Read PopMatters on your Kindle

Bill Gibron

Film & TV Columns Editor

About Bill Gibron

A big city Chi-Town (Chicago) boy transplanted to the tourist trap known as Tampa, Florida, Bill comes to PopMatters with a lifetime of unusual experiences. He's worked every type of job from pipefitter to appellate lawyer, from assistant manager of a fast food restaurant to drive time disc jockey at his college radio station. Speaking of education, Bill's background includes stints in an exclusive, all boys boarding school, Florida State University (where he earned his BA in Creative Writing before the campus became the #1 party location in the nation), and the Stetson University College of Law (receiving his JD in 1986). As a result, he loves to think of himself as both relentlessly imaginative and doggedly rational. Such an odd juxtaposition might explain how he can champion both 2001 and Pink Flamingoes as two of the greatest films of all time, or how The Clash and The Partridge Family can sit comfortably together in his CD rack.

Since deciding to employ his underdeveloped muse muscles over five years ago, Bill has been a significant staff member and writer for three of the 'Net's most influential websites: DVD Talk, DVD Verdict and, of course, PopMatters. He also has expanded his own web presence with Bill Gibron.com a place where he can explore his creative options without restriction. It is here where you can learn of his love of Swindon's own XTC, skim a few chapters of his terrifying tome in the making, The Big Book of Evil, and hear samples from the cassette albums he created in his college music studio, The Scream Room.

Features

The PopMatters Summer 2008 Movie Preview

Remembrances of Summers Past: 40 Years of Movie Memories

[2.May.08] :. When I look back at my 40 years at the Cineplex, I recall hundreds of singular scenes or sequences, characters whose wisdom (or wit) I keep with me all these years later.

The PopMatters Summer 2008 Movie Preview

 

The PopMatters Summer 2008 Movie Preview

The Return of the Popcorn Circus: August 2008

[1.May.08] :. Talk about a crowded schedule. There are more offerings scheduled this month than in the previous two combined.

The PopMatters Summer 2008 Movie Preview

 

The PopMatters Summer 2008 Movie Preview

The Return of the Popcorn Circus: July 2008

[30.Apr.08] :. And it just doesn't stop. If part two in this three-ring play was packed with well hyped product, July just keeps the receipt treats coming.

The PopMatters Summer 2008 Movie Preview

 

The PopMatters Summer 2008 Movie Preview

The Return of the Popcorn Circus: June 2008

[29.Apr.08] :. If May almost tent-poled itself out of existence, June will be even worse. After all, are audiences really ready for 13 major release in less than two months -- with more to come?

The PopMatters Summer 2008 Movie Preview

 

The PopMatters Summer 2008 Movie Preview

The Return of the Popcorn Circus: May 2008

[28.Apr.08] :. In the first act of this four-part production, Tinsel Town decides to do some unbelievable front loading. Will there be room for independent offerings, or former HBO carnal comedy divas? Who knows? Without a doubt, it's an interesting way to start the season.

The PopMatters Summer 2008 Movie Preview

 
Featured Article

DVDs

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, Jake

[22.Feb.08] :. Chinatown remains a stalwart of '70s cinema. The uninspired follow-up 16 years later reminds one that, sometimes, a masterpiece needs to simply be left alone.

Recent features

 

PopMatters Picks: The Best TV, Film, and DVD of 2007   Gone and Not Forgotten: The PopMatters DVD Wish List

PopMatters Picks: The Best TV, Film, and DVD of 2007   Hype, Interrupted: The Most Anticipated Films of 2008

DVDs   Incomplete Coquette: The Brigitte Bardot Collection

DVDs   Past Imperfect: Luis Buñuel's Early Work

Film   The Good, The Bad and the Unknown: December

Film   The Good, The Bad and the Unknown: November

Film   The Good, The Bad and the Unknown: October

Film   The Good, The Bad and the Unknown: September

PopMatters Pick

Film

The Lives of Others: Almost Complete Control

[21.Aug.07] :. Under the heavy, grey tread of Stasi control, made more brutal by the friends, family and neighbors recruited to spy on one another, Art, though trampled, will send out tendrils of subversive inspiration.

