I will be so happy when Game of Thrones is over, so that I'll be able to drop HBO, and consider other streaming service options.

I am torn. I have cable, Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime and have so many things to watch already for which I have no time. But this will have so many classic films that are really not available elsewhere (and signing up now will save you $10 per year for as long as you are a member). I want to support them, but can I really justify spending yet another $10 on streaming service?? Aeeeiii.

Yeah, I think it is much harder to justify with cable. I don't have cable but I'm still using the fact that Hulu dropped their prices by $2 to rationalize the new subscription in my mind.

Currently I have subscriptions to Mubi, Netflix, and Hulu, and use Amazon on an ad hoc basis. I also recently got Kanopy but don't use it much because I have to connect my computer to my TV. (This is also true for Criterion, which is the only thing that makes me hesitate about it. I have zero interest in watching movies on either my phone or computer.) Adding Criterion would basically bump my subs up from $20 to $30/month, which in still less than half of what basic cable cost me.

Otherwise I get most of my movies on DVD from either my public or private library, which I prefer really since I pause and/or rewind a lot and that is so much easier with a DVD.

After dithering a bit, I signed up for Criterion Channel earlier today -- paid for the whole year in advance. *hangs head* I'm on the hook for 2 years for FIOS triple play through 2020 (it took me ages to untangle myself from the sticky embrace of Comcast, I tell you) and after that, I might cancel cable. On one hand, monthly subscription for CC is the price of a sushi lunch, but on the other hand, it all adds up. I guess I can compensate for it by cancelling my NYT subscription before the next yearly billing cycle (which is... not until Jan 2020. Shoot. Shoulda cancelled it months ago.)

I also recently got Kanopy but don't use it much because I have to connect my computer to my TV.

I run Kanopy app on my phone and Chromecast it to my TV. It works pretty seamlessly, if you haven't tried it. My Android TV has built-in apps for most things but not for Kanopy for some reason. From what I understand, Android TV will have Criterion Channel app come launch time.

My Android TV has built-in apps for most things but not for Kanopy for some reason.

Both my Smart TV and Sony Blu-Ray run the main streaming apps, just not Kanopy or Criterion. It's why I never subscribed to Filmstruck either. It's not a problem to run it via my iPhone or computer, just an annoying extra step that makes me wonder who is getting shut out of these services for various tech reasons. I hate the assumption that everyone has (or wants to use) an iPhone or [insert any other tech item here].

I'm mean, I'm still bitter about the obsolescence of my Windows phone. Now that I've been forced to use something else I realize how good that phone and its basic apps were (and I actually still keep it plugged in to check the weather).

If I added up all the subscription costs to all the streaming channels I subscribe to, it would probably be more than a basic cable subscription. Which is about $60 here. It's the high-speed Internet that's expensive.

It's the high-speed Internet that's expensive.

Tell me about it. My Internet is through Sonic, which is the fastest I can get without getting it via Comcast, and it's still $70/month for only 8Mbps max.

The new Jim Jarmusch zombie movie has a trailer: [link]

Goodness that is a stacked cast. And looks like it would have been a blast to make. Tilda Swinton as *spoiler* wielding mortician!!

After dithering a bit, I signed up for Criterion Channel earlier today -- paid for the whole year in advance.

I celebrated my better-than-expected tax-number-crunching results by biting that bullet.

This post brought to you by the fact that I have about a dozen movies checked out the library right now but nothing I want watch.

Tilda Swinton as *spoiler* wielding mortician!!

Wielding spoilers can be dangerous!