Bear-112 Reviews

World and Time Enough (1994)

Am unusual film, which rarely develops as you would expect.

[27 October 1999]

I am surprised to be the first to add my views on this film, as gay films usually seem to attract lots of comments! This one is different in a number of ways, not least because of the plot's twists & turns, especially in the last 20 minutes, leaving you agonising about the final outcome! In fact my main criticism would be that, having chosen & developed very believable characters, the writer/director then makes them behave in very strange ways at times to forward the plot. However, the best part of the film, and the main reason I stayed hooked until the end, is the central relationship between Mark & Joey. For once this is seen as the most stable element in the film. There is no doubt about their faithfulness to each other, no big break-up/reconciliation. Even Mark's HIV status is not a dominant feature, but simply one element in the story. So this film is certainly one of the best portrayals of a gay partnership that I have ever seen. One final comment - I was intrigued when checking out the stars on the IMDB database that none of them seem to have done anything else in movies or TV. This seems to be a familiar pattern for so many American gay films, and I'd be intrigued to know why this is.

24 Nights (1999)

A pleasant evening in the cinema

[30 September 1999]

Although this is hardly the greatest film ever made. it was my favourite of the ones I went to see in the recent Gay Film Festival here in Wellington. I think the main reason was that it was such an ordinary film, about characters who just happened to be gay, but, with relatively few changes to the plot could have been about straight relationships. So it is typical of the genre the American romantic comedy, though fortunately not as sentimental as these can sometimes be (sorry, but we Antipodeans like a little bite to our comedies!). Also, not having any "big names" in the cast, it has to rely on a set of believable characters, who were mostly well acted. Otherwise it is typical of the genre, with the usual "who will end up with whom and you can bet it won't be as they intended" type of story-line. So go & see it, and I hope the video or DVD comes out soon.

Young Guns of Texas (1962)

Watch the first 20 minutes only

[20 September 1999]

I was surprised to see no comments on this movie, which has certainly been on TV fairly recently (at least in the UK). I also saw it in the cinema in the UK when it first came out. It is in many ways a typical Western of the early sixties, starring actors straight out of contemporary TV series, who looks as if they belong to a Beach Party movie rather than the real Wild West! This film is also famous for starring a string of children of more famous stars. It begins at a good pace, with Gary Conway arriving in town, having an extensive fist fight, and meeting Jody McCrea. After that it becomes increasingly boring & pedestrian, and I couldn't give away the ending, because I don't really remember it! So my advice is, make sure you watch the beginning, but don't bother too much if you miss the end!