Recent features

 

Film   Visionary Valhalla: Film's Future Exalted Ones

Film   Film Fete: The Best of Short Ends & Leader

Film   Future Shock: The Death of Serious Science Fiction

Film   Monkey Business (Part 4: August)

Film   Monkey Business (Part 3: July)

Film   Monkey Business (Part 2: June)

Film   Monkey Business (Part 1: May)

Film   Wim Wenders: Merging the Infinite Via the Enigma of Cinema

Film   The PopMatters 'Short Ends & Leader' Spring Film Preview

Featured Article

Film

Primal Screens: Mark Savage and Australian Independent Cinema

[10.Jan.07] :. A promiment figure in Australia's burgeoning genre scene, Mark Savage is more or less unknown in America. Now, thanks to a stellar DVD overview of his two decades behind the camera, he's finally poised to take his place among independent cinema's standouts.

Recent features

 

Music   This is the Radio's Clash - The Singles Box Set

Film   The Boob Tube: Elvira, Mistress of the Dark and Movie Macabre

Featured Article

DVDs

Fight the Power?

[2.Oct.06] :. If the right to vote is so important, why aren't more people angry at the admitted flaws in the 2000 and 2004 elections? Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and documentarian Ian Inaba have some very disturbing answers.

Recent features

 

Music   Found Genres #2: The Soundtrack to Satan's Life

Columns

The Lost Signal

Rod Serling and His Evil Art

[25.Apr.08] :. Serling began his career as one of the most celebrated writers of his generation. But it only took one trip to a particularly troubled 'gallery' to undermine his importance and influence within the entertainment industry.

Recent columns

 

The Outré Oeuvre

Five from Beyond the Fringe

[3.Apr.08] :. In the following five examples of fringe films, we have movies so amazing, originality so outstanding, that the entire cinematic situation offered defies comprehension.

Recent columns

 

The Lost Signal

Sex, Conservative Style

[4.Mar.08] :. Love, American Style's debut was at the very instance when everything censors and prudes had worried over seemed to bubble and blister just beneath the social surface.

Recent columns

 

The Outré Oeuvre

Film's Last Taboo

[30.Jan.08] :. Social hype has given your basic brats a media Teflon coating. Has the time finally come to make them pay?

Recent columns

 

The Lost Signal

Air Apparent

[30.Oct.07] :. David Lynch and the illustration of the grand within the grotesque, and the good/bad buried in the bad/good, ala On the Air.

Recent columns

 

The Outré Oeuvre   When They Were Fab

The Lost Signal   Living La Vida Shadows

The Outré Oeuvre   A 'Head' of Its Time

The Lost Signal   Junior Samples, Rube Bard of Days Gone By

The Outré Oeuvre   Billy Jack, the Original Blockbuster

The Lost Signal   NBC News Overnight: And So It Went

The Outré Oeuvre   Almost Auteurs: Elaine May

The Lost Signal   The Gallant Gourmet

The Outré Oeuvre   Calling William Castle!

The Lost Signal   The 12 Days of Prozac

The Outré Oeuvre   Dreck the Halls

The Lost Signal   Food of the Clods

The Outré Oeuvre   Skunk Ape Confidential

The Lost Signal   Monkey Business

The Outré Oeuvre   Hit the Road, Bonejack!

The Lost Signal   Sunday School

The Outré Oeuvre   Big Girl Blues

The Lost Signal   Monster Mash-Up

The Outré Oeuvre   The Grindhouse's Greatest Hits

The Lost Signal   Faith's Freak Show

The Outré Oeuvre   Findlay vs. Jason

The Lost Signal   Cable Carnal-val

The Outré Oeuvre   Trailer Fabulous

The Lost Signal   Monochrome Christmas

The Outré Oeuvre   The Neo Neo-Realist

The Lost Signal   Duck...Duck...Duck...GOOSE!

