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

From a broody psychological horror, to a hip-hop biopic, the gift that is this week’s new film releases in Cairo comes wrapped in a big bundle with a bow on-top.

It Comes at Night

What’s it About? With unseen dangers lurking outside of their forest cabin home, a man and his family live a tightly patrolled life in order to stay alive – but their routine is set askew when another family arrives looking for refuge.

Why it Might Be Good: First off, Joel Edgerton – the unsung hero of so many huge films (The Great Gatsby, Warrior, Black Mass) is as versatile as they come and as the head of the household in this slow-burning horror-mystery he looks like the anchor of the film. The movie has been praised by critics, too, but not so much with audiences…

Why it Might Be Bad: Picking up from the whole critic-audience split, this is certainly not a traditional horror. There’s no gore, no supernatural menace – it’s a thoughtful, broody piece that is as much about the family dynamic as they try to survive. This is not ‘bad’ per se, but it’s certainly not for everyone.

Home Again

What’s it About? Reese Witherspoon plays a single mum trying to have it all in LA, whose life becomes even more complicated when she lets three young studs move into her guesthouse.

Why it Might Be Good: Witherspoon rarely disappoints in any role and she has some decent support players in the likes of Nat Wolff, Michael Sheen and Candice Bergen. She’s show her comedic chops time and time again – and this film rests on her shoulders.

Why it Might Be Bad: The idea of three guys moving in with a single mum sounds like it would suit a sitcom – it would be a horribly unoriginal sitcom, but at least there’s room to build. Here, it’s all probably going to play out exactly how you’d imagine; there’s a an adjustment period full of incidents that point out the difference between the male and female species, they come to be close friends and she finally finds what she’s been looking for, whatever that might be.

Flatliners

What’s it About? A sequel to the 1990 cult classic of the same name, Flatliners follows five medical students whose curiosity around death finds them undertaking experiments to produce near-death experiences – but not without consequences.

Why it Might Be Good: It’s been talked about for years and, for a long time, it looked like it would never happen. But with one of the original cast members, Kiefer Sutherland, is back reprising his role as Nelson Wright, in addition to taking on another role. With Ellen Page, Diego Luna and Nina Dobrov also among the cast, it all really depends on the script.

Why it Might Be Bad: Is it a sequel? Is it a remake? That’s a question that was only vaguely answered during its development and although it has been officially labelled as a sequel, it’s going to take more than Sutherland to make a connection with the original – a connection that needs to be supplemented by a new approach to what is essentially the same plot.

All Eyez On Me

What’s it About? Named after possibly his most critically and commercially acclaimed album, All Eyez on Me is the 2Pac biopic every hip-hop fan has been waiting for and documents the influential rapper’s life from birth to death.

Why it Might be Good: As one of the most studied, talked-about and fascinating characters to come out of American music, Tupac Shakur’s life has all the makings for a fantastic film – there’s drama, there’s a endlessly unpredictable and complex character and there’s an engaging arc. Plus, Demetrius Shipp Jr’s turn as 2Pac has been receiving some might fine praise.

Why it Might Be Bad: Like the over-praised Notorious, the danger here is that everyone and everything comes across as over-the-top and caricatured. But then what a film like Straight Outta Compton showed is that you can portray hip-hop culture without wading into unintended satire.

To find out where and when you can catch these films, as well as Unlocked and Vincent N Roxxy in the capital, check out the Cairo 360 Cinema Guide.