Freeze Frame: “Three Thousand Years of Longing” (R), “Me Time” (R), “Breaking” (PG-13), “Samaritan” (PG-13)

The Idris Elba film fest continues for the second week in a row with the ambitious fantasy, “Three Thousand Years of Longing.” Elba plays a genie who emerges from a bottle to grant scholar Tilda Swinton three wishes. What follows is an off-beat philosophical meditation on human desire. This earnest effort was written and directed by George Miller, best known for the “Mad Max” franchise and the visuals are predictably spectacular. Elba and Swinton are fine, but the intent of “Three Thousand Years of Longing, a very adult fairy tale, remains a bit murky.

Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg team up for the Netflix buddy comedy “Me Time,” the story of a stay-at-home dad who reluctantly goes on a wild adventure with his irresponsible best friend. This movie is lazy and bone-headed, a genuine contender for worst movie of the year. If you value your time, skip “Me Time.”

John Boyega gives a potent performance in the true-life drama, “Breaking,” the story of a desperate Iraq War vet who threatens to blow up a bank unless the VA gives him the money he is rightfully due. Don’t be too surprised if you have flashbacks to the classic Al Pacino movie, “Dog Day Afternoon.” “Breaking” is a well-meaning social commentary with respectable results, but it never quite lives up to its dramatic potential.

Sylvester Stallone plays an aging superhero in the derivative Amazon Prime action thriller “Samaritan.” A young boy believes that the old janitor living across the street from him is actually a superhero thought to have died in an epic battle 25 years ago. While it’s harmless, the cliches in the “Samaritan” script are even older than this movie’s venerable star.

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