NEW YORK — Meryl Streep gives the definitive Boss-From-Hell performance in “The Devil Wears Prada.” Then again, what Streep performance isn’t definitive?Easily overlooked in “Prada” is how smoothly she evades the usual cliches. Playing Miranda Priestley, an Anna Wintour- like fashion magazine editor, Streep gives the woman a high- intensity core with an ice-old exterior.

She never shouts. It’s a lot scarier when a powerful person speaks softly, and Streep knows how to purr in a way that sends chills down your spine. How come she hasn’t made any schlock horror movies?

Without Streep and Stanley Tucci as the magazine’s fashion guru, “Prada” is mostly shopworn. As Miranda’s always-on-call assistant, Anne Hathaway overdoes the wide-eyed naivete. Even if you haven’t read the chick-lit Lauren Weisberger bestseller on which the film is based, you’ll spot every plot contrivance a mile away.

This is the kind of movie where we’re supposed to root for innocence while at the same time basking in the down-and-dirty world of fashion journalism. Director David Frankel can’t decide whether to go tsk-tsk or ooh-aah.

But none of this may matter to you when Streep is striding across the screen in her couture outfits while mere mortals cower in fear. Near the end, Miranda lets her guard down and confesses her bad marriage and suddenly this whispery Gorgon becomes fully human.

Extras include deleted scenes and featurettes, including one on the film’s wardrobes. There’s also commentary from production members but none, alas, from the actors. What one would give to hear Streep on Streep!The House of SandI’m not normally big on movies that interchange fantasy and reality. Terminal artiness is the usual result. But `The House of Sand,” although it doesn’t entirely escape pretentiousness, is an exception.

Directed by the Brazilian Andrucha Waddington, it’s about three generations of women living in a vast and remote desert. The women are played by real-life mother and daughter, Fernanda Montenegro and Fernanda Torres.

Normally such casting would be a stunt, but the actresses are so uncannily alike that their presence adds immeasurably to the movie’s eerie atmosphere. The desertscapes are both lustrous and ominous — a far cry from “Lawrence of Arabia,” where the desert scenes made you thirsty.

Montenegro is a marvel. One of Brazil’s greatest actresses, you may remember her from her Oscar-nominated work as the grandmother from “Central Station”” Here she is so formidable that often all we need or want to look at is her infinitely expressive face.

Extras include a making-of featurette. The IllusionistMagic — and magicians — were in the air last year as filmmakers unleashed two tales of prestidigitators at odds with the forces of science and nature, this romantic triangle starring Edward Norton and “The Prestige” (due out on DVD in February). “The Illusionist” casts Norton as a master magician arriving in Vienna around 1900 and rekindling his relationship with a childhood sweetheart (Jessica Biel), only to learn she’s the betrothed of the crown prince (Rufus Sewell), who assigns a police henchman (Paul Giamatti) to debunk the sleight-of-hand artist. The DVD has a making-of featurette and a segment focusing on Biel, along with commentary from writer-director Neil Burger.CrankJason Statham stars as a hit man aiming to quit the killing game and settle down with his girlfriend (Amy Smart), only to wake up one day and find he’s been poisoned, sending him on a mad dash to keep his adrenaline flowing while he tries to rescue his love and find an antidote. The DVD and Blu-ray discs have commentary, making-of footage, interviews and other background material that can be accessed while watching the movie. The Blu-ray high-definition disc also has featurettes on stunts and other behind-the-scenes matters. The DVD and Blu-ray versions also allow viewers to choose an audio option that removes the harsh language for a “family-friendly” version of the movie — as long as families don’t mind the strong violence, sexuality, nudity and drug use that helped earned “Crank” an R rating. The Night ListenerA timely tale in an era of authors whose purported memoirs about their harrowing lives have proven to be phonies. Adapted from the novel by Armistead Maupin, the film stars Robin Williams as a literary figure and late-night radio talk show host who becomes obsessed with the tragic story of a physically and sexually abused teenager (Rory Culkin) dying of AIDS. Yet questions about the boy’s past and even his identity arise as Williams strikes up a long-distance telephone relationship with him and his adoptive mother (Toni Collette). The sparse DVD extras include a deleted scene and a segment on the film’s plot twists.QuinceaneraA rare double winner at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, this engaging low-budget drama took home both the top jury prize and the audience award for favorite film as chosen by Sundance moviegoers. Newcomer Emily Rios gives a terrific performance as a Hispanic teen in Los Angeles with eyes only on her upcoming 15th birthday bash — until she finds herself impossibly pregnant though she insists she’s never had intercourse. Writer-directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland spin a vibrant tale of cultures clashing as Rios forges a new domestic life after her father’s disapproval forces her to leave home. The DVD has commentary from Rios and other cast members, along with the directors. TV on DVDSpongeBob SquarePants: Season 4, Volume 2: A two-disc set packs the final 20 episodes from year four of the hit animated children’s tale about the goofy yellow sea sponge and his pals at the bottom of the ocean. The set also has a series of cartoon shorts, a music video and a behind-the-scenes featurette.