HOME   News   Reviews   Adv Search   Features   My DVD   About   Apps   Stats     Search:
  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 2.35:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital Surround
  Subtitles
  • None
  Extras
    China Moon
    Sony Pictures Home Entertainment/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 96 mins . M15+ . PAL

      Feature
    Contract

    Ed Harris plays police officer Kyle Bodine a thorough perceptive cop who always solves the case. However, Kyles clean-cut life changes dramatically when he meets sexy housewife Rachel Munroe (Madeleine Stowe). Kyle becomes infatuated with this nubial woman and wants to pursue a relationship. Yet their relationship faces a major hurdle, Rachel’s extremely wealthy husband Rupert (Charles Dance). Rupert beats his wife, which makes it easier for Kyle to be involved in through his police duties. After one of their all to frequent and aggressive spats Rachel leaves town and heads to Miami to decide whether or not to divorce him.

    Upon her return Kyle takes her to collect the rest of her possessions so they can leave and start their own life together. However, while she is in the house packing a rather intoxicated Rupert unexpectedly arrives home and confronts her. During the ensuing struggle Rachel pulls out a gun and shoots him. Justifiable homicide is the position of detective Kyle Bodine until Rachel confides in him that it was an un-registered gun and she had actually returned for the purpose of murdering her husband. Kyle therefore decides to help Rachel hide the murder to keep them together. Kyle painstakingly manipulates the crime scene and removes the body to ensure that nothing could link Rachel to the murder. However, no matter what he does Kyle’s partner Lamar Dickley (Benicio Del Toro) is always a step ahead of his cover up scheme, and that is when Kyle Bodine discovers there is more to his evolvement with Rachel then meets the eye.

    Director John Bailey and writer John Carson have generated a 99 minutes of adrenlin pumping suspense with twists and turns that will leave you overawed in the final scene. In many ways they tried to build up the tension and then fling a progressive twist like in the Usual Suspects. It worked rather well but couldn’t have been pulled off without the talented cast. Ed Harris is outstanding as lonely local detective who falls for the wrong type of girl. Harris’s screen presence dominates every scene. Madeleine Stowe is a bit lacking in her role and it doesn’t seem that Harris and her have much chemistry that was really needed to carry the film. Benicio Del Toro is quite good as Harris’s partner Lamar and it is quite obvious from this film why he is one of the most popular actors in Hollywood.

      Video
      Audio
      Extras
    Contract

    It actually must be said that considering the age of this movie, the transfer was actually surprisingly good. Ten years since its theatrical release China Moon has stood up pretty well. The colours are clear and bright, the blacks are deep and shadow detail isn’t a concerning problem. Aliasing however is minor and there are several noticeable film artefacts that pop up from time to time. Overall its about as good as we should expect.

    The audio is equally good. While only being provided in Dolby Digital 2.0 surround, the dialogue is clear and there are no sync problems. The surround channels get a small work out, but are generally rather inactive of any substantial audio action.

    The extras are also a nice touch, although hardly add to the value of the disc. Included on this one are the usual theatrical trailers and TV spots as well as trailers for three movies (Anatomy of Murder, Blue Sky, and Suspect). There is also a filmography for the three main stars and the director and a five minute featurette that runs more like an extended trailer, containing only a few behind the scenes snippets.

    Overall China Moon is very insightful and thought provoking film that is definitely worth adding to the collection. The video and audio qualities are quite good for a film aged ten years. The extras are a bonus but aren’t anything to get excited about. If you’re a fan of suspenseful dramas then this movie is well worth checking out, even if only for rental.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=629
  • Send to a friend.
  • Do YOU want to be a DVDnet reviewer? If so, click here

    Cast your vote here: You must enable cookies to vote.
  •   And I quote...
    "Overall China Moon is very insightful and thought provoking film that is definitely worth adding to the collection. "
    - Nathan Clark
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Pioneer DV-636
    • TV:
          LG 80cm
    • Speakers:
          Home Built
    • Centre Speaker:
          Home Built
    • Surrounds:
          Home Built
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          standard s-video
      Recent Reviews:
    by Nathan Clark

    Any Which Way You Can
    "...a fun action movie with just the right combination of witty one liners and jaw breaking action."

    Mutant X 1.2
    "Poor acting, boring bad guys and pathetic storylines. These are two episodes of this dull series that should be well and truly avoided at all costs."

    Mutant X 1.1
    "...there is nothing here we couldn’t see during the animated 7:30am Saturday cartoons."

    American Psycho 2
    "If you like seeing a pretty, but insanely twisted, little girl stab a lot of innocent people then this is the film you’ve been looking for all your sad, sad life..."

    The Steven Seagal Collection 1994-1997
    "...this collection might not be the best bang for your buck, allthough there really are plenty of bangs available for those who can stomach all the rough acting. "

      Related Links
      None listed

     

    Search for Title/Actor/Director:
    Google Web dvd.net.au
       Copyright © DVDnet. All rights reserved. Site Design by RED 5   
    rss