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

This week’s new movie releases are a hotpot of random, with Halle Berry returning to the screen, The Conjuring series going back in time, a classic French comicbook getting the Hollywood treatment and, god help us all, this… 

The Emoji Movie

What’s it About? Yep, they went and did it. If you thought adapting Angry Birds into a movie was ridiculous, you ain’t seen nothing yet. This peculiar example of money-making fad-following tells of a multi-expressional emoji named Gene, who sets out on an adventure to become a normal emoji. No, we’re not joking.

Why it Might Be Good: Though the lead, T.J Miller, isn’t exactly the biggest name, the likes of James Corden, Anna Faris, Maya Rudolph, Sofia Vergara and Patrick Stewart make for an interesting cast, while the idea of seeing various emojis come to life is bound to incite a few laughs.

Why it Might Be Bad: Because it’s a movie about emojis for goodness sake. Don’t be surprised if the plot plays out generically to a damp squib. But then again, don’t be surprised if it makes enough money to warrant a sequel.

Valerian & the City of a Thousand Planets

What’s it About? Based on French science fiction comic series, Valérian and Laureline, this sci-fi epic tells of a menace that threatens to destroy Alpha; a metropolis that is home to races from 1,000 planets. It’s up to Special operatives, Valerian and Laureline, to save the day.

Why it Might Be Good: The most obvious element is the visuals, which look stunning. You can see some influence from director Luc Besson’s seminal 90s sci-fi, The Fifth Element, and the French filmmaker certainly knows how to build an effective action film.

Why it Might Be Bad: Initial reviews have fallen short of expectations, while the man playing the eponymous character, Dane DeHaan, doesn’t exactly scream leading man. His monotonic, stone-faced approach worked for films like Chronicle, but this is a much more colorful landscape. Plus, with the number of epic worlds being the centre of so many films these days, it’s become difficult to find any uniqueness, especially when it comes to sci-fi.

Annabelle: Creation

What’s it About? Acting as a prequel to 2014’s Annabelle and the fourth film in The Conjuring series, Creation is something of an origin story in telling of the story behind Hollywood’s scariest doll, Annabelle.

Why it Might Be Good: An exploration into any horror film legend provides room for creativity. Despite receiving below average reviews throughout, the series has something of a following and has always been proficient in providing the scares.

Why it Might Be Bad: Yes, origin stories can potentially be creative and beef up any filmic mythos, but it could just as easily go the other way and be the most redundant entry into the series yet. Sometimes, preserving the myth and mystery behind the monster works – and in this case, the tale of how an inanimate doll became possessed doesn’t exactly inspire.

Kidnap

What’s it About? It’s all very simple – Halle Berry plays a mother who will stop at nothing to save her son from some dangerous kidnappers.

Why it Might be Good? Some actresses are gentle and subtle; Halle Berry is at her best when her character is in a tough spot and she’s firing on all cylinders. With his being a generic influence of films like Taken, the Oscar-winning actress is the film’s only hope.

Why it Might Be Bad: Because, well Taken is soooo five years ago. Even Mr Taken himself, Liam Neeson, has rehashed the formula himself to underwhelming affect. In addition, early reviews has panned the film for its reliance on exploitation elements.