Jon Loder's Reviews
Woke free, very little action and a great story.
This is based on Robert B. Parker's character, Jesse Stone, an alcoholic, disgraced Los Angeles police detective that gets a second chance as a small town Chief of Police in the east coast town of Paradise. That's pretty much where the story from the novel ends. The book was good. The movie is good. They just don't tell the same story. In my opinion, Selleck plays his best role with the possible exception of Matthew Quigley.
The whole series is heavy on story and light on action. It's slow, but not in a bad way. Jesse solves crimes with impressive, yet realistic, detective skills.
I could write the same review for every movie in the Stone series. According to IMDB, Selleck is working on the next one. I hope so. These movies are binge-worthy.
On another note, this was the second movie of the series, but, being a prequel, I recommend starting with it, and then moving on to Stone Cold, etc.
Created: 10-11-2025
Had to see for myself.
I was almost dissuaded by this site from watching this movie. Being rated as super-woke is a strong statement.
There is definite wokeness in this one...
- Ethnic representation: Yes, Astrid and some others are darker skinned. This doesn't fit the history of the Vikings. It's obvious pandering to wokeness. It's annoying, but there was no agenda beyond that. No ethnic issues were addressed in the story.
- Women in authority: There were several women in authority. That is not authentic. Women were recognized in Viking culture as persons with rights, but not in authority. Again, historical accuracy was compromised in favor of wokeness. There was, however, some implied agenda on this point. Astrid was put in charge of the attack. She took charge and led the battle plan.
- LGBT: It could be said that Ruffnut and other female characters were somewhat masculine. There was no implied orientation otherwise.
I hope this is helpful for sorting out the conflicting reviews on this one.
Created: 10-11-2025
If you liked the series, and the last final movie, you'll probably like this.
It could be said that there is a bit of wokeness on this movie. The main theme is a divorced woman of nobility who, by tradition, is shunned by society. The story is set in 1930 when divorce was still a shameful thing. Divorcees were pariahs to be avoided. The homosexual character, Thomas has a boyfriend. There was no apparent agenda involved. It was just incidental.
The story of Downton Abbey isn't exactly my cup of tea. This was well done, with great acting. It would've been better if it was done when Maggie was still around.
Created: 10-09-2025
Typical bait-and-switch agenda
A season or two of politically neutral, quick-witted comedy before the mask comes off. Seasons 1 & 2 would be near zero wokeness with a high rating. The transition to low rating with high wokeness happened around season 3. The bet over the dart match in the pub will always be one of my favorite sit-com scenes. Just watch the first two seasons and then bail.
Created: 10-03-2025
Far superior to the American version
If an interracial marriage is wokeness to you, it's woke. In the 5 seasons this ran, racial issues were never mentioned or even implied. The only tic on the woke-meter for me was the implied latent homosexual tendencies of one of the regular characters. It wasn't done with any level of advocacy or agenda. I was sad to see this series end. It was hard to find the last couple of seasons streaming.
Created: 10-01-2025
Well written, clever, and entertaining.
I didn't perceive any woke agenda outside of the typical situation of a teenager setting the older folks straight on critical issues is thinly veiled. Perhaps that should tic the woke-meter. It's not enough to detract from the enjoyability of the movie.
Created: 09-30-2025
This isn't woke, but it does have agenda.
This movie addresses the social angst of high-school students in their different cliques. There is a jock, a socialite, an emo, a nerd, and a stoner. They spend the day figuring out that they have more in common than they thought. The realization that they have been misunderstanding each other was enlightening. They also realized that they would go back to their normal, classified roles. This time, these five students would have a better understanding of differences. They didn't address any racial or gender issues. I really don't understand this movie having a Woke rating.
Created: 09-29-2025
Not woke, but...
This is a very good, entertaining movie. Robin Williams proved himself to be more than just a comedian once again. There was no woke agenda other than middle-aged, white academics being appalled at the idea of girls being admitted to the boys prep school. That's a slight tic on the woke-meter but it rounds down to zero. I would give it a 0.25.
The problem I have with the movie is the idea that 17-year-olds are ready to choose their own path. Independent thinking is a good thing, but adult responsibility isn't a threshold that goes from not ready on Monday but completely ready on Tuesday. It's a slow process that requires parental guidance and authority. That authority was somewhat ridiculed and undermined by ad-absurd um portrayal, resulting in tragedy.
Created: 09-29-2025
Objective reporting with an entertaining flair.
Right or left, this is a must-see. The agenda is ostensive. Matt set out to expose the fallacy of gender fluidity. He allowed the interviewees to make their points, uninterrupted. There were no deceptive edits.
The absurdity of gender-fluid ideology exposes itself with an open platform. Thanks, Matt.
Created: 09-29-2025
Hard to watch
The story of Aileen is a sad tragedy. Although she was rightfully accountable for her actions, she was a product of abuse, and neglect. She was executed by the State of Florida in 2002. This movie was released in 2003.
I watched this movie years ago. I remember the story being well-depicted and thought-provoking. Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci are amazing actors. Charlize took an Oscar for her performance. That was well-deserved. If you can tolerate the gritty, raw, portrayal of the subject matter, it's worth the watch.
The problem I have with the movie is, there really wasn't a need for the graphic lesbian scenes. I really don't remember it being so graphic. I tried to watch it again recently. I couldn't get past the scene where Theron and Ricci were making out in the ally behind the skating rink. Families were walking past with the parents trying to keep their kids from watching it.
There was no LGBT agenda. If anything, it portrayed it as disgusting filth. It was just too graphic.
Created: 09-26-2025
