Dead Talents Society
Out in cinemas now (Available at Shaw Theatres)
Stars: Chen Bo-lin, Sandrine Pinna, Gingle Wang
Social media presence and Internet fame are not only for the living – they mean something for the dead too. A recently deceased young woman, a rookie (Wang) in the underworld, fears she will be cut off from the land of the living unless she takes drastic measures. This means enrolling in the Dead Talents Society, which gives “talented” ghosts, those able to achieve urban legend status through horrific scares, a working pass to remain in the mortal world. She signs up with an agent (Chen) and soon becomes the protege of a former underworld diva (Pinna).
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Gingle Wang: Gingle all the way
A relative newcomer, the Taipei native has already garnered two Golden Horse nominations and starred in critically acclaimed films such as Detention, The Falls and Marry My Dead Body.
Just shedding her newcomer status, Gingle Wang already has an impressive body of work.
In 2015, Wang first achieved a measure of fame thanks to YouTube, appearing on a clip as an unknown singing in a taxi. She then got cast in her maiden role in the 2017 teen romantic comedy, All Because of Love.
It was 2019 when the then-21 year old star got her big break in the horror film, Detention. In the lead role of a ghost trapped in a high school, Wang was nominated for both the Golden Horse and Taipei Film awards, winning the latter.
A published novelist as well, Wang had a bumper 2021, as she appeared in Plurality, The Falls and Till We Meet Again, directed by Giddens Ko. For The Falls, where she plays a high schooler quarantined at home with her ill mother, Wang garnered her second Golden Horse nomination.
Since then, Wang has appeared in two more box-office hits, Marry My Dead Body (2022) and The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon (2023).
With her star continuing to rise, Wang can next be seen in the horror-comedy Dead Talents Society, as a female ghost seeking to become an underworld sensation.
She will also appear in the streaming series GG Precinct, a spin-off from Marry My Dead Body, in which she reprises her role as a police detective investigating mysterious deaths.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Out in cinemas now (Available at Shaw Theatres)
Stars: Michael Keaton, Jenna Ortega, Winona Ryder
More than 30 years after she had escaped from the mischievous demon known as Beetlejuice (Keaton), Lydia (Ryder) finds herself back in the town of Winter River after the untimely death of her father. Now married with a rebellious daughter, Astrid (Ortega), Lydia is horrified to find out that her daughter has opened a portal to the afterlife and – worse – has gotten herself trapped there. Against her better judgement, with no other option, she summons Beetlejuice once again to get his help to save her daughter, even if it means marrying the peculiar demon.
Strange Darling
Out in cinemas 12 September (Available at Shaw Theatres)
Stars: Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Barbara Hershey
Two strangers meet, have drinks, and hook up. What seems like a standard one-night stand turns into something more, when the woman (Fitzgerald) asks the man (Gallner), “Are you a serial killer?” As their relationship changes unexpectedly throughout the night, a cat-and-mouse pursuit ensues, involving drugs, firearms, a taser, car chases, law enforcement, and an elderly couple who seem to be minding their own business before getting caught up in all this. Just when it seems like the predator has caught its prey, we realise things are not as they seem.
Speak No Evil
Out in cinemas 12 September (Available at Shaw Theatres)
Stars: James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy
Ben (McNairy) and Louise (Davis) are an American couple travelling in Europe with their daughter, Agnes. They meet a British couple, Patrick (McAvoy) and Ciara, who are travelling with their son, Ant, and they become fast friends. When Patrick invites Ben and his family to come visit his home in England, they accept and are soon reunited. Once there, however, Louise starts to notice her hosts behaving strangely, and starts to fear for her family’s safety. When she tries to make an excuse to leave, she finds her car tyres slashed.
The Wild Robot
Out in cinemas 26 September (Available at Shaw Theatres)
Stars: Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor
A robot that was programmed to serve customers gets lost in the wild. Finding itself marooned on an island, surrounded by animals, the robot Rozzum unit 7134 becomes known as “Roz” (Nyong’o) and learns to adapt to nature. Roz soon befriends the animals around it, including a cheeky fox named Fink (Pascal). Things get complicated when an orphaned goose hatchling called Brightbill (Conner) imprints on Roz and thinks it is his mother. Roz then has to learn to raise and protect the gosling, while other robots seek to locate and capture Roz.
Megalopolis
Out in cinemas 26 September (Available at Shaw Theatres)
Stars: Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Laurence Fishburne
Cesar (Driver) is a visionary architect who plans to rebuild the city of New Rome as a utopia, using a revolutionary new building material he invents called Megalon. The Mayor of the city, Cicero, however, does not agree with Cesar’s plans and may have had a hand in his wife’s death. Others, including Cesar’s ultra-wealthy uncle, have their own sinister motives in shaping the future of the city. Things come to a head when Cicero’s daughter, Julia, falls in love with Cesar, and discovers that Cesar has an uncanny ability to stop time with his mind.
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