It’s a relaxing place to take in a video on the huge HDTV, perfect for those films you just can’t appreciate on a small screen. Recently they featured The Fantastic Four, but made up for that eye-flaming faux pas by following up with Kung Fu Hustle, a cross between Moulin Rouge and Adam and Costello Join the Triads.

Open just five months, Video Monster does a brisk business in DVD rentals; it’s pretty much the only English-language, non-porn video spot on the Downtown EastSide until you get to Burnaby. Their five hundred members also stop by for showings, both scheduled and impromptu; lunches often feature just whatever happened to come in that day, so it’s a bit of a crapshoot. Do ya feel lucky?

The video selection generally steers clear of cliché Hollywood blockbusters. Their Adam Sandler collection is thin, but of course they have Napoleon Dynamite. Criterion Collection and foreign films are also well-represented. Video Monster also offers a thirty-days-for-thirty-bucks deal for the real video addict: like Netflix in da hood! Each week they get three to five new films, and they do keep member preferences in mind when ordering.

Stats for the tech-heads: DVD, 16 & 35 mm film & video showings, HDTV, 5.1 DDS. That’s the latest Dolby sound, I found out. Live and learn, eh? If you just have to see/hear for yourself, head down to Video Monster and settle in for some special effects. - L.M.