Three Thousand Years of Longing

Alithea Binnie (Swinton) is a British scholar who enjoys solitude and academia. When visiting Istanbul for a conference, she buys a mysterious bottle that contains a djinn (Elba), which she accidentally unleashes in her hotel room. The djinn offers Alithea three wishes in exchange for his freedom, but she doubts the djinn's authenticity and tells him she knows tales that involve wishing are often cautionary ones. To quell her fears, the djinn tells her three tales of his fantastical past and how he came to be trapped in the bottle.

Director: George Miller. Stars: Tilda Swinton, Idris Elba, Erdil Yasaroglu, Aamito Lagum, Nicolas Mouawad, Ece Yüksel, Matteo Bocelli, Lachy Hulme, Megan Gale, Zerrin Tekindor. 2022. 108 mins. Fantasy.

Pearl

Pearl (Goth) is unable to escape her life on the family farm due to her strict, devout mother, who forces her to care for her ailing father. All Pearl wishes for is a glamorous life, like what she sees in the movies, so she sets out to pursue her dream of being on stage. But as her two wildly different worlds clash, Mia is driven into a rage and will take down anyone she views as a hurdle between her and achieving stardom.

Director: Ti West. Stars: Mia Goth, Tandi Wright, David Corenswet, Matthew Sunderland, Emma Jenkins-Purro, Alistair Sewell, Amelia Reid. 2022. 103 mins. Horror.

Gigi & Nate

After an unfortunate lake dive, Nate (Rowe) is left quadriplegic. The young man struggles to see any kind of light in his situation and as he falls into despair, his family brings him a capuchin monkey named Gigi to be his service animal. Dubious about the pairing, Nate quickly comes to realize what Gigi is capable of and warms up to his curious companion. As Gigi helps Nate with his basic needs, she brings light and life into a dark situation, catching the attention of those around her, for better or for worse.

Director: Nick Hamm. Stars: Charlie Rowe, Marcia Gay Harden, Jim Belushi, Josephine Langford, Diane Ladd, Zoe Margaret Colletti, Tara Summers, Brent Sexton. 2022. 114 mins. Drama.