Rating: 
Summary: Shawshank Redemption + tall tales for teens
Review: The film of Louis Sachar's "Holes" is faithful to his novel, especially since he also wrote the screenplay.The basic story is that unlucky and cursed Stanley Yelnats is sentenced to Camp Green Lake for a crime he didn't commit. He can blame most of his bad luck on the curse handed down by his "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great grandfather" Elya Yelnats, who emigrated from Latvia years before. Stanley arrives at Camp Green Lake and quickly discovers that there is no longer a lake and in fact there's nearly nothing but desert. There are plenty of holes, however, and each day each boy is required to dig a hole five feet deep and five feet in diameter. Digging the holes is supposed to build character, but the Warden, played nastily cool by Sigourney Weaver, has more sinister intentions. As back story, we learn about Stanley's ancestor and how the curse was handed down from an ill-fated marriage proposal. There was also his great-grandfather who was robbed by the outlaw "Kissin'" Kate Barlow.
Another subplot shows Kate Barlow (Patricia Arquette) as a school teacher who commits the crime of falling in love with and kissing the town onion farmer (West Wing's Dule Hill) and then opening up the town's prejudice. There's a darkly tragic outcome.
All of these elements tie in together with the boy's "character building" hole digging. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the spotted yellow lizards. The ones in the movie kind of looked like the dilophosaurus from Jurassic Park that killed Nedry/Newman Wayne Knight. But I digress... While the smaller roles of the adults filled by Weaver, Arquette, Hill, Henry Winkler, Jon Voight and Tim Blake Nelson are faithful to the novel, it's Shia LaBeouf as Stanley and Khleo Thomas as Zero who really bring the story to life. Their flight across the desert and climb up the mountain to "God's Thumb" is the heart of the story and a great buddy journey. The other members of D-Tent are right on as well. The only major change from the novel was that in the book Stanley was overweight and loses it doing the digging, which is hard to pull off in a movie. Also, the deleted scenes give a better idea of how his innocence was proven, which is pretty brisk in the regular theatrical version. I recommend reading the novel first, then seeing the movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Such a cute & entertaining film!
Review: I read the book before I saw the movie and I was worried that I would be disapointed, but I wasn't at all. The charectors match the novel so well and the story is just so cute. The only thing that got me upset was the fact that this movie isