Karavansara

East of Constantinople, West of Shanghai

Category Archives: Media


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Stargate Origins and waning enthusiasm

365955I hate to admit I was wrong, but as my watching Stargate Origins progresses, I am forced to take a step back. Upon catching the first episodes, I wrote the show looked good. The show does indeed look good, but alas it is starting to play like a not-so-good fan-project, or like a collection of transition scenes for a videogame.

We are now two-thirds into the story, and while preciously little is happening, the little that is happening is somewhat… lightweight.
Very lightweight.
There are a few good ideas in there, but the general impression is one of disappointment. I am particularly appalled at the dialogues and characterization – that seemed to promise so much in the early episodes and that are now down to some very irritating, petulant chattering.
True, any new Stargate is better than no new Stargate, but that’s a small consolation.
I’m not particularly eager to see the remaining three episodes, and that’s a pity.


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Tyrannosaurus Tex strikes again

I’m very proud to announce that Tyrannosaurus Tex, my first ebook ever, has been turned into an audio-drama by the fine folks of the Gallery of Curiosities podcast.
Narrated by Steve Sutherland, it is just fantastic.

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You can check it out FOLLOWING THIS LINK.

And in case you are interested, Tyrannosaurus Tex is still available for dirt cheap on Amazon.


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Game of Aces, a review

1248e1fe4ba33ae9537c3e5dccf30937Game of Aces is a 2016 historical action/adventure movie that got a limited release in theaters and was later available on demand in streaming – today you can catch it on Amazon video or Hulu.
Shot in the Death Valley desert doubling for the Egyptian desert by Damien Lay, an Australian director with a past as a documentary-maker, and a small international cast, the movie allegedly cost 500.000 dollars.
And while budgetary limits are evident, the end result is quite interesting, and decidedly worth a look if you like the things we like here on Karavansara.

This is a fun movie, that plays nicely its limited resources and is not as weak as some reviewers made it look.

Continue reading →


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The Elizabeth Taylor Blogathon: The Taming of the Shrew (1967)

It’s the Elizabeth Taylor Blogathon and I am so terribly late.
Now I normally get late at the blogathon, because my mind is like an overcrowded attic and there’s too much stuff piled up in there. But the problem in this specific case is also, I fear, that I am not a fan of Elizabeth Taylor.
Beautiful woman? Of course.
Great actress? Undisputable.
An icon in so many different ways? You bet.
So, really, that’s me – not a fan.
So sue me.
But before you sue me, be sure to check out the blog In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood, that is hosting the vent and that will provide a huge selection of posts about movies featuring Elizabeth Taylor.

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Once you’re done, and before you sue me, you might want to check out the rest of this post. Because we are about to talk of Bill Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, as directed by Franco Zeffirelli in 1967, and featuring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton as a bickering couple.
What a novel idea, uh? Continue reading →


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Late supper with the Librarian

57d8f1a684ae92c76eea3fb7-1474283883713I spent last night watching the second of the three TV-movies in The Librarian franchise.
It’s like riding a seesaw – and if I actually enjoyed the first Librarian movie, the second was a terrible let down.
The Librarian: Return to King Solomon’s Mines is an African adventure aimed at a younger audience that fails to capture the simple goofishness of the first movie. And yet, the cast is more or less the same, the plot is a simple piece of chewing-gum and everything should go for the best.
Only it does not.
A pity, really – but no matter how much I wanted to like it, I sank into a bottomless barrel of boredom. Continue reading →


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Lunch with the Librarian

IMG_0402Today I followed my friend Domenico’s suggestion, and I watched The Librarian, Quest for the Spear during lunch break, instead of having lunch.
This is a sort of instant review or what.

For the uninitiated, the Librarian franchise is a sort of sneaky, possibly overlooked property that includes three TV movies, a TV series, a book and two comic book series. And it is still going, as far as I am told, which is quite impressive considering how little known it is hereabouts – I don’t know, maybe in the rest of the universe it is a smash hit and on top of everyone’s fave list, but I’m under the impression it’s not.

And that’s a pity, because the first movie has the suave, lightweight tone of an old matinee cartoon or an old cliffhanger. Continue reading →