Rating: 
Summary: Pits
Review: As HOLES begins, we see a dirty, sweat-drenched, young man emerge from a pit he's been digging in the desert. Apparently distraught over his prospects for job advancement, he bares a foot to the fangs of a passing rattlesnake. Yup, that's how I feel at the end of some workdays myself.The hero of this quirky story is Stanley Yelnats IV (Shia LeBeouf), unjustly convicted of stealing a pair of snappy looking athletic shoes. Stanley is at the leading edge of the bad luck that's bedeviled his family since an ancestor emigrated from Eastern Europe under the curse of a gypsy crone (Eartha Kitt). Yelnats is sentenced to the juvenile detention center of Camp Green Lake, a parched lake bed in the Texas desert, where the male inmates spend their days digging pits - five feet deep and five feet in diameter - in order to build character. They're under standing orders to bring anything unusual they unearth to the attention of the overseer, Mr. Sir (Jon Voight). However, "unusual" isn't defined except that, as Stanley discovers, it's not about fossils. HOLES has so many varied elements that the viewer may wonder if it can all come together. The gypsy curse. Deadly, yellow-spotted lizards. An Old West schoolmarm turned outlaw, Kissin' Kate Barlow (Patricia Arquette). Something lost and buried. An elusive antidote for smelly shoes. Preserved peaches. A coming-of-age story. Lots of holes. But come together it does. LeBeouf is ostensibly the film's lead, but he's upstaged by Voight's Mr. Sir, the squinty-eyed boss of the labor gang, who manages to be menacing even when he's being reasonable. The Warden (Sigourney Weaver) is an even more hard-boiled case whom Mr. Sir has no desire to cross, but the former plays a less central role in the boys' daily routine, and the audience doesn't even see her until well into the movie when she finally emerges with a vengeance. Tim Blake Nelson plays Dr. Pendanski, the third member of the supervisory staff, who could've been eliminated from the cast entirely. I'm still not sure what essential purpose he served to the plot. I suspect that HOLES plays better to the teenage crowd, but the storyline is intriguing enough for older audiences, especially as it's visually engaging and never deteriorates into cuteness. It's the perfect film to rent if you're looking for something a little different and on the verge of fantasy.
Rating: 
Summary: THE BEST MOVIE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Question: Which PG-rated movie has an all-star adult cast (ex.: Sigourney Weaver, Tim Blake Nelson, Patricia Arquette, Jon Voight), an author as a screenwriter, wonderful visuals, an amazing plot, and tons of laughs (that's not to mention the complexity of the plot and the hot guys)? Answer- HOLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This movie is based on the Newbery-winning book Holes, by Louis Sachar. The D-tent boys, played by Shia LaBeouf, Khleo Thomas, Byron Cotton, Jake M. Smith, and more are all newcomers to the big-screen, but they brought a lot of depth to their characters. They are amazing, convincing, and funny actors, setting the tone for this 5-star film.
Two stories, one sad, one funny, are woven together. This movie jumps from past to present, but the transitions are very smooth, just like in the book.
This movie is wonderful. I rcommend it for ages 9-14 especially, but anyone can enjoy it. Bound to become a classic.
Rating:
Summary: just loved it
Review: I'll skip the synopsis since every other reviewer has laid out the story. I have never read the book but the movie is such fun! It seems to be perfectly attuned to the 12 year old mind (like Mad Magazine). Might not be a good choice for kids under 9 because of the violence and complicated story line. Great performances especially by Weaver, Voigt and Nelson. I enjoyed the music too. I would have to say that the pace is just a little slow at times.
Rating:
Summary: Remains remarkably faithful to the book!
Review: I read "Holes" several years back for a children's literature course I took in college. I highly enjoyed it! It was one of the best books I read in that class. So when they introduced the movie, I was quite interested. Part of me was hopeful it would turn out well, the other part of me was skeptical that it would be anywhere near as good as the book. However, my fears were dashed. This movie was FABULOUS! The story jumps back and forth a little between three different tales -- the story of Elya Yelnats, the main character's "no good, dirty-rotten, pig-stealing great-great-grandfather"; the story of Stanley Yelnats IV himself; and the story of a legendary outlaw, Kissing Kate Barlow. The three stories are interwoven quite ingeniously. In some cases, you aren't completely sure what the connection will be, but then when you find out, it fits perfectly. The story IS slightly altered, of course, as most books-brought-to-movies tend to be. But it very much keeps the spirit of the original book. The boys are very believable -- I especially love Zero! Sigourney Weaver makes a wonderfully nasty warden. And John Voigt does a wonderful insane portrayal of Mr. Sir. This movie will keep you laughing and curious throughout. And if you enjoyed the book, you'll like this film!
Rating:
Summary: Reviewed by a 13 year old girl
Review: Holes is my favorite dvd. The movie so cool. I watched it more than 5 times. The movies plot was excellent. They made the movie just like I imangined when I read the book. Not only its the movie good but cutie Khleo Thomas who plays Zero looks so fine in that movie! :)
Rating:
Summary: Not _quite_ as good as the book.
Review: People make a lot of assumptions in life. For example, it's easy for most folks to assume that a fat kid is lazy or that he is a bully, that a small kid is timid and smart. Stanley Yelnats is fat, but he's no dummy and he's no bully. He is, however, the victim of a very small bullying child nearly every day he attends school. And one day, as he is walking beneath an overpass, a pair of sneakers literally fall upon his head and cause him to be a victim of the judicial system as well. Since his father always needs another set of stinky shoes for his foot deodorizer experiments, Stanley is excited to have a prime pair to give to him. Racing off with the shoes, the police see him running and assume he is up to no good. Sure enough, the sneakers he is carrying have been reported as stolen. They are famous footwear belonging to one Clyde "Sweet Feet" Livingston, pro baseball player and Stanley's hero. Truly, it's not Stanley's fault that he is sentenced to attend a juvenile delinquents hard labor camp. According to his family it's all because of his no good, dirty, rotten, pig stealing great great grandfather whose family, had he done what a gypsy woman once directed him to do, never would have been so cursed.
While at camp Stanley has to get along with some truly rough bullies, and he has to dig a 5 x 5 hole every day in the baking hot sun while avoiding poisonous lizards, snakes, spiders, and the cruel camp staff. But for all the faculty talk that digging holes builds character, there's a distinct undercurrent that something else is going on. The warden is looking for something out there in the desert, something clearly important. And maybe, just maybe, if Stanley is the one to find it, it will be his ticket out of there. The cinematography, setting, and casting were all terrific in this novel-turned-film. However, the characters and story understandably suffered from being cut down into feature film length. The main character is no longer fat, and indeed we do not know about his being picked on at school either. But despite trimming out a great deal of the novel and adding in a few new pieces, it still is a terrific story and transferred very well to visual format. Our boys loved it, but reading the book first definitely helped flesh things out. I suggest you do the same.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Movie Since Toy Story!!!
Review: This movie was one of the best movies I have seen in a while, and for those of you who say the book is better then the movie, Then do you know who wrote it? Louis Sachar, the author of the book (I know this because of the DVD Features)!!! Holes is very interesting, as it has something for everyone. There is lots of comedy, mystery, and even a little history! In the story the main character, Stanley Yelnats(Stanley is Yelnats spelled Backwards), is hit with a pair of shoes on his way home from school. The shoes belonged to Sweat Feet, a famous athlete, who had donated the shoes to the homeless shelter where he had grown up, and Stanley is blamed for steeling them. As punishment, he is sent to Camp Greenlake (which is neither green nor has a lake) where he has to dig 1 5ft by 5ft hole a day. At the camp he meets the D-tent boys, one of which has an interesting story to tell. As well as an interesting story, Holes also has an awesome cast, such as Shia Beouf, Jon Voight, and many other very talented actors. Also, Holes has some really cool music, like "Just Like You", "I Will Survive", "Don't Give Up" and many others!
I highly recommend Holes to anyone who is looking for a movie that glues you to your seat, or someone who just wants family movie that also interests the parents. So, If you are looking for a good movie, then You've found one!!!
Rating:
Summary: great family movie
Review: This is an excellent family movie... the acting by the adults were fantastic! It also had a developed and interesting plot (hard to find these days).
Rating:
Summary: GREAT MOVIE!
