THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2 (USA 2026) ***½
Directed by David Frankel
Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) returns to Runway as Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) navigates a new media landscape and Runway's position within it. They reconnect with another former assistant, Emily (Emily Blunt), who is now the head of a luxury brand that possesses funding which could ensure Runway's survival.
The film takes a while to get its footing.
The film contains a few oddities. One of these occurs twice during the film. One occurs during a dinner event where the audience sees and hears the characters talking while figures walk in front of the camera, blurring the image. Perhaps there is a purpose for this, but the reasoning escapes me. Another unrelated oddity is the display of Hathaway’s Andy’s character being a kind of klutz at the start of the film. She is almost hit by a cyclist and almost trips a few times while entering the limo. Thankfully, this clumsiness is done away with, as it makes no sense at all, as the Andy character is supposed to be smart and practical.
The film champions journalism, a dying trade. At the beginning of the film, all the employees of a magazine are laid off, while near the end, the budget for the Runway magazine is greatly reduced. But one cannot go against the future of journalism, which does not look good at all as publication after publication loses its advertisers, readership, and eventually has to close down. The film does end on a high note with Runway magazine still riding high, though the audience knows theses wishful thinking.
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2 can be described as a parody with good intentions towards the fashion industry. Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly stands in for Anna Wintour while the Bezos-based characters form the villainous couple in the story. Every story needs a villain for oomph, this film included. Many did not have high hopes for the sequel, thinking that the sequel will be a copied re-tread. No one can forget the original film’s outstanding beginning 10-minute one-take sequence, where Meryl Streep’s Miranda comes into the office one morning, and every staff member snaps to attention as she walks by.
The film benefits from some excellent performances, with Academy Award-winning Meryl Streep as Miranda being the standout. Stanley Tucci delivers a disciplined, understated performance as the unrecognized force behind the magazine’s success. His every facial moment, like the lift of an eyebrow or a grimace are carefully calculated. Lady Gaga lends her hand in a spirited performance, which included a new song entitled ‘Runway’. "Runway" is the original song performed by Lady Gaga and Doechii.
But what is a movie about fashion without fashion? This is where the film excels. The costume and wardrobe design, with all the wear worn by the cast, is nothing short of stunning. Meryl Streep’s wardrobe is to die for, and even Anne Hathaway’s T-shirt is chic with Björk’s album cover.
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2 is the big movie of this week and opens on Friday, April 24th.
Trailer:
JE M’APPELLE AGNETA (Sweden 2026) ***
Directed by Johanna Runevad
Agneta (Eva Melander) is a colourful and funny person, but it is not immediately obvious. She just turned 49, her children have left home, her job at the traffic office has stalled, and Agneta feels invisible. Her husband, on the other hand, has found meaning in life by taking ice-cold baths and speeding around on expensive bikes.
JE M’APPELLE AGNÈTA. Or my name is Agnieta. Who is Agnieta? In the film, Agnieta is a 49-year-old married woman who works in a travel department in Sweden. Agneta has always dreamed of going to France. She loves France. But she has never travelled anywhere. When she loses her job, she applies and gets a job as an au pair (though she is a bit old to be an au pair), looking after a boy, who turns out to be an old man in Saint Carelle in Provence. Agneta’s husband, Magnus (Björn Kjellman), scoffs at her for coming crying home. They sleep in separate bedrooms and generally do their own thing, so this is an opportunity for Agnieta to discover life again.
Things don’t look so good when she first arrives and leaves her purse on the bus. But she slowly adapts in what might be considered a charming little film about a senior coming-of-age story. It helps that Provence is just beautiful, known for its extensive purple lavender fields, the purple used for the colour of the opening credits. The old man, Agneta, turns out to be quite frail and flamboyantly gay. He, Einer (Claes Månsson), has a son whom he has not seen since he and his wife separated after he came out.
This is a well-meaning crowd-pleaser, but it is filled with clichés and predictability. One can be sure that there is going to be a reconciliation between Einer and his son, and possibly with his old age, he will most likely to die a glorious death at the end of the film. Thankfully, Einer does not die.In films of this sort, the two learn from each other. So what else is new?
JE M’APPELLE AGNETA celebrates France and Sweden at best. But the film’s more a laboured and predictable affair, though the two actors try their best at what are their limited written roles.
Purple is the colour of the day, the colour used often in the film Purple. Purple is the colour of the dress that Agneta and Einer steal from the market and the one she wears in the film’s conclusion while running in the purple lavender fields of Provence.
The film was shot in both Sète, a coastal town on the Mediterranean, andSalasc, a small inland village, which is in the Hérault department (Occitanie region) in France.
The setting doubles for the Provence countryside, where the story takes place
As this is a Swedish film, it is no surprise that the ABBA song “The Winner Takes It All” is used in the climax of the filM, the song leading into the film’s closing credits.
