Meryl rides again

Yes, it's true that most of the best roles in the strongest movies this season are going to men, as usual.
But strong women performers can do a lot with slim pickings.
Meryl Streep enlivens the tough torture movie "Rendition,'' and that's with perhaps six shortish scenes.
Streep, employing an understated southern accent, portrays the head of the CIA's "relocation'' program of terror suspects. Streep wears power suits and a pinched expression on her mouth; she's the kind of boss you'd be ultra-wary of crossing.
And in the upcoming "Lions for Lambs,'' Streep is playing a character on the other side of the political spectrum: a skeptical reporter who realizes she had better be incisive in her reporting, as a program to disengage from the Iraq war is contemplated by American administration officials.
And keep an eye out for an emerging star: Amy Ryan of TV's "The Wire,'' is different and equally good in "Dan in Real Life;'' "Gone Baby Gone'' and "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.''