The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

It’s the time of the week again, when you and your friends start the never ending debate of which movie to see first. To help you settle the argument, here are this week’s catch, so you can choose your battle wisely:

Ghost in the Shell

What’s it About? It seems like Hollywood is running out of fresh ideas; since the beginning of this year, we’ve been blessed with remakes and adaptations, from Beauty and the Beast, to Power Rangers and now Ghost in the Shell – an adaptation/remake of the famous 1995 Japanese anime. The film follows a half-human-half-machine policewoman who, along with her partner, hunts down a hacker.

Why it Might Be Good: We sought a way to drop the hint candidly but to no avail, so let us just admit that Scarlett Johansson is one of the main attractions of this version of Ghost in the shell; she’s hot and she’s a good actress. Speaking of good actors, the cast also includes Michael Pitt, who starred in The Dreamers and Murder by Numbers. 

Why it Might Be Bad: We regret telling you this, but 2017’s Ghost in the Shell might be a masterpiece knockoff, in which the makers have adjusted a couple of ingredients, to make it more digestible for the average moviegoer.  And, of course, anime fans, don’t even try to watch it.

Smurfs: The Lost Village

What’s it About? Yup, Hollywood really has run of fresh ideas. Another Smurfs movie is ahead; Smurfs: The Lost Village follows on from The Smurfs 1 and 2 from 2011 and 2013 respectively, telling of the Smurfs’ exciting race through the Forbidden Forest that will eventually lead to the greatest discovery in their history.

Why it Might Be Good: Kelly Asbury, the director of Smurfs: The Lost Village, is the man behind many animated masterpieces, like Shrek 2, Gnomeo and Juliette and Spirit. He also worked in the art department of hits like The Little Mermaid, The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Prince of Egypt – need we say more?

Why it Might Be Bad: Had it been 2011’s Smurfs that we are talking about here, we would have enticed you to see the evolution of The Smurfs, whose last movie, The Smurfs and the Magic Flute, was screened in 1976. But this time around, we ask: do we need another Smurfs movie? What does it have to offer that’s new? Our answer: not much.

Get Out

What’s it About? This week’s dose of horror follows Chris, a young African-American, who visits his Caucasian girlfriend’s mysterious family estate. Although we expect the horror to lie in the haunted estate, we personally believe that there is nothing more terrifying than meeting the parents.

Why it Might Be Good: Try as we might to dig after the makers, actors and producers, we couldn’t find anything special about this movie – except for this: the movie actually has a lot of good reviews; having earned an 8.3 on IMDB and 99% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, you can’t go wrong with this one.

Why it Might Be Bad: Well, if you are looking for a star-studded production, then this is definitely not the one for you.  The only familiar face in Get Out is the two-time Academy Award nominee, Catherine Keener, who starred in Being John Malkovich  and The 40-Year-Old Virgin.                 

Stay tuned for all the info you need for this week’s new films with the Cairo 360 Cinema Guide – showing times, cinema locations, reviews and more.