JE M’APPELLE AGNETA is a Netflix original movie that opens for streaming on April 29th, 2026.
Trailer:
MY DEAREST SENORITA (Spain 2026) ***
Directed by Fernando G. Molina
In 1999, Pamplona, only child Adela, raised in a Conservative background, overprotected by their mother, and unaware of their intersexuality, starts a journey of self-discovery that takes them to Madrid.
MY DEAREST SENORITA is based on the beloved classic Spanish 1972 film of the same name. In the 1972 film, the story follows Adela Castro, a devout, middle-aged woman living a quiet, sheltered life in a small Spanish town. After experiencing persistent health issues, she visits a doctor and receives a shocking diagnosis: she is biologically male. This revelation forces Adela to reassess her identity, her past completely, and her place in society. She adopts the name Juan and moves to the city to start over as a man.
This new 2026 Netflix original film treads similar issues. The film follows Adela, a young woman raised in a strict, traditional family in Pamplona, Spain. The film begins at her birth, when her mother promises that no one will ever know, and that she and her husband will do everything to protect her. Sheltered and controlled—especially by her overbearing mother—Adela has lived a life defined by religion and social expectations. Everything changes when she discovers a life-altering truth: She is intersex. Unprepared for this revelation, Adela leaves home and travels to Madrid, beginning a deeply personal journey to understand: her identity and body
her gender and sexuality, and how to build a life on her own terms.
The question is, why a remake of the 1972 groundbreaking film? Two good reasons. One is the updated story to a more modern time, and the other is that the actress now playing the intersex character Adela is herself intersex. Elisabeth Martínez is an intersex actor—playing an intersex character, which is still rare in mainstream film.
I have not seen the original 1972 film, but the film shows how a different person longs for true love. She feels that she has missed out on life, especially when she sees her effeminate man finding his gay lover. The film also functions as a modern coming-of-age story that is still bound by old, prejudiced traditions.
MY DEAREST SENORITA opens for streaming on Netflix on Friday, May 1st. The film world premiered at the 29th Málaga Film Festival on 8 March 2026, ahead of a scheduled limited theatrical release in Spain by Tripictures on 17 April 2026 and a Netflix streaming release on 1 May 2026.
Trailer:
SON-IN-LAW (Mexico 2026) ***
Directed by Gerardo Naranjo
The story follows José Sánchez, an overly ambitious but not particularly competent man.
After a series of business failures, he accidentally bluffs his way into becoming “El Serpiente,” a feared political operator. Despite his lack of real skill, his confidence and fast talk help him rise in a corrupt political world. Now trapped in a dangerous position, he must pull off one last high-stakes deal to survive, even though it’s far beyond what he can fake. One can feel from this reality person and in a way root for this man, as ridiculous as this person might be.
SON-IN-LAW should not be dismissed as a silly, infantile move, though the jokes could be described as such. If one is to examine the film more closely, it represents a satirical look at “the Mexican dream”, as compared to the comparative American dream, of success at any cost. Being Mexican, the film explores corruption, betrayal, and opportunism in a comical manner and mixes dark humour with crime and political drama. Have a few laughs, dismiss the film’s flaws, and look at the film’s positives. Even though the film is not as funny as it thinks it is.
Have a few laughs, dismiss the film’s flaws, and look at the film’s positives. Even though the film is not as funny as it thinks it is.
SON-IN-LAW is a Netflix original movie from Mexico open for streaming on freaky May 1st,
Trailer:
SWAPPED (USA 2026) ***
Directed by Nathan Greno
Swapped is a 2026 American animated comedy film directed by Nathan Greno. Produced by Skydance Animation in association with Netflix, the film features the voices of Michael B. Jordan, Juno Temple, Tracy Morgan, Cedric the Entertainer, and Justina Machado. It was released on Netflix and select theatres on May 1, 2026.
The swapped bodies premise has been done so many times before and could be described as a genre of its own. But this body swap film is different in that it is an animated feature. And this one involves two enemies swapping bodies. A small woodland mammal and a majestic bird, two natural sworn enemies of The Valley, accidentally magically swap bodies after crashing into a magical plant and set off on an adventure of a lifetime while bonding together and helping the woodland animals.
The voice cast is impressive enough.
Michael B. Jordan as Ollie, a brown sea otter-like creature known as a Pookoo who switches and forms bodies with Ivy
Juno Temple as Ivy, a light green Kākāpō-like bird known as a Javan who switches and forms bodies with Ollie
Tracy Morgan as Boogle, a purple grouper-like fish with algae for fins, later revealed to be the evil firewolf, and
Cedric the Entertainer as Caloo, Ollie's father, among others.
(full review to be posted weekend)
Trailer:
