Rating: 
Summary: I totally "Dig It!"
Review: If you loved the bok, you will totally "dig" the movie! Not only was it great, but it was filled with suspense, comedy, drama, and great friendship. The actors also "dug" very well into their characters. Sigourney Weaver as the scary Warden, Jon Voight as the tough Mr. Sir, and Tim Blake Nelson as the weird Mr. Pendanski. The boys also did an outstanding job on their roles. Shia LaBeouf as the main charcter, Stanley/Caveman Yelnats. Khleo Thomas as friendly Hector/Zero, Brenden Jefferson as leader Rex/X-Ray, Jake M. Smith as the tough guy Alan/Squid, Max Kasch as weird Ricky/ZigZag, and Miguel Castro as Jose/Magnet. The boys also did a song, "Dig It" which is on the best song on a soundtrack list. But the main story is that Stanley learns more about himself, finds a true friend who is Zero, finds out what the Warden has been looking for, and Zero finally reunites with his mother. This movie derserves 1,000,000,000 stars! There are a lot more surprises too, but you need to watch this highly rated movie in order to "fill those holes" It's a "hole" lotta fun!
Rating:
Summary: Sigourney Weaver at her best
Review: When I first read the book Holes, in third grade, I was completely blown away. But when I saw the movie, I nearly landed on Mars! It immediately became my new favorite movie, surpassing even Ghostbusters. What really charmed me was the love story between Kissin' Kate Barlow (Patricia Arquette) and the onion picker, Sam (Dule Hill)
This movie tells the story of a young boy, Stanley Yelnats (Shia LaBeouf) who is unjustly sent to Camp green Lake, a juvenile detention center where boys are made to dig a five foot hole every day out in the hot sun out on a dried up lake where it hadn't rained for a hundred and ten years, all because of a racism incident between the dead town of Green Lake's schoolteacher Katherine Barlow, the man who wished to marry her, Trout Walker and Sam the onion picker, the Negro man she loved. Stanley must then solve the mystery of why the warden is making the boys dig holes, and what she is trying to find. but what could possibly be buried out on a dried up lake?
There are a lot of twists and connections between Stanley's family, including his 'no-good dirty-rotten pig-steling great-great-grandfather' who is to blame for a curse on the family, and Stanley's great-grandfather who was once robbed in the desert by Kissin' kate BArlow, who became an outlaw after Sam was killed by Trout when he caught him kissing Katherine, Katherine, and Hector Zeroni, a descendent of the woman who put the curse on his family, and the wonderfulyl nasty warden of Camp Green LAke (Sigourney Weaver) who is a descendent of Trout Walker.
If you liked the book, Holes you should definitely see the movie. it is better-by far.
Rating: 
Summary: (In Fact 3.5): Engaging Idiosyncrasy; Needs Distinct Style
Review: Many say the film "Holes" is good, and the original book is even better. Though I have not read the book, I can sense the feelings these people have towards the beloved original. And the film is carefully made with that kind of love, I think. So, read this review as the one from a non-reader of Louis Sacher book, but as just a moviegoer.One thing is certain; the kids featured in the central story are fantastic. "Holes" starts with a boy Stanley Yelnats IV (read backward), who is falsely accused of stealing a pair of shoes presented by a celebrity. Now Stanley must work at the correctional camp for boys. The camp itself is very unique. In the middle of the hot desert, Stanley has to dig a hole every day, to mould a newer and healthier character. And while there, he meets another boy called Zero, with whom he becomes a friend, and embarks on another adventure, which ends in an unexpected way. In the meanwhile, Stanley's family has been, he claims, cursed from the great-great-great-grand dad, who neglected a promise with an old lady Eartha Kitt. Beside this sub-plot told in flashbacks, we have another sub-plot about the life of "Kissin' Kate Barlow" (Patricia Arquette). These subplots, it will be clear, have something to do with the present-day story about Stanley and Zero. But the charms of the film come from its characters. Though Sigourney Weaver (as the warden of the camp) is top-billed in the film, it is the friendship between Stanley and Zero that really attacts us, and the good acting of the kids is strongly recommended. This is not to say that Ms. Weaver is bad; but when we have to wait for one hour for her to appear, it is hardly possible to say that this is her movie. You also get John Voight as the warden's second, and Tim Blake Nelson as "doctor," plus Henry Winkler as Stanley's father. They all give appropriately quirky and even crazy acting, in particular that of John Voight, who reminds me of his eccentric turn in "Anaconda." The film is Disney's, and the company decided on an uncomfortable mixture of myth and reality. Andrew Davis ("The Fugitive") is not the right choice for directing this kind material (it's Alfonso Cuaron) that requires more magical touch to make every scene edgy and mythical. And Disney is guilty of one thing: too much polishing up. The boys in the camp sometimes show nasty and mean attitude, but they are never evil; the violence is suggested (in the flashback), but not explicitly shown on the screen; Sigourney Weaver's warden should look more self-centered, but she actually lacks the menace this kind of character might have. In short, the film is too clean, and it doesn't bite. Even the dirt looks clean, and Sigourney Weaver's phoney droll accent comes and goes. The last point is the sole reason of my star rating. But the characters are interesting, and if you endure the first half of the film (in which too many flashbacks come and go), you will be slowly sucked into this strange world of "Holes."
