Thanks for asking, hypothetical visitor! DVD Late Show is the dedicated website of my (Christopher Mills) cult, exploitation and genre DVD review column of the same name, which also appears at filmmaker Kevin Smith's (CHASING AMY, CLERKS) pop culture/entertainment news site, Quick Stop Entertainment (formerly Movie Poop Shoot).

The purpose of this site is to broaden and expand the readership of the aforementioned column, make the reviews and archives more easily searchable, and have a place where I can link directly to studio websites and to Amazon and/or other retail sites in order to help readers research and purchase discs. There will also be occasional exclusive features (such as filmmaker interviews) and guest reviews by experienced media writers (also known as my drinking buddies).

It's not a blog. It's not cynical, snarky, sneering or snide. It's a regularly posted (in theory, anyway) column, written with genuine affection for B-movies and cult films by someone who enjoys them without shame. These aren't "guilty pleasures" for me – there's no guilt in my enjoyment of them at all.

Hopefully, I can share that enjoyment – and affection for these films – with others through the site.

So these are "bad" movies, right?

Well, quality is subjective. As far as I'm concerned, the only bad movie is one that fails to entertain. I approach every film I watch (or try to) with an open mind, a willingness to be entertained, and a sincere attempt to suspend my disbelief. Unlike a lot of people I know, I don't go into it looking to tear the filmmakers' efforts to shreds.

Making a movie – even a "bad" one – is a ton of hard work, and I have a lot of respect for anyone who manages to shoot and splice together 90 minutes of even semi-coherent narrative. Because I respect that effort, I'll cut most films a lot of slack. I don't care if the budget's low, the production values impoverished, the acting wooden or special effects less than special, as long as there's something in the movie to keep me involved and that I can have fun watching.

This can be as simple as a pair of attractive naked breasts – I'm easy.

How come you never write a bad review?

Actually, some of my reviews are less enthusiastic than others – but the truth is, I like this stuff. Spending the hours necessary to watch all these movies, then write about them and post those writings to the web would be a hell of an ordeal if I didn't. I'd rather review the discs I like, and hopefully bring some positive attention to those.

What's with all the Amazon ads?

To be blunt, a website costs money to run, and I'm poor. I don't charge for access to my columns, but I hope that DVD fans might find them informative and/or helpful in guiding them with their own purchases. The Amazon (a well-established, respected and secure e-tailer) and "Buy this DVD" links are there to make it easy for you to find and buy the discs I review – and, if a purchase is made through this site, I'll get a little kickback, which will go towards helping pay hosting and bandwidth costs. Same with any of our other sponsors.

I'll also gratefully accept donations through PayPal, which will also be allocated directly toward site expenses.

Can you explain the whole widescreen/aspect ratio/anamorphic thing?

I'll give it a shot.

Modern movie theater screens are rectangular, while most standard television screens are virtually square. This means that films shown in the theater are presented wider than the image area of a TV screen. So for home viewing, there are two options: crop the sides off the movie for TV and move the image back and forth to catch any important visual information (pan and scan), or put black bars at the top and bottom (letterbox) and present the entire image as it was intended to be shown theatrically.

Aspect ratio refers to the image's width versus its height, so a Panavision film would be about 2.35:1 (or slightly more than twice as wide as it is high), while many movies are 1.85:1 or 1.66:1. Movies made before the early/mid-Fifties were shot and exhibited in essentially the same shape as standard TV screens (1.33:1), which is why most "classic" movies are correctly presented "full frame."

However, some films are shot open matte, which means the cinematographer allows extra space at the top and bottom of the frame to be unmasked when the film is shown on television. Unfortunately, showing this safety area on TV can also expose boom mikes, lights, or other objects not intended to be visible by the director and cinematographer. With the advent of widescreen television sets (including HDTV), most DVD manufacturers offer anamorphic transfers which use the extra area of resolution on the widescreen for more visual information, approximately a 33% improvement.

For a more precise explanation, as well as some startling comparative screen shots, visit Widescreen.org.

So, why "DVD Late Show?"

Because "DVD Drive-In" was already taken. (And it's a great site, by the way.)

And you are?

I'm a freelance writer, editor and graphic artist with over two decades of experience in the publishing industry, working primarily for newspapers and comic book publishers. I'm also a movie buff and opinionated bastard.

Since 1990, I've written numerous independent comic books, including Leonard Nimoy's Primortals, Shadow House and the critically-acclaimed crime thriller, Gravedigger: The Scavengers. I'm the creator of the online comic strip Femme Noir and proprietor of the popular Supernatural Crime website.

I've also written a handful of published short stories, with more in the works. I'm currently writing several new comic books and graphic novels for various publishers, designing DVD covers for a couple of independent video labels, and juggling a bunch of other projects.

For more information, check out my personal website, Atomic Pulp or visit my MySpace page.

– Christopher Mills

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