📺 ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-
(all times CLT)

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile… or charismatic? Netflix offers a different take on the infamous Ted Bundy — one of America’s most notorious serial killers. Directed by Joe Berlinger, who previously unfolded Bundy’s crimes in Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, this retelling focuses more on his personal relationships rather than his crimes, mainly based on Bundy’s ex-fiance Elizabeth Kendall’s memoir.

(Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to external sources.)

The film follows Bundy (Zac Efron) as he charms Elizabeth Kendall (Lily Collins) and becomes her seemingly perfect boyfriend. But as the years pass, his secret life is slowly exposed. While he’s on trial for the murders, Bundy begins to manipulate Kendall into believing he's innocent.

Meanwhile, he turns the courtroom into his own personal spectacle, acting as his own lawyer — even after escaping prison twice. Kendall is left to grapple with the ugly truth of Bundy’s secrets, which push her to spiral instead of moving on with her life.

It’s pure true crime, no gore: This film is all about the inner workings and the behind the scenes of how serial killers were exposed, instead of recreating the traumatizing crimes committed — even critics at Roger Ebert gave it an almost full four star rating.

WHERE TO WATCH- You can watch the film on Netflix or watch the trailer on YouTube (runtime: 2:33).

⚽ Today concludes the second round of the league stage in the Champions League. The most anticipated matches are Real Madrid against Lille, Aston Villa against Bayern Munich, and Liverpool against Bologna, all kicking off at 10pm.

Other matches to keep an eye on:

• Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Atalanta (7:45pm).
• Girona vs. Feyenoord (7:45pm).
• Benfica vs. Atletico Madrid (10pm).
• Leipzig vs. Juventus (10pm).
• Sturm Graz vs. Club Brugge (10pm).
• Dinamo Zagreb vs. Monaco (10pm).

🥐 EAT THIS TONIGHT-

Forget shami or kaiser bread for your shawerma. How about a croissant? With three branches on their roster, Al Agha serves up classic Syrian comfort foods, from fatteh to shawerma — but what makes them unique is their integration of the famous French pastry.

They have all the levantine dishes you’d want, but what's making noise is their shawerma croissant. Among the mixed grills and the man’ousheh, you’ll find their trending dish — the choice between meat or chicken shawarma stuffed in a buttery, flaky croissant. The meat option features tehina, onions, and parsley, while the chicken is combined with thomeyya, pickles, and mozzarella cheese.

The verdict: While we enjoyed the ingenuity of the combo, we believe it complemented the chicken shawerma better. For a more traditional experience, switch out the mozzarella cheese for extra pickles.

But there's even a better item — the kunafa nabulsi croissant. Sweet croissants have seen some interesting iterations, but we’ve never seen one stuffed with kunafa nabulsi. If you’re sensitive to texture, you might have to brace yourself — the dessert is crispy, chewy, and soft all at once. But you still shouldn’t miss out on perhaps the most inventive dessert we’ve seen all year. And that includes Ramadan.

WHERE TO GET IT- You can find Al Agha in Dokki and Heliopolis, and order it to those areas as well as Zamalek through Talabat and El Menus.

🎤 OUT AND ABOUT-
(all times CLT)

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

For fans of Lege-cy, don't miss his live performance at Boom Room tonight. Get your tickets from Ticketsmarche.

Swan Lake x Opera: For classical lovers, don't miss the performances of Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake performed by the St. Petersburg Classical Ballet Company. The shows will take place over three days — tonight, tomorrow and 4 October — at the Cairo Opera House’s Main Hall in Zamalek, starting at 8:30pm. Grab your tickets for the first, second and third night from Tazkarti.

Calling all cinema aficionados, Affichat w Aflam is getting an extension. The exhibition will continue to showcase a vast selection of the late Pierre Sioufi’s collection of more than 10k pieces of Egyptian cinema memorabilia from 1932-2017 until 6 October. The exhibition is open from 10am to 10pm at Bibliothek.

Rock out at CJC tomorrow for a night of live rock performances where one band performs tribute to Radiohead. Reserve your spot through their Facebook page.

For the love of tapestry. Today in History is Amsterdam-based Egyptian artist Dina Danish’s first exhibition in Egypt in nearly a decade. Composed of a collection of appliqué tapestries that resemble medieval banners, the exhibition is still open at the Gypsum Gallery till Saturday, 30 October.

HAPPENING LATER-

Kunafa Comedy Nightwill be making their debut at Boom Room on Tuesday, 8 October. The show’s lineup features Hala Marzouk, Ezzat Essam, Mahmoud Kunafa, Mona Kamel, Mahmoud Hassan, Ahmed Emad, and Mark Fanos. Tickets are available through Ticketsmarche.

Treat yourself to an evening of classic oriental music with Saad El Oud and his band at Boom Room on Wednesday, 9 October. Get your tickets through Ticketsmarche.

The Bahgaga band sings Shokoko: Bahgaga will perform a special tribute to Shokoko’s classic songs at Theatro Arkan on Thursday, 10 October. Get your tickets through Ticketsmarche.

Registration is still open for the Scaled Games. Show off your skills by taking part in one of the three sporting competitions available: running, football, or crossfit. Running and crossfit will both take place on Friday, 11 October, while the football tournament will take place starting Friday, 27 September to Friday, 11 October. All events will happen in New Heliopolis City. You can sign up on Ticketsmarche.

Go on a run in Egypt’s historic city at the Luxor Half Marathon. Cairo Runners’ annual event will take place on Friday, 11 October. Pick between a 21km or 10km race, or a short family run. You can register here.

💡 UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

Rachel Kushner immerses us in a captivating and subversive espionage thriller. Creation Lake is a dive into a gritty, grim landscape where highways, nuclear plants, and distribution warehouses take center stage. This novel marks Kushner's fourth and, arguably, her best work, which is already shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

The plot follows Sadie Smith, a cold and cunning American spy. Her mission? To infiltrate a radical farming commune known as Le Moulin. Sadie embraces her role with chilling detachment; she’s not seeking redemption, but is rather fascinated by the complexities of her dangerous assignments.

Kushner delves into themes of radicalism and betrayal. She forms relationships with key figures, including the charismatic leader Pascal and the enigmatic Bruno, a political activist now living underground. These interactions offer a deep exploration of ideological struggles and personal histories, enriched by Sadie’s own ambiguous motives.

Kushner’s prose blends the abstract with the concrete. A standout moment involves a haunting memory of Bruno’s childhood during World War II, which serves as a poignant metaphor for the transmission of ideas and traumas across generations.