Rating: 
Summary: tedious, overblown "comedy"
Review: Based on the Louis Sachar novel, "Holes" plays like a cutesy version of "Cool Hand Luke" for the Outward Bound set. Stanley is a good-natured kid who is wrongly convicted of stealing shoes from a homeless shelter. As punishment, he is shipped off to a strange correctional facility in
the desert where he and the other boys are forced to dig endless holes for no purpose beyond "character building." The place is run by a trio of certifiable sadistic nitwits played by Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight and Tim Blake Nelson, all of whom overact shamelessly in their roles. "Holes" is obviously intended to be a clever, original film, combining elements of humor, social commentary and Magic Realism in a satirical attack on mindless injustice. However, the humor is generally lowbrow and overbroad, the social commentary conventional and sentimental, and the Magic Realism so forced and heavy handed that it robs the film of any kind of real world relevance early on. The adults in the film are all overdrawn caricatures while the boys are, for the most part, bland and utterly indistinguishable from one another. The film is padded out with a series of interminable flashbacks involving a curse supposedly placed on Stanley's family as a result of the actions of his great grandfather. However, this parallel back-story is even more corny and melodramatic than what is being served up front and manages only to slow down what little "action" there is even further. Having never read the popular novel on which the film is based, I will be the first to concede that perhaps I just didn't get what was supposed to be going on here. "Holes" may be fine for the aficionado and the already initiated, but it makes for a tediously bad time at the movies for the rest of us.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful and Surreal Movie with theme of redemption
Review: If you didn't read the book, this movie is about the strangest thing. Stanley (the protagonist) is sent to a youth camp where to build character the inmates have to dig a round 5 ft by ft deep hole every day of their incarceration. Stanley thinks he is there because of an old family curse involving his pig stealing great great grandfather who forgot to pay off the fortuneteller Madame Zeroni for her advice before coming to America. Soon a plot develops where Stanley (Shia LeBeouf) befriends the great great great great grandson of Madame Zeroni (Khleo Thomas), and together they discover the secret that the Warden (played by Sigourney Weaver) wants the boys to find. Stanley breaks the curse, and without giving away the ending, the Warden and Mr. Sir (the overseer played by Jon Voight) get their just desserts. The desert scenery is dreary and hot. And the flashbacks to the times before are done nicely, with a subplot complete with bandits, a onion-picker, and a schoolteacher turned killer. It's hard to follow the moving between the plot and subplot so it's best to see the movie a second time. Then read the book. Very delightful feel-good story with a happy ending.
Rating:
Summary: What's not to like?
Review: Popular children's author Louis Sachar converts his most intricate book into a screenplay, and director Andrew Davis, in collaboration, brings it gloriously to the big screen! Although I'm surrounded by a sea of terrific young 11 and 12 year old reviewers, "Holes" is for everyone! A young cast of actors, all talented, couples with Jon Voight as the over-the-top Camp Greenlake superintendent, "Mr. Sir".
Greenlake is a juvenile detention camp in the desert, and while conditions there are pretty oppressive, they are downplayed enough to make the movie safe for 9 and 10 year old viewers, as well. The charm of the book, and also the movie, is to tell the tale of the Yelnats clan, revolving it around young Stanley Yelnats IV's incarceration for something he didn't do. Flashback is used to revisit the era that both Stanley's great-grandfather and grandfather lived in. These flashback scenes, amazingly, focus not on the Yelnats, but more on the women who inflicted the family curse on them, arising in terrific roles for Eartha Kitt (as gypsy Madam Zeroni) and stagecoach robber Kissin' Kate
Barlow (played by the luminous and talented Patricia Arquette). Modern day is not without its own bad girl, with Sigourney Weaver as the Warden, who rules the camp with an iron fist. The Warden has her own agenda for the holes that the boys are forced to dig in the desert, and she's quirky, evil, and larger than life, looming over Voight and "Dr."(Tim Blake Nelson). Weaver's "Ex-c-uuuuuu-se Me?" line, used over and over in the film, is terrifying! The audience is caught up in the action from the opening screen, and given a couple of young anti-heroes that are worth their weight in gold. A cameo by the irresistible Dule Hill from "The West Wing", is also notable. "Holes" is perhaps the best family film of the last couple of years, and an outstanding example of what good filmmaking is all about! Highly recommended for sheer enjoyment!
Rating:
Summary: Requires attention, but worth it!
Review: Unlike others here, I was never exposed to the book, so this movie was a mystery to me. I'd heard the generally positive reviews and read what passed for plot synopsis, but all I came away with was, "What?!?" This is a difficult movie to synopsize without giving away too much of the intricately woven plot. If this is what young teen-agers are reading, there may be hope for us yet. This is a movie that requires constant attention. The plot is revealed in fits and starts with modern day action intercut with flashbacks and clues in plain view at the periphery of the scenes. The story is about the bad luck Yelnats clan, all of which leads to the youngest family scion, Stanley (his first and last name together are a palindrome). There are actually five interrelated subplots: 1) The origin of the family curse. 2) The history of the site of the juvenile detention camp where the protagonist finds himself. This takes place in the old west. 3) A story of Stanley's great-grandfather, who made a fortune and then lost it in events which touch on plot #2. 4) The story of the camp warden and her family. This also relates to plot #2. 5) The modern day plight of Stanley and his family. Sound complicated? It is, but it all entwines in some exceptional storytelling. The ending wraps up all five stories in an entirely satisfying way. So what is this and who would like it? Well, it's not a children's movie in any conventional sense. It requires attention and doesn't have a lot of "action". It's not riveting, but it is masterful storytelling. The film makers don't milk any scenes beyond their logical conclusion, so the intercutting between modern events and flashbacks could be disorienting to some viewers. The performances are all first rate. Jon Voigt is over the top as the dim-witted head guard, and Sigourney Weaver has her most deliciously evil role since "Snow White: A Tale of Terror". The juvenile roles are all excellent, especially the critical roles of Shia LaBeouf as Stanley and Khleo Thomas as "Zero". Eartha Kitt turns in a brief but effective performance as the old Latvian Gypsy who started the family curse. Patricia Arquette and Dulé Hill are touching in the critical roles as tragically star-crossed interracial lovers in the old west. If you let it, this is a highly involving film and time well spent. I was only going to give this 4 stars because it's not particularly showy, but wound up giving it 5 since it delivers everything it intends. The story is intricate, but still not particularly grand. But that's OK - this is a master work and deserves an audience.
Rating:
Summary: Magical!
