Back in the fall of 2016 I was working for Forbes. I was writing, directing, and producing a video series entitled NETFLIX NOW! where I highlighted film picks for what to watch on Netflix when I received a press release about this new streaming service that combined the film libraries of Turner Classic Movies with films from the Criterion Collection, Kino Lorber, Film Movement, First Run Features, Global Lens, Flicker Alley, Icarus Films, Janus Films, MGM, Milestone, Oscilloscope Laboratories, Shout! Factory, and Warner Brothers. I immediately dropped what I was doing and launched "Filmstruck Streaming" to coincide with the inauguration of this amazing streaming service.
Sadly, two years later FilmStruck would be squashed like a bug by Warner Media. The loss of FilmStruck marked an end to Cinema that coincided with Hollywood's despicable tendency toward children's cinema under the guise of a superhero genre lacking any sense of poetry or soul.
So, here are all 11 episodes of FilmStruck Streaming to give you a sense of how great we once were as a culture of cinephiles and movie lovers. Bon appétit.
For its 70th festival, Cannes breaks with its well-guarded tradition of opening the festival with a Hollywood movie. Festival regular Arnaud Desplechin takes that significant honor with “Ismael’s Ghosts,” about a filmmaker (played by Mathieu Amalric) whose life is upended when a lover from his past shows up as he’s about to start shooting his latest picture. Marion Cotillard, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Louis Garrel also star.
Hollywood's absence at Cannes extends across the films in competition for the Palme d'Or, and across the entire festival. Hollywood has clearly lost its place on the premiere stage for Global Cinema. — R.I.P. Hollywood. Superhero Movies Killed The Motion Picture Star.
Conventional wisdom has it that Cannes traditionally skips a year as regards the quality of films shown every year. It is yet to be decided if this year’s selection will pale in comparison to last year’s imperfect lineup. Palme d'Or Competition films by Michael Haneke, Hong Sangsoo, François Ozon, Naomi Kawase, Todd Haynes, and Lynne Ramsay promise to give critics and jury judges some high-quality films to choose between.
French New Wave veteran Agnès Varda’s “Visages, Villages” is sure to be a hot ticket at a determinedly French festival that never forgets its own. Oh Cannes, how we adore you!
