Five Movies To Watch This Idul Fitri Holiday
Jakarta. Idul Fitri holiday is near and that can only mean one thing in the cinemas: blockbuster time!
Catherine Keng, the corporate communications officer of Cinema 21, the largest cineplex chain in the country, said they're banking on five local films in various genres – drama, horror and comedy – to put bums on seats during the holiday season: "Ghost Writer," "Hit & Run," "Single 2," "Si Doel The Movie 2" and "Kuntilanak 2."
Two Hollywood films will also be screened before and after Idul Fitri. "Godzilla: King of The Monsters" will screen a week before Idul Fitri and "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" a week after.
Which is your pick for the Idul Fitri blockbuster season?
1. Horror: Ghost Writer
The Ernest Prakasa-helmed Ghost Writer is a horror film with a touch of family drama and comedy featuring the director's frequent sidekick, stand-up comedian Muhadkly Achoy.
The film tells the story of Naya (Tatjana Saphira), the author of a one-hit-wonder novel who's suffering from a writer's block. A chance discovery of a diary filled with incredible stories in an old house nearly got her back writing again, until the owner of the diary, the "ghost writer," intervened.
2. Drama Comedy: Si Doel The Movie 2
The first film in the Si Doel franchise was also released on Idul Fitri last year and raked in over one million viewers.
"The first Si Doel movie left many questions unanswered. You might just find the answers in this sequel," producer Frederica said.
Helmed again by legendary director and actor Rano Karno, who plays Doel, the film extends the long-standing love triangle between this quintessential Betawi man, the westernized Sarah (Cornelia Agatha) and traditional sweetheart Zaenab (Maudy Koesnadi).
The film opened in suspense when Doel gets word from his sister Atun that Zaenab might be pregnant.
3. Action Comedy: Hit & Run
Hit & Run stars the Indonesian-Hollywood actor Joe Taslim as Tegar Saputra. The Fast and Furious 6 and The Raid 2 star plays a narcissistic police officer who stars in his own reality show.
Joe will fight for attention against Yayan "Mad Dog" Ruhian, who just starred along Keanu Reeves in "John Wick 3: Parabellum."
"This is an action film with comic characters and a story fit for a comedy. It also features plenty of drama and romance, too. It's got everything," Joe Taslim, who is also the creative producer of the film, said.
4. Horror: Kuntilanak 2
Kuntilanak was another Idul Fitri box office hit last year with 1.2 million viewers.
The sequel, again helmed by Rizal Mantovani, is targeted at a younger audience and so features many young actors and actresses, including Maxime Bouttier, Susan Sameh and Sandrinna Skornicki.
Rizal said Kuntilanak 2 will have a different feel than the standard Indonesian horror movies.
"The ghosts in this film talk normally to humans, cook and do many other human things," Rizal said.
5. Romantic Comedy: Single 2
The original Single film was released in 2015 and attracted over 1.3 million viewers.
Author-comedian-director Raditya Dika said he had been experimenting with other genres in the past four years (e.g., the 2016 comedy thriller "Hangout") but has now decided to return to his favorite genre: rom-com.
"Actually, Single 2 is based on a screenplay I wrote before I got married, before I had children. Does marriage make us happier? That's what I'm trying to answer," Raditya said.
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