90 Movies in 90 Days: Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022)

I’m kicking off 2023 by trying to watch and review one movie every day for the first 90 days, all of which will be 90 minutes or less.

Title: Three Thousand Years of Longing
Release Date: August 26, 2022
Director: George Miller
Production Company: FilmNation Entertainment | Elevate Production Finance | Sunac Culture | Kennedy Miller Mitchell
Summary/Review:

Dr. Alithea Binnie (Tilda Swinton) is a scholar of storytelling who travels to Istanbul for a conference.  While there she acquires an antique glass bottle and while cleaning it naturally releases the Djinn (Idris Elba) trapped within it who offers her three wishes. In her hotel room, the Djinn shares three stories of his past while Alithea remains skeptical about making wishes.

The movie combines philosophy, fantasy, and romance as two of the great actors of our time converse interspersed with visually and narratively inventive stories.  The movie could’ve been judiciously trimmed at parts but overall I found it enchanting.  It’s a shame that it bombed at the box office but I hope more people discover it through streaming.  George Miller is quite the eclectic writer/director to make this his follow-up to Mad Max: Fury Road.

Rating: ***1/2

 

Book Review: Star Wars: The High Republic: The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott

Author: Cavan Scott
Title: Star Wars: The High Republic: The Rising Storm
Narrator: Marc Thompson
Publication Info: Random House Audio, June 29, 2001
Summary/Review:

Picking up where The Light of the Jedi ends, the story centers on the Republic Fair where Chancellor Lina Soh hopes to make a statement on the growing Galactic Republic’s unity.  Meanwhile, Marchion Ro, the leader of loose organization of marauders faces dissension within his ranks and organizes an attack of the fair.  The better part of the book is an action-filled depiction of the Jedi fighting the Nihil and hoping to protect the Republic citizens.  The book ends with a startling revelation that hearkens a darker future.

I had a couple of quibbles with this book.  One is that it still feels like there are a  lot of characters and I’m having trouble connecting with all these different Jedi and their allies.  That may be just be a “me thing” though.  I am growing fond of Bell Zettifar, the Jedi apprentice who cuts himself of from the Force when mourning the loss of his Master.  The other problem with this book is that it has a middle-of-a-trilogy feel to it where it’s just spinning its wheels until it can get to the revelation that sets up the final book.  But overall it’s a fun read.

Rating: ***