By Dennis D. McDonald

My brother in Arizona recently sent me a note about an online streaming service for older and "indie" movies called FilmStruck. The base price is $6.99 per month. For $10.99 per month you also get access to Criterion's films and commentaries.

As a longtime movie buff (check out my movie reviews here) naturally I'm interested. FilmStruck's advertised quality and variety appear to be excellent, especially given Netflix's reduction in older film availability and Amazon Prime's censoring of foreign films.

Still, I think I'll pass. The reason? I simply have limited time in my daily schedule for more media. While I don't watch that much TV I would gladly give up paying for cable TV were it not for my Significant Other. We already have Netflix, Amazon Prime, Vudu, iTunes, YouTube, and a couple of times a month my friend Charlie and I go out to a new movie.

I also love to read books both electronic and paper and my pile of books-to-be-read keeps growing. (My book reviews are here.) There is also the excellent public library here in Alexandria where I can borrow print, electronic, and audiobooks.

Given all these existing choices I doubt I'll be subscribing to any more media services anytime soon no matter how attractive FilmStruck's title selection is.

Granted, FilmStruck is a good example of what so many have argued for so long: an end to the tyranny of the cable TV "bundle" where you're forced to pay for a huge number of channels you rarely if ever watch. We appear to have gotten our wish. Only now the monthly costs pile up if you want to subscribe to individual specialized services and (like me) you still can't figure out a way to completely do away with your cable TV subscription.

So, yes, there's a lot more media choice these days, but there are still only 24 hours in a day!

Copyright (c) 2017 by Dennis D McDonald