The Lost Signal   Food for Naught

The Outré Oeuvre   Mudlark Movies: Lucky Stiff

The Outré Oeuvre   Rudy Can't Fail

The Outré Oeuvre   The Science Behind the So-B.I.G.

The Outré Oeuvre   The Undead Underground

Reviews

DVDs

Spike Jones: The Legend [DVD]

[17.Jan.08] :. Imagine using the latest track by Fergie or Alicia Keys and cramming it full of car horns and gunshots -- that's Spike Jones and his City Slickers.

Recent DVD reviews

 

DVDs

Live Free or Die Hard

[3.Jan.08] :. Bruce Willis' career may not have mandated a fourth trip into Die Hard territory. Who knew that action fans needed it so badly?

Recent DVD reviews

 

DVDs

The Myth

[11.Dec.07] :. Somehow, it seems appropriate that one of Hong Kong's most complex icons stars in one of the martial arts genre's most overreaching efforts.

Recent DVD reviews

 

DVDs

The Fly Collection

[7.Dec.07] :. The 1958 film remains a marvel. Unfortunately, as this box set confirms, there were too many additional 'flies' in the franchise's cinematic ointment.

Recent DVD reviews

 

DVDs

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

[28.Nov.07] :. Not every comic book movie is geared toward the nearing middle aged geek - something naysayers of the Fantastic Four franchise fail to comprehend.

Recent DVD reviews

 
Featured Article

DVDs

The Up Series

[15.Oct.07] :. Give me the boy at age seven, and I'll give you the man. The Jesuits may have had something with that saying, especially after watching Michael Apted's masterwork 49 years into the making.

Recent DVD reviews

 

DVDs   Next

DVDs   Invasion of the Body Snatchers

DVDs   Space: 1999: 30th Anniversay 17 DVD Megaset

DVDs   Greg Lake: Greg Lake: Welcome Backstage [DVD]

Film   Balls of Fury

Featured Article

DVDs

South Park: The Complete Tenth Season

[29.Aug.07] :. This is the season when the series became self-aware, when addressing the constant media scrutiny lead to episodes that pushed the boundaries of satire and taste.

Recent DVD reviews

 

Film   Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)

Film   Mr. Beans Holiday

PopMatters Pick

DVDs

Ace in the Hole

[21.Aug.07] :. While we like to think that every modern malady is new to our particular generation, a film like this reminds us that many of life's troubles have their foundation in past, not present trends.

Recent DVD reviews

 

Film   Stardust

Film   The Invasion

Film   Superbad

Film   Rush Hour 3

DVDs   Disturbia

Film   Underdog (2007)

Film   The Bourne Ultimatum

Film   El Cantante

Featured Article

Film

The Simpsons Movie

[27.Jul.07] :. After 18 years on the air and nearly 400 amazing episodes, The Simpsons Movie delivers the entertainment equivalent of a 90 minute greatest hits package.

Recent Film reviews

 
Featured Article

Film

Hairspray (2007)

[20.Jul.07] :. When Hairspray is good, it’s fantastic. It radiates an energy and a joy that’s beyond infectious.

Recent Film reviews

 

Film   I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007)

DVDs   The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007)

Film   Eagle vs. Shark (2007)

Film   Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

Featured Article

DVDs

Les Claypool: Fancy [DVD]

[6.Jul.07] :. Les Claypool is a rhythm stick surrealist, a man who uses the lower octaves of the scale to simulate all kinds of musical madness – funk, progressive, rock…even the ridiculous

Recent DVD reviews

 

Film   Transformers (2007)

DVDs   Creepshow III

Film   Ratatouille (2007)

PopMatters Pick

Film

Sicko (2007)

[29.Jun.07] :. SiCKO is sensational. It's perhaps the best movie Michael Moore has ever made.

Recent Film reviews

 

Film   Evan Almighty (2007)

Featured Article

DVDs

Pans Labyrinth (2006)

[25.May.07] :. As harsh as it is human, filmmaking doesn’t get any more enlightened than this. Like the Brothers Grimm before him, this is a filmmaker who wants to give fairytales back their teeth.

Recent DVD reviews

 

Books   Directed By Steven Spielberg: Poetics of the Contemporary Hollywood Blockbuster by Warren Buckland

DVDs   Night at the Museum (2006)

Books   Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

Featured Article

DVDs

La Haine (1995)

[14.May.07] :. There is a thin line between acceptance and prejudice; and an easy tilt to the balance, from love to hate.

Recent DVD reviews

 

DVDs   Spider-Man 2.1 - Unrated, Extended Cut (2004)

Music   Andy Partridge: Monstrance

DVDs   Only Human

DVDs   The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

Multimedia   50 Cent: Bulletproof

DVDs   Edward R. Murrow: The Best of Person to Person

Featured Article

DVDs

The Prisoner: The Complete Series - 40th Anniversary Collectors Edition

[16.Jan.07] :. It's a show that still causes heads to spin some 40 years later. But what makes The Prisoner so special is not its spy drama approach, but its anti-conformity agenda.

Recent DVD reviews

 

DVDs   Return to the Land of Wonders

Multimedia   Tringo

Featured Article

Music

The Residents: The Residents Present The River of Crime Episodes 1 - 5

[8.Jan.07] :. Always on the cutting edge of the cultural hub, The Residents has returned to one of entertainments oldest formats -- the radio drama -- for their latest exercise in oddness.

Recent Music reviews

 

Music   Giuseppe Andrews: Giants

DVDs   Jenifer

Books   Catch a Wave by Peter Ames Carlin

Books   Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock and Roll by Rick Coleman

Featured Article

DVDs

10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America (2006)

[11.Oct.06] :. The resulting crazy quilt of content adds an extra layer to the overall argument about the power of a single incident to inexplicably change the course of events.

Recent DVD reviews

 

DVDs   Okie Dokie

DVDs   Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp

DVDs   Tegan and Sara: Tegan and Sara: Its Not Fun. Dont Do It! [DVD]

DVDs   Eaten Alive

DVDs   Magdalenas Brain

TV   Gene Simmons Family Jewels

DVDs   Room 6

DVDs   Ren & Stimpy: The Lost Episodes

TV   Feasting on Asphalt

TV   Garth Marenghis Darkplace

DVDs   The Garden (2005)

TV   Eureka

Books   Altman on Altman by David Thompson [editor]

DVDs   The Loved One (1965)

TV   Driving Force

TV   The World Series of Pop Culture

DVDs   The Day of the Animals (1977)

DVDs   The Omen (1976)

TV   The Dudesons

DVDs   Electric Edwardians (1901)

TV   Raising the Roofs

Books   Conspiracy of Fools by Kurt Eichenwald

Books   Body Brokers: Inside America's Underground Trade in Human Remains by Annie Cheney

DVDs   The Mary Tyler Moore Show: The Complete Third Season

TV   Ed vs. Spencer

TV   Unan1mous

TV   Big Love

DVDs   Mind of Mencia: Uncensored Season 1

DVDs   Cavalcade of Comedy (2006)

TV   Black. White.

DVDs   The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season

DVDs   The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (2003)

DVDs   The Time Tunnel Volume One (2006): Robert Colbert, James Darren, Lee Meriwether, Whit Bissell - PopM

TV   Real Time with Bill Maher

TV   Trick My Truck

Books   Cell by Stephen King

DVDs   Land of the Lost: The Complete Series

TV   Courting Alex

DVDs   Viva La Bam: Seasons 4 and 5

Books   Life Interrupted: The Unfinished Monologue by Spalding Gray, Francine Prose

TV   Distraction

Film   BloodRayne (2006)

TV   Dallas S.W.A.T.

