📽 AT THE MOVIES-

Director James Gunn goes above and beyond in the last installment of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. If, like us, you thought Ant-man and the Wasp: Quantumania set a disappointing tone for phase five of the MCU, you’ll find hope that the future of the cinematic universe is in good hands in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (watch, runtime: 2:21). The most emotional of the sequels, Vol. 3 delivers — as predicted by many fans — a heart-wrenching plot with a bittersweet ending as the Guardians travel across galaxies to save their friend.

While some film critics are incomprehensibly bashing the film, it currently boasts an 81% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.4 on IMDB. The film does not depart from the ‘found family’ theme that characterizes the trilogy, though Vol. 3 digs deeper by exploring those connections and giving them the context they previously lacked. This movie is, essentially, about learning when to hold on and when to let go, though Gunn, who also co-wrote the script, doesn’t seem to have a solid grasp on that concept yet, deciding not to give the Guardians a definitive conclusion to their story.

WHERE TO WATCH- You can catch this movie in any VOX Cinema, Cairo Festival Cinema, Stars Cinema, and pretty much any other movie theater across Cairo.

Day 13 (watch, runtime: 1:25) is Egypt’s first ever 3D movie… but that’s pretty much the only good we have to say about it. Unfortunately, the star-studded cast — which includes Ahmed Dawood, Dina El Sherbiny, Magdy Kamel, Sherif Mounir, and Jumana Mourad — was no match for the dire script. The premise itself is solid, with the plot revolving around a group of characters who band together to solve the mystery of the spirit haunting the protagonist’s ancestral mansion in an attempt to expel it. While the acting is actually quite good all things considered, the plot has more holes than a sieve, and the heavy-handedness was inadvertently comical. Let’s just say that one scene saw the camera zoom in on the license plate of a car that takes Dawood’s character to the haunted mansion, and the plate spells the Arabic equivalent of “boo.”

But let’s focus on the positive. For a first attempt at 3D filmmaking, what they’ve accomplished is actually impressive. The effect worked well for the majority of the film, though not without some glitches. Forced visual foreshadowing aside, the cinematography was great, and captured both the charm and the eeriness of antiquated architecture, even if the film did seem to be a little confused about which decade it was supposed to be portraying.

WHERE TO WATCH- You can catch showings at VOX Cinemas, Stars Cinema, and most movie theaters in Cairo.

📚 FROM THE BOOKSTORE-

A horror story with maximum emotional impact: Retelling Poe: What Moves theDeadis based on Edgar Allan Poe’s classic short story, The Fall of the House of Usherpublished in 1839. In T. Kingfisher’s version, the narrator, and the story line is more fleshed out with color and details added to one of our favorite horror writers. The retelling of the original story weaves in more complex character dynamics and “bitingly dark humor,” along with a hefty dose of body horror, according to a Paste Magazine review. It also leans into the found family trope with delicacy and emotion, Lacy Milas writes for the magazine.

WHO’S T. KINGFISHER?T. Kingfisher is actually the pen name of Ursula Vernon, a 45-year-old author who was born in Japan and currently lives in North Carolina. The prolific author and illustrator — who is behind the popular Dragonbreath children’s series — continues to expand her bibliography which features graphic novels, novels, short stories and more.

WHERE TO BUY- Sadly, the book is not available in Egypt but you can purchase an online version from Amazon.

🍴 HOT AND FRESH OUT OF THE KITCHEN-

For fans of Boba: As the weather gets sunnier, we’re opting to get some vitamin D this weekend by hanging out at The Drive by The Waterway for a stroll and refreshing drink. We’re heading to PÀO, a Taiwanese food truck, which is also located in The Twelve by The Platform in Sheikh Zayed for the city’s Western-side dwellers. The truck’s menu features endless options for boba lovers: From brown sugar matcha boba to strawberry matcha lattes. You can add extra toppings like tapioca, popping boba, honeycomb, and more. And, when you get hungry: you can opt for a croffle, which is a croissant/waffle hybrid. Each drink has its own vibe, and our favorites were the jasmine peach fruit tea with lychee boba or coconut jelly, a fun summery drink, their creamy coffee series dalgona, which is perfect for breakfast, and the classic brown sugar milk boba.

💵 Per person:EGP 85-120

🪑 Outdoor seating: Yes

🍺 Alcohol: No

🦽 Accessibility friendly: Yes

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