Movie store offers trove to dig through

Store's selection ranges from classic to obscure

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By LAURA TUCKER

VIEW STAFF WRITER

Miko Montgomery was at a store in Paris years ago when he came up with the idea for Moviebrat, a movies, posters and book store located at 7380 S. Eastern Ave.

"I'd rather go there than the Eiffel Tower," he said.

Montgomery said the store in Paris specialized in movies, and the owner obviously knew a lot about cinema. He realized that he would like to own a place like that.

After a couple of tries to get the business off the ground, Montgomery opened Moviebrat in August. Moviebrat carries hard-to-find movies, including foreign, classic black-and-white and "weird" films, he said. Montgomery pointed to an extensive collection of horror films and Asian martial arts movies.

"Instead of making a movie, I made a movie store," Montgomery said.

The titles at Montgomery's store are primarily available on DVD, but some are available on VHS.

The name Moviebrat, Montgomery explained, is a term coined during the 1970s to describe young directors who were at the top of their game and very knowledgeable of cinema, notably Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.

Montgomery said he has always been interested in cinema. He said he's an artist, has written screenplays, wrote music for movies and television, and has shot some movies.

"To me, cinema is the ultimate art form. I took to it. I loved it," he said. "I am the ultimate moviebrat in that way."

In addition, Montgomery sells general interest and cinema-related books.

"The books that aren't cinema related, they are about ideas," he said.

Montgomery said he hopes the main draw to his store will be his collection of posters.

"I want to be the poster source in Las Vegas," he said.

Posters are an art form, Montgomery said. He said he would like to eventually showcase local artists' works and even shoot some of his own posters.

Montgomery's current collection includes all of the latest posters, such as "Harry Potter" and "Star Wars," as well as classic movies. Moviebrat also carries music posters, ranging from Elvis to Bob Marley, hip-hop, classic and modern rock. General interest posters round off the collection.

Montgomery said great artists design posters with energy. He pointed to a limited release "Matrix" poster hanging behind his sales desk.

"I feel an emotional connection when I look at it," he said. "If I can get people feeling that, I might be on to something."

Armando Garcia was in town from Los Angeles visiting his family when he spotted the movie posters in the window and decided to check it out. "It's my kind of store. I'm always looking for bits and pieces of pop culture," Garcia said

Garcia walked out with a DVD copy of "A Better Tomorrow," a set of John Wu martial arts movies. He said he had been looking for the set for a while.

"I want to buy things from places like this," he said.

Lynda Foster is a regular customer. She came into the store with her two teenage children and has been returning ever since.

"I like the variety of the selection. I can find some of the less available titles," she said.

Foster said it is especially helpful for her family because they wait to see movies until they are out of theaters. Then, she said, they usually buy them.

"(My children) were just oohing and ahhing and having a blast," she said.

Trinidad Roman also stopped by Moviebrat. He has known Montgomery for a long time, and said he likes that he can find things from the '60s and '70s, which he says is his era. He said Montgomery is knowledgeable of cinema.

"Miko is a very informational individual. If he doesn't know something, he looks it up on his computer in a heartbeat," Roman said.

Montgomery said he thinks Moviebrat could work in Las Vegas. He addressed the idea that Las Vegas lacks culture.

"Here's some culture right here," he said, motioning around the store.

Montgomery said he would like Moviebrat to be an oasis for culture in Las Vegas.

"(Moviebrat) is like a wellspring. You can just come here and feel better," he said. "You don't have to buy anything, just come in."

For more information, visit Moviebrat's Web site at www.vegasmoviebrat.com.