TV   Four Kings

Books   Howl for Now: A Celebration of Allen Ginsberg's Epic Protest Poem by Simon Warner

DVDs   The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection Volume 8

Books   Dr. Futurity by Philip K. Dick

DVDs   The Fly (Collector's Edition) / The Fly II (Special Edition) (1986/1989)

Books   'Salem's Lot: Illustrated Edition by Stephen King

Books   Wordplay: The Philosophy, Art and Science of Ambigrams by John Langdon

TV   Masters of Horror

DVDs   Monty Python's Flying Circus: 16 Ton Megaset Collection

TV   South Park

TV   Cosmos: 25th Anniversary Edition

Books   Contrary to Popular Belief by Joey Green

TV   Night Stalker

TV   Loonatics Unleashed

Books   Dean and Me (A Love Story) by Jerry Lewis and James Kaplan

DVDs   Benny Hill: The Early Naughty Years - Complete and Unadulterated (Volume 3)

TV   Invasion

DVDs   The Billy Nayer Show: The Early Years (1992-1994)

DVDs   SCTV: Volume 4

TV   Threshold

TV   Breaking Bonaduce

DVDs   Cypher (2002)

DVDs   Slim Susie (2003)

TV   HOPELESs Pictures

TV   Gene Simmons' Rock School

TV   Tommy Lee Goes to College

DVDs   Power Rangers: SPD - Joining Forces: Volume 1 (2004)

TV   30 Days: Revisited

TV   Tony Bourdain: No Reservations

DVDs   Hukkle (2002)

DVDs   Sam Kinison: Outlaws of Comedy (1990)

TV   30 Days

DVDs   Double Dare (2004)

DVDs   Sunset Story (2003)

TV   Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

TV   Sports Kids Moms and Dads

TV   The Simpsons

DVDs   I Love Lucy: The Complete Fourth Season (2004)

Books   Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead by Phil Lesh

TV   Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel

DVDs   Desperately Seeking Seka (2002)

TV   Family Business

DVDs   I Heart Huckabees: 2-Disc Special Edition (2004)

DVDs   Incident at Loch Ness (2004)

TV   Hey! Spring of Trivia

DVDs   Fall Guy (Kamata Koshin-Kyoku) (1982)

DVDs   Prisoner: Cell Block H - 25th Anniversary Collector's Edition

DVDs   Farmingville (2004)

DVDs   Broadway: The American Musical

DVDs   Lost in Space: Season 2, Vol. 1

TV   Drew Carey's Green Screen Show

DVDs   Bug (1975)

TV   Listen Up

DVDs   Past Midnight (1992)

DVDs   The Legend of Leigh Bowery (2002)

DVDs   13 Moons (2002)

DVDs   The Cliffhanger (2003)

DVDs   Stuck on You (2003)

DVDs   Artists of the 20th Century: Francis Bacon

Film   Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)

DVDs   Doggy Poo (2003)

DVDs   Disinformation: The Complete Series

DVDs   200 Cadillacs (2004)

DVDs   Eraserhead (1977)

DVDs   The Mondo Cane Collection (1962-1971) - PopMatters Film Review )

DVDs   The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)

DVDs   R-Point (2004)

DVDs   Ice Age: Super Cool Edition (2002)

DVDs   Electric Edwardians: The Films of Mitchell and Kenyon (1901-1905) - PopMatters Film Review )

DVDs   Napoleon Dynamite: Like the Best Special Edition Ever (2004)

DVDs   Natural City (2003)

DVDs   Ryan: The Special Edition (2004)

DVDs   American Dad: Volume 1

DVDs   The Bugaloos: The Complete Series

DVDs   Beavis & Butt-head: The Mike Judge Collection, Volume 2 (2006) - PopMatters Film Review

Multimedia   GBAV - Shrek / Shark Tale Dual Pack

TV   The Dudesons

Featured Article

DVDs

I Love Lucy: The Complete Sixth Season

In the end, the grind was just too great, though I Love Lucy was still the number one show when it closed up shop.

