Twitter Unveils FilmStruck to the World

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FilmStruck is one of the best streaming services out there.

But up until the last couple of days, I would venture to say most people had never heard of it.

It’s the beautiful merger of Turner Classic Movies and the Criterion Collection, filling the void for foreign, classic, cult classic, and arthouse films.

Since its launch in November 2016, FilmStruck has been the preeminent streaming service for cinephiles, but it doesn’t have to be limited to just them.

There’s a real value in FilmStruck; it just needed a spark to get the ball rolling out into the general public.

That happened thanks to a simple Tweet:

It sort of blew up from that point.

You have legendary director, new directors, celebrity chefs, reporters, websites, musicians, podcasts, and everyone in-between with a social media presence joining in on the fun.

https://twitter.com/markhoppus/status/986640822614474753

There are thousands more just like this.

It has become this community discussion that people want to be involved in.

Talking about movies is a whole hell of a lot better than bickering out politics and the impending doom that seemingly always lies right around the corner.

And at the center of it all is FilmStruck, bringing everyone together and stirring up interaction.

They even used their shining moment to announce their arrival on Reddit:

As someone who enjoys arthouse films, I’m thankful for what Film Struck has created, and I hope this surge in momentum carries them upward, higher and higher.

Now, maybe they’ll create an app for the PlayStation 4 so I can stream at my maximum comfort level.

BONUS: My FilmStruck 4

Oh, what are my four films, you ask?

There have been some that put four out there that helped them fall in love with cinema as children, but I’ll try to stick to films that sort of define or depict who I am today.

This is very hard, but here goes:

Shotgun Stories by Jeff Nichols

I could write a million words about this (and I damn near did for Bright Wall/Dark Room a while back), but I won’t do that here.

I’ll just say it’s the most accurate portrayal of the area I grew up in and the people who live there, for better or worse.

The crashing of a funeral is presented early, but that’s just the boiling point for something that had been brewing for over a decade. It leads to bloodshed that is so totally unnecessary, so wasteful that you constantly question how it ever began, even though you’ve witnessed it. It’s senseless.

The Hayes family is presented a choice at the end of the film to keep the feud going, and essentially keep the cycle that they’re trapped in going, or to better themselves for the first time in their lives.

It’s a choice I’ve seen time and time again, a choice that was presented to me.

The Goonies by Richard Donner

I was never at risk of losing my house, but like Mikey, I had a strong group of friends as a kid and adventure was always calling.

There was always a new trail to explore, a new purchase to make (like the time we bought a bus), or a new room to rummage through.

Those days molded who I am now, leaving me starved for adventure whenever I’m stationary in any location for too long.

The call for adventure rings as loud now as it ever did, the friendships that were made hold firm.

Raging Bull by Martin Scorsese

Man, oh, man, this scene.

It’s like every insecurity and vice I’ve ever had played out before me.

*NOTE: I’ve never laid hands on a woman. I shouldn’t have to say that, but I just wanted us all on the same page.

Jake LaMotta has gotten far and paranoid. He’s wasting away all the good things that have ever happened to him in a fit of paranoia and rage, alienating all of his loved ones in a single, fell swoop.

He’s the embodiment of the seven deadly sins, the eternal loser.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit by Robert Zemeckis

This scene is funny because I have often succumbed to peer pressure in a bar, which has inevitably led to both hilarity and chaos.

But that wasn’t necessarily the reason I chose this film.

I chose it because I feel for Roger Rabbit having to navigate a human world that doesn’t understand or, in many cases, want him. He just wants his requited love back, but he’s forced into this dreary world where it seems like so few people want to help him or see him succeed.

Often I have felt like a cartoon in this world of muted color.

Except their is no Toon Town for a reprieve.

That’s a sad thought, right?

Yeah, let’s end it on a sad thought.