Review: This is a great adaptation of the amazing book Holes by Loius Sachar. If you haven't read the book first, I suggest you do so because the book is simply amazing. I was so relived to see that the movie was almost just as good.
This is the story about a boy named Stanley Yelnats who's family has been cursed since his great-grandfather. Stanley's father (henry winkler) is an inventor who has been trying to invent the cure for foot odor for years but to no avail. Stanley gets wrongly accused of stealing a pair of sneakers and gets put in a juvenille correctional "camp" ... But this "camp" is in the middle of the dessert and run by the meanest warden (Sigourney Weaver) you could imagine. Here Stanley and the rest of the boys are made to DIG HOLES. that's right. they don't do anything but DIG HOLES in the middle of the burning hot dessert. thousands and thousands of holes. Stanley makes a friend -but mostly enemies - and he thinks that he is going to be cursed forever --- until the pieces of this complex puzzle start to come together and Stanley inadvertanly finds a way to lift the curse off his family.
Great story, fast paced, great cast - LOVE THIS MOVIE! Watch it! It's not just for kids! I'm 22 and can't get enough of it!
Rating:
Summary: I think I enjoyed it more than my kids did
Review: "Holes" is supposed to be a kids' movie, but I suspect that I had a lot more fun than my six- or four-year old. The characters in "Holes" are juveniles struggling to survive a murderous 18 months in a work camp in the driest spot of Texas. Ironically named "Green Lake", the chunk of Texas occupied by the camp hasn't seen rain in over a century. Instead, it's dotted by countless 5-foot deep holes dug by its juvenile denizens - so much so that, when seen from the air, it looks like the surface of the moon, or somebody with really bad acne. Our hero is Stanley Yelnats the IVth - the last of a long line of amiable losers plagued by bad luck. While Stanley's father (Henry Winkler - that's right, the Fonz is back!) toils on a cure for foot-odor, Stanley gets arrested for stealing a pair of celebrity sneakers. Choosing (unwisely perhaps) Green Lake over prison, he finds himself digging holes under the blistering sun - joining an army of other enslaved youths so beaten down by the rigors of Green Lake, they almost never stop to think that they're digging for more than building character. Unpopular at first, Stanley soon earns a place among the other diggers, and even a nickname - "Caveman" - which proves the surest sign of acceptance. As Stanley's story progresses, the flick makes numerous segues into stories seemingly unconnected to the main plot - we learn of Green Lake's prettier origins, of Stanley's star-crossed forbears, of a beautiful, though murderous old-west outlaw who sealed her kills with a kiss, of stolen pigs, fortune tellers and stolen pigs. "Holes", in its second half, never stops tiring you of the many ways it not only links these disparate threads but weaves them into the main story (onions and peaches?). I think many of the plot threads flew past my kids, but luckily I was around. If the script did more with the supporting characters, it would be priceless - instead the prisoners have little identity beyond their "tags" (like "Armpit", "Twitch" or "Magnet") or much purpose beyond educating Caveman on the camp's etiquette. Among the adult players, Sigourney Weaver is subtly menacing as the camp's warden (who polishes her nails with rattlesnake venom) while John Voight is hysterically over the top as the chief enforcer ("Once upon a time there was a magical place where it never rained, the end"). Special kudos for Tim Blake Nelson as "Mr. Pendanski", who plays a guy who actually tries to build the character of the boys - which only allows him access to their heads. (It's incredible to see how Nelson can reconstruct himself - he was also the emotionally frozen parole officer in the little-seen "Cherish", and the intellectually challenged "Delmar" from "Oh Brother, wherefore art thou?") BUT IS IT FOR THE KIDS? I think many of the recurring plot-points will elude kids. Instead, they might otherwise enjoy how funny it is given how violent and scary a story about youth exploitation could be. Violence? There are several dead-bodies, and of three deaths that actually occur during the story - two happen immediately off-camera. Somebody gets hit in the head with a shovel, another gets scarred by venom - but the injuries look humorous while still looking like injuries. For the squeamish, the camp abounds with scorpions, rattlers and a (fictitious) spotted lizard that touts a deadly poison. For the doubters, there is still a good message for kids - that you should always be ready to make new friends, even if they have names like "Squid", "X-Ray" and "Lump".
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