Review: For the myriads of fans of the book, Good News! Author Louis Sacher did the screen adaptation, and Director Andrew Davis did an excellent job in creating the mood, leading his fine cast of young actors, and being faithful to the spirit and actuality of the book. Stanley Yelnats IV (Shia LaBouf), is a hard-luck boy, not surprising seeing his great-great grandpa had a curse laid on him for eternity by Madam Zeroni (Eartha Kitt). The Yelnats have had a habit of failure ever since. Stanley's Dad, (Henry Winkler) is working (unsuccessfully, of course) on inventing a perfect shoe-deodorizer. Ironically, Stanley is falsely arrested for stealing a great athlete's shoes. He is given a choice of jail or Camp Green Lake. Stanley innocently notes he's never been to camp before so---you just know This Was Not A Good Choice. Camp Green Lake is on a parched and barren desert. The lake disappeared a century before. Stanley is indoctrinated by down-and-dirty bad Mr. Sir (Jon Voight) who informs Stanley his days will be spent digging 5' x 5' holes to build "character" and any misstep will bring him to the Warden's (Sigourney Weaver) attention, a lady who coats her nails with rattlesnake venom. His fellow inmates who like to be known as X-Ray, Armpit, ZigZag and Magnet greet Stanley with hazing and hard times. His only true ally is tiny little Zero (Khleo Castro) who wants Stanley to teach him to read. The day-in-day-out work is filthy, backbreaking and endless. But Stanley is learning some secrets that might permit him to break the age-old curse of the Yelnats. Mr. Davis tells us Stanley and Camp Green Lake's history via flashbacks, and for the most part does a good job keeping the story moving, though it might be overly complex for younger viewers. Jon Voight is priceless as thoroughly bad, gimlet-eyed, bone stupid Mr. Sir. Sigourney Weaver is just shy of psychotic with her barely repressed rage at her situation. The boys are rightly terrified of her. "Holes" has a magnificent arc of a story and culminates in a manner that will have the audience cheering. There are a few scary scenes that might be too much for the viewer under nine, as well as the flashbacks that could be hard to understand. If you have doubts about suitability, read the book both to yourself and the child. That way you have a win/win situation. This is a don't miss movie.
-sweetmolly-Amazon Reviewer
Rating:
Summary: Taps into the Power of Myth, Respects the Emotion of Youth
Review: The book amazed me. I love to read and have read many good books, but "Holes" is one book that stands out among them all. The story was so original, yet so classic, and written in a way that I simply could not put it down. With this in mind, I was a little nervous about seeing the movie. I believed it would be an inevitable let down because it could not possibly live up to the book. I was *very* pleasantly surprised. The movie drew me in just like the book did. The actors were all amazing and protrayed each character with originality and clarity. The story flowed smoothly, entertwining the several generations of characters seamlessly. I had to watch it again the next day, and I am still carrying the story with me. Bravo! On my top list of all time films!
Rating:
Summary: Requires attention, but worth it!
Review: Unlike others here, I was never exposed to the book, so this movie was a mystery to me. I'd heard the generally positive reviews and read what passed for plot synopsis, but all I came away with was, "What?!?" This is a difficult movie to synopsize without giving away too much of the intricately woven plot. If this is what young teen-agers are reading, there may be hope for us yet. This is a movie that requires constant attention. The plot is revealed in fits and starts with modern day action intercut with flashbacks and clues in plain view at the periphery of the scenes. The story is about the bad luck Yelnats clan, all of which leads to the youngest family scion, Stanley (his first and last name together are a palindrome). There are actually five interrelated subplots: 1) The origin of the family curse. 2) The history of the site of the juvenile detention camp where the protagonist finds himself. This takes place in the old west. 3) A story of Stanley's great-grandfather, who made a fortune and then lost it in events which touch on plot #2. 4) The story of the camp warden and her family. This also relates to plot #2. 5) The modern day plight of Stanley and his family. Sound complicated? It is, but it all entwines in some exceptional storytelling. The ending wraps up all five stories in an entirely satisfying way. So what is this and who would like it? Well, it's not a children's movie in any conventional sense. It requires attention and doesn't have a lot of "action". It's not riveting, but it is masterful storytelling. The film makers don't milk any scenes beyond their logical conclusion, so the intercutting between modern events and flashbacks could be disorienting to some viewers. The performances are all first rate. Jon Voigt is over the top as the dim-witted head guard, and Sigourney Weaver has her most deliciously evil role since "Snow White: A Tale of Terror". The juvenile roles are all excellent, especially the critical roles of Shia LaBeouf as Stanley and Khleo Thomas as "Zero". Eartha Kitt turns in a brief but effective performance as the old Latvian Gypsy who started the family curse. Patricia Arquette and Dulé Hill are touching in the critical roles as tragically star-crossed interracial lovers in the old west. If you let it, this is a highly involving film and time well spent. I was only going to give this 4 stars because it's not particularly showy, but wound up giving it 5 since it delivers everything it intends. The story is intricate, but still not particularly grand. But that's OK - this is a master work and deserves an audience.
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