This Week in DVD and Instant Watching

Cloud Atlas: This is the most significant new movie on DVD this week, and it's also probably the most confusing. Not that I saw it. Or did I? Maybe this is the kind of ambiguity the movie gives you. Or maybe it isn't. Whatever this film is, it seems like the fact that Tom Hanks agreed to do it is yet another reason why he is the coolest Hollywood type around. And I think anything the Wachowski siblings (I finally remembered not to say brothers) is worth seeing. Unless it's "Speed Racer."

Liz and Dick: It's a sad week when this is arguably the SECOND most significant new movie on DVD. This the train wreck of a TV movie starring that train wreck of an actr--uh, movie sta--uh, celb--uh, that train wreck Lindsay Lohan. This video should come pre-packaged with an assortment of miniature vodka bottles.

Frankie Go Boom: I highlight this just because it stars Chris O'Dowd, and it gives me a reason to mention that his Britcom "The IT Crowd"  is coming back for a wrap-up special.

Back to 1942: An oddity here: A Chinese movie starring Adrian Brody and Tim Robbins. If this is who they're luring over there to headline their films, well, suddenly I'm not so worried about Chinese domination anymore.

3:10 to Yuma (Criterion): A few years ago, I saw the James Mangold remake, simply titled "Yuma," BEFORE I saw this Glenn Ford-starring original, and you know what? I actually preferred the remake. It was tough enough to say that in public, but now that Criterion has designated the original as worthy of its Collection...well, I feel like just about the most ignorant cuss out there. I was clearly wrong.

Jubal (Criterion): Well, I can--nay, I must--also now acknowledge that "Jubal" is an undisputed classic, as it, too, joins the Criterion Collection. I can only thank the heavens that a sharp remake of it didn't come out in the last decade and force me to look like a complete ass by praising it.

Wrestlemania XXIX: WWE's annual extravaganza was filled with public relations, music, public service announcements, tributes to corporate partnerships, and, oh, yeah, some wrestling. You'll get the wrestling on this DVD.

And in streaming...

I give Hulu credit for being much more reliable lately. Maybe I should curse it, actually, because its consistent performance allowed me to watch, against my better judgment, several episodes of the One Life to Live revamp. I've never been a soap guy--I prefer body wash--but I think these iconic programs, and relaly this genre, deserves a place somewhere. So I support the efforts of OLTL and All My Children, and I hope this experiment goes well.

Having said that, I have hundreds of titles in my Netflix queue, many of them entire TV series. I have a Hulu queue that is overstuffed, though to a lesser extent.  Do I really need another option? No. No, I do not.