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Author Archives: Fenton Coulthurst

Fenton is an occasional writer and journalist. He primarily writes on film and culture. His articles range from film reviews, to coverage of literary festivals and even comic book history.

Genre Fiction and the Middlebrow

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, ...

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Hostiles

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 ...

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All the Money in the World

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 ...

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Best and Worst Films of 2017

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 ...

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Star Wars: The Last Jedi

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 ...

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Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

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 ...

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Are we living in the Golden Age of TV?

Breaking Bad

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 ...

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Suburbicon: This one stinks

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: ...

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The Disaster Artist: Oh, hi Mark

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 ...

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