The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

For ages, I felt like I knew enough about this movie already. I even described an outside character as "a Devil Wears Prada type," by which I meant a harsh female boss. But when the title came up on a Disney+ list, I opted for a more informed opinion. Hey, a sequel's slated for next year.

Recent college grad Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) applies for a New York City job as second assistant to Miranda Priestley (Meryl Streep) before ever learning that the latter runs the Runway fashion magazine. Andy stands out with her relative disregard for fashion -- and that's why Miranda hires her: to try something new after a string of failures. It's a tough job, but Andy sticks with it and becomes more like others in the industry, which drives a wedge between her and her old friends, not least her boyfriend (Adrian Grenier).

Out of Africa (1985)

Of the 92 Academy Best Pictures I've seen, this was the one I remembered least -- mainly just that Meryl Streep's fake accent was so thick the DVD had subtitles on by default. You may take that as a reason not to rewatch it, along with its reputation as perhaps the weakest link in the weakest decade for Best Pictures. (Those who praise '80s cinema usually don't have award-winning dramas in mind.) But I wanted a refresher, especially now that I've visited the same area of Africa myself. This time, I forwent the subtitles, without trouble.

In 1913, Danish future writer Karen Dinesin (Streep) marries Swedish baron Bror Blixen (Klaus Maria Brandauer) for convenience, planning to start a dairy in the Nairobi region of British East Africa. Bror alters the deal to a coffee farm without consulting Karen, unaware of the difficulty of growing coffee at high altitude. This is one of many signs that they will never fully love or trust each other. As Bror is rarely home and Karen finds undeniable signs that he sleeps around, she herself strays to his fellow hunter, Denys Hatton (Robert Redford).

Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

I made a point to rewatch the 1964 Mary Poppins first. Good thing I did, because judging from my memory, I must have dozed off during "Stay Awake" and missed all the rest as a kid. Pity: It seems more enjoyable to an immature mind with little idea how actual adults behave. I feel like I got more out of Saving Mr. Banks. Still, there was enough of merit in MP to keep me interested in the sequel.

In 1934, some 24 years after Mary left the Banks estate, her former ward Michael (Ben Whishaw) is a flaky banker and widowed father of three on the verge of losing their old house if he can't find a share certificate. His sister Jane (Emily Mortimer) lives elsewhere in London but pays frequent visits to help. Michael's two oldest kids, tweens Annabel (Pixie Davis) and John (Nathaniel Saleh), have had to grow up a bit in the year since their mother died, and youngest Georgie (Joel Dawson) can be a handful. Before long, the titular event happens, and the ageless mage (Emily Blunt) intends to do the Bankses a good turn once again.

The Post (2017)

As a Steven Spielberg fan, I could hardly have waited long to see a new pic of his with decent reviews, so I didn't hesitate to accept a Meetup invitation. At the same time, I approached with some trepidation, because it looked like the studio had poured in too much talent. Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in the leads? Would there be any scenery left? There are a few other familiar names -- Bob Odenkirk, Bradley Whitford, David Cross -- but none of them stood a chance at standing out.

Something of a spiritual prequel to All the Presidents' Men, the story concerns events leading up to the first publication of segments of the Pentagon Papers. For maybe the first third, it's hard enough for The Washington Post to vie with The New York Times for breaking news. Then they choose a tougher opponent: the Nixon Administration, seeking to plug the leak of classified information by any means necessary.

The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

The recent death of Robert James Waller prompted me to check out the one screen adaptation of his best-known novel. It's unlikely that I'd ever have seen it otherwise: While it has more fans than haters, people have likened it to popular movies I deemed both dull and depraved—a deadly combination. It wouldn't be the first popular Clint Eastwood-directed movie I disliked either. And Meryl Streep has the odd distinction of very few great films despite consistently great performances. Nevertheless, my curiosity got the better of me.

After the death of Francesca (Streep), her adult children, Carolyn (Annie Corley) and Michael (Victor Slezak), learn that her posthumous wish deviates from the assumed plan to bury her next to late husband Richard (Jim Haynie). They are equally shocked at her reason: She wants to join her paramour from 1965, Robert (Eastwood). Details pour forth in a letter to them, and we're treated mostly to flashbacks to four days when Richard was away, starting with Robert's outsider status in rural Iowa prompting Francesca to offer some hospitality. He's a National Geographic photographer, see, hoping to snapshot the titular bridges....

Into the Woods (2014)

Yup, a second mashup of kiddie folklore featuring Chris Pine in the same day. My family has a strange habit or inadvertent tradition of seeing unhappy musical movies on Christmas: Sweeney Todd, Les Miserables, even Inside Llewyn Davis in a pinch. I wanted us to see something else but was narrowly outvoted, partly on the basis of schedule. At least this one has a partly happy and victorious ending.

I'd seen the play as a teen and reacted as many viewers do: The first act is cute fun, but the second is uncomfortably dark to subvert the idea of "happily ever after." The junior version understandably drops the second act, thereby missing Stephen Sondheim's point. If you already know the story, you may well wonder why Disney would dare touch it. I figure the company has been trying to subvert its own history at least since Enchanted in 2007, no doubt inspired by the likes of Shrek. The results are usually pretty popular, but that doesn't stop Disney from reverting to standard fare, as evidenced by a trailer for a live-action Cinderella. In the case of ItW, things have been toned down slightly in questionable good-guy ethics and body count, but it still feels about as dark as Disney ventures.