Coinstar (CSTR) is, without a doubt, a very compelling stock to watch. I've been both bullish and bearish on the idea over the last several months. The one-year chart shows some fascinating price action. It makes one want to buy the name, but at the same time, I'm sure many investors wonder what the future will be like for the owner of the Redbox DVD-rental kiosk (i.e., how will it specifically adapt to the demand for digital delivery of movies?).

This week, TheFly mentioned that an analyst firm believes the stock will climb even higher, perhaps all the way to $80. That would represent a pretty impressive return based on where the quote is right now.

While I'm not necessarily going to say you can't still buy Netflix (NFLX), I will say that I just can't get myself to send in an order at current levels. During Wednesday's after-hours session, the shares gained 9%, reaching $167.33 in reaction to the latest quarterly report. That's not far from the 52-week high of $174.40. I'm not sure where the stock will end up during Thursday's regular session, but I doubt I'll be changing my mind about the online movie-rental business.

The chart does look good, though, doesn't it? Some of the sections may be rocky, but for the most part, the equity has been extremely resilient and a great buy on pullbacks. And with the 52-week low set at $47.56, you know that a lot of the true believers have made some good money (at least on paper).

Blockbuster (BBI) is not a stock any sane investor should buy. First, it's under a buck. Second, it is currently down over 20% in afternoon trading, backed by significant volume. I'm seeing a price of just under 40 cents as I write this. Not a good situation.

Yet, I'm sure there are a fair amount of professional speculators out there making bets on the business. Hey, I can't predict the future, but I just don't see how anyone can take a chance on the shares. The one-year chart is terrible. And the most recent earnings report, released yesterday after the bell, is likewise a horrible sight to behold.

Not long ago, I wrote about Netflix (NFLX) hitting a 52-week high. At that time, the shares were around the $75 level. I cautioned that one had to be careful about buying an overbought stock. I mean, how much further could the equity climb?

Yeah, right. At the close of trading on Wednesday, the shares were priced at $86.98. The current 52-week high stands at $89.10 (as of this writing). And during yesterday's after-hours session, the stock climbed 1.6% to $88.40, in response to the first-quarter earnings report.

I'm going to take a brief look at two quarterly reports from the past week. We've got a popular restaurant chain on the menu, as well as a DVD-rental business that is causing Hollywood a lot of headaches.

The Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) reported flat sales revenue in the fourth quarter. And when I say flat, I mean it: $400.6 million versus $400.4 million. On an adjusted basis, net income was 28 cents per share, representing an increase of 87%. This was four pennies ahead of estimates.

Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) is trading down today. Looks like investors aren't in the mood for the stock just before the new year begins. At the time of this writing, shares of the online DVD-rental concern were off by nearly 3%.

Kind of sad, when you think about it. Netflix is up big on the year. It was a great story of capital appreciation: buy the dips, and you made out. Whenever you thought the company was about to head into a downturn, it ended up proving you wrong. When things seemed just absolutely awful, like they did back in the first quarter, Netflix was resilient in the face of financial adversity.

Blockbuster (BBI) is a terrible company and stock. After perusing the third-quarter report, published Friday after the bell, I don't see any reason to modify such a rough statement.

Sorry about that, but what else can I say about a huge revenue decline and a wider loss coupled with a story that continues to deteriorate? According to the Q3 earnings release, Blockbuster experienced a 21% drop on the top line. On an adjusted basis, the company lost 20 cents per share, compared to 9 cents per share in the comparable period a year ago. Helping to drive this abject performance was a 14% contraction in same-store sales.

Will shrimp's eyes help create a better DVD? The answer is yes. Researchers at the University of Bristol, England, who are studying the shrimp's eye have found a way to create a better DVD.

How is this possible? Scientists discovered that the Mantis shrimp, found off the coast of Australia, can see in 12 primary colors, four times that of humans. The shrimp's eye can detect different kinds of light polarization which is the direction of oscillation in light waves.

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is feeling a little heat from studios Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), and General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal. The major media companies would all like to make more money from Netflix's business model, according to BusinessWeek.

No one is really satisfied these days with the DVD industry. Growth in home video is no longer what it used to be. So content makers perceive a need to engage new strategies to offset the this lack of expansion. It would be nice if those strategies were confined to innovation in movie development and the reduction of project budgets. Instead, trying to negotiate more beneficial deals with distributors such as Netflix will probably be the focus of media execs.

In the past, it has been the Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) Wii or Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone creating holiday hype -- what product will it be this year?

Quite honestly, none. The tech realm is still looking for the next big holiday hit. This is why it appears that we could be facing a holiday season full of buy-one-get-one-free specials or pushy salespeople trying to get you to allow their company to install the new flat-panel TV or add ons that will help integrate your home entertainment system.

So, what does this mean for electronics retailers?

Disney (NYSE: DIS) programmed a new movie recently on one of its prime media assets. The film, titled Princess Protection Program, debuted on the Disney Channel and stars a young actress named Selena Gomez. The casting choice was no accident. Because Disney tries to be as synergistic as possible (the company is generally good when it comes to the science of synergy, although there are certainly opportunities for it to be even better), the Mouse made sure to use Gomez since she is the popular star of another Disney Channel program called Wizards of Waverly Place, a project meant to capture at least a little of the Harry Potter magic.