Recent DVD reviews

 

TV   Lucky Louie

TV   Raising the Roofs

TV   Take Home Chef

TV   Web Junk 20

Blog posts

Short Ends and Leader

Friday Film Focus - 16 May, 2008

[16.May.08] :. Summer's still sizzling away, and for the weekend beginning 16 May, here are the films in focus: CJ7 [rating: 7] CJ7 is a deceptive little delight, a movie that wisely...

Short Ends and Leader

 

Short Ends and Leader

'Hats' Hampered by Lack of Directorial Focus

[16.May.08] :. There is a big difference between interesting and intriguing. The former identification can be connected to any subject that spikes our attention. We may not enjoy everything that we hear, but at...

Short Ends and Leader

 

Short Ends and Leader

Whimsy Works For (and Against) Chow's 'CJ7'

[16.May.08] :. Every director has a little whimsy in him (or her). It's a crucial element for being an artist. When utilized sparingly, channeled alongside a well-considered storyline or narrative, it's the reason...

Short Ends and Leader

 

Short Ends and Leader

'Frontier(s)' Follows Familiar Fear Formula

[16.May.08] :. When it comes to reviving old horror clichés, the French have been on quite a roll recently. First, they deconstructed the stand alone suspense thriller with the straightforward shocker...

Short Ends and Leader

 

Short Ends and Leader

Critical Confessions: Part 8 - An Open Letter to the Online Critic

[15.May.08] :. Dear Fellow Writer: The time is now. It's our moment to put up or forever shut up. Print is dying, there's no two ways about it, and those left rummaging for readership are turning to the old...

Short Ends and Leader

 

Short Ends and Leader   Mascara (1999)

Short Ends and Leader   W Stoned

Short Ends and Leader   'Indiana' Groans

Short Ends and Leader   The Great Debaters (2007)

Short Ends and Leader   Friday Film Focus - 09 May, 2008

Short Ends and Leader   'Surfwise' Shines on its Unusual Subject

Short Ends and Leader   Overplotted 'Redbelt' is Pure Mamet

Short Ends and Leader   Documentary has 'Heart' to Spare

Short Ends and Leader   'Speed Racer' Soars!

Short Ends and Leader   A Touch of 'Seytan'

Short Ends and Leader   Neverwas (2005)

Short Ends and Leader   WOW-chowski

Short Ends and Leader   The Meaning of $100 Million

Short Ends and Leader   Teeth (2007)

Short Ends and Leader   I'm Not There: Two Disc Collector's Edition

Short Ends and Leader   Friday Film Focus - 02 May, 2008

Short Ends and Leader   'Snow Angels' Stumbles Near the End

Short Ends and Leader   'Iron' is Da Man!

Short Ends and Leader   Jungle Juice (2002)

Short Ends and Leader   The Five Best Films of Spring 2008

Short Ends and Leader   The Five Worst Films of Spring 2008

Short Ends and Leader   The Fall of the Roman Empire: The Miriam Collection (3 Disc Limited Collector's Edition)

Short Ends and Leader   Cloverfield (Small Screen DVD Edition)

Short Ends and Leader   Friday Film Focus - 25 April, 2008

Short Ends and Leader   Art Disintegrates Life Part 1: The Savages

Short Ends and Leader   Thunderpants (2002)

Short Ends and Leader   Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Short Ends and Leader   Darren Lynn Bousman: Repo-ssessed!

Short Ends and Leader   Flash Point (2007)

Short Ends and Leader   Charlie Wilson's War

Short Ends and Leader   Friday Film Focus - 18 April 2008

Short Ends and Leader   "Sarah Marshall" is Unforgettable

Short Ends and Leader   '88' is 87 Minutes Too Many

Short Ends and Leader   Spurlock Subverts His Own Hunt for 'Bin Laden'

Short Ends and Leader   Rock M