Literary fiction awards rarely go to works of science fiction and fantasy. We review a lot of genre fiction on Pop-Verse. Mainly science fiction and fantasy. These books might be lauded in their own fields but are, with some exception, ...

I am sucker for a good western. Something slow-paced that can move easily between quiet moments of reflection and outbursts of searing brutality. The frontier is also a rich setting for conflict. Hostiles could have drifted into dangerously old-fashioned territory ...

This is the film that they cut Kevin Spacey out of. Following the numerous allegations of sexual assault levelled against the actor, Spacey’s scenes were excised from the film. Recasting Christopher Plummer in the role of oil tycoon J. Paul ...

Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri is a comedy addressing some bleak subject matter. Writer-director Martin McDonagh has a track record in this regard – he is responsible for dark comedies In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths – but in some ...

Best of 2017 I have come to reject the idea that we have good and bad years in cinema. That view is usually cultivated amongst those who only follow the outcomes of the major awards ceremonies with their rather unadventurous ...

I did not like this film. That may surprise some who have seen only the effusive gushing of the broader critical community. It will not surprise anyone who remembers my opinion of The Force Awakens. Or how Rogue One left ...

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle feels like the first draft of a film. It is slight, underdeveloped, and transparently written to a template. This has clearly been created to cash-in on the recognition of the property (do kids today even ...

We are told this is the golden age of television. That we live in a bold new world where high-powered dramas pursue long-form stories with feature film-like production qualities. It is a rather tiresome platitude. Aside from an obvious vanity ...

Everyone likes George Clooney, don’t they? He’s witty, he’s charming, handsome, an advocate for good causes, blah blah blah… For all his easy on-screen charisma though, seeing one of his directing credits fills me with trepidation. Maybe that is unfair: ...

The “Citizen Kane of bad movies” gets its own tribute film. The Room defies belief at its sheer lack of logic, ridiculously bad acting and baffling production decisions. You don’t need to take my word for it: we had a ...