this series.On the one hand this whole series can be dismissed as the efforts of yet one more "older" actor to keep stirring the pot, to stay in the game, and at the same time get to play in his favorite sandbox on the planet (Nova Scotia, standing in for Maine).But if you dig deeper and consider the series as a whole what you find is remarkable control, and craftsmanship.The same people appear in every movie, both in front of and behind the camera. Ignoring the regional Canadian accents, they are not bad.Selleck is brilliant. Stone could be the best work of his career. He has trumped Clint Eastwood in his mastery of the two-word piece of dialog. He stands a fragile but unwavering force for law enforcement. There is minimal violence or action in these entries but they hold interest nonetheless.And that damn dog with the stoic face steals every scene he is in.

If some archaeologist is digging around some 200 years from now and happens upon a copy of this film I only hope he's able to find a DVD player that will play it. Sea Change is that good! And unlike the usual junk passing for cinema these days this movie (and others in the series) displays a range of talent that will speak well of the 21st Century movie industry. Wonderful writing, wonderful directing, wonderful acting, wonderful sound track! But perhaps most impressive of all is the photography. In fact as a professional photographer specializing in landscape stills I was time and time again blown away by the powerful composition of the scenes, the originality of the camera work, the blending of subtle tone and color. As masterful piece of cinema-photography as I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing and memories of the most powerful shots shall inform my own work for years to come.

The other review "Being a longtime mystery lover, but never having read Robert B. Parker or seen a Jesse Stone movie, I really looked forward to watching Sea Change. But it was almost a complete disappointment. First, the principal characters have been given colorful histories or eccentricities seemingly only to keep them from being completely uninteresting otherwise or to fill time (for example, Luthor's post-coma extrasensory power). Why does anyone have his or her peculiarities? Dude please you have never read Robert B Parker and you a mystery lover. Get off with more jokes. To claim and be a mystery lover and not have read Robert Parker is like being a Christian and not reading the Bible. You comments. The beauty of parker is the eccentricities of the characters.This is a great movie listen to someone who really reads and loves mystery books not this guy. Watch this movie and watch the entire series they are excellent but for the intelligent viewer only. Much goes on so unlike action movies to really enjoy you must watch the movie. Not boring ,,, just the opposite excellent. jp