Take a look at the 15 movies you'll be hearing about in fall 2024.

15 Fall Movies You Need to Know About

Take a look at the 15 movies you&#39;ll be hearing about in fall 2024.

From popular franchises to brand new worlds of exploration, science fiction and fantasy stories are more popular than ever. Check out our list of the best and brightest new and upcoming movies and series.

New and Upcoming Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Discover some of the most anticipated sequels, prequels, and spin-offs coming to theaters and streaming.

New Sequels, Prequels, and Spin-Offs

The Shanghai Hotel is the story of a young woman named Yin Yin (Eugenia Yuan), who illegally buys her way to the USA from communist China hoping to make a better life for herself and her family. After a long, treacherous journey stowed away in a dark hull of an overcrowded cargo ship, Yin Yin arrives in New York City for what she thinks will be the beginning of a better life. Falsely promised a job in the technology industry, her dreams are shattered when she is told by the Snakeheads, an Asian gang, that her debt is much higher than expected. To pay off that additional debt she will have to work it off by being a prostitute. Yin Yin is devastated by the news that she is being sold into the sex slave trade. The rundown, decrepit building that Yin Yin and the other prostitutes live and work in is known as the Shanghai Hotel. Women from Thailand, Korea and China all reside in the Shanghai Hotel. Some of the women know what they are there for but most are just like Yin Yin, unwilling participants forced to sell their bodies. Upon arriving at the Shanghai Hotel, Yin Yin is isolated and locked in a room all by herself. The room has many windows, but the glass is spray painted black so that no one can see in or out. One window though is missing and is covered with just black tape. Yin Yin lifts the tape and has her only view of freedom and the outside world, the streets of New York City. While staring out the window, Yin Yin notices a bike messenger who is giving some food and blankets to the homeless people across the street from the Shanghai Hotel. She can tell that he is a kind-hearted person and decides to try and communicate with him. She gets his attention and passes him a note. The note tells of her horrible situation, but pleads with him not to tell anyone for fear of what repercussions the Snakeheads might take on her family in China. She ends the note by saying all she really needs is a friend. The bike messenger, named Carlos (Hill Harper), accepts her invitation of friendship but over time a love between the two of them develops through the passing of notes. The film explores the elements of human trafficking and the hardships that Yin Yin faces during her time at the Shanghai Hotel.

The Shanghai Hotel conveys the complexity and humanity regarding the lucrative criminal enterprise that is human trafficking. Its ability to portray a difficult subject, through a Hollywood lens, and its timely nature is paramount. The movies &quot;Trade&quot; with Kevin Kline, and &quot;Human Trafficking&quot; with Donald Sutherland are also very good, but this film takes on the hybrid like quality of an &quot;Indie&quot; with documentary tendencies, whilst filmed through a Hollywood lens. The story, seen through the eyes of a &quot;survivor&quot; who was an exploited, vulnerable, and yet hopeful individual is contrasted by the depth of the characters. They are not one dimensional. Each is a complex mix of their respectively tainted senses of personal reality. I commend the writer for seeing this film through from idea creation, to fruition. I only hope that it will receive the broad viewings that it deserves! Kudos to the cast, crew, and writers; thank you for a job well done!!! Sincerely, Adriane Reesey Chair, Broward Human Trafficking Coalition

User reviews

Shanghai Hotel

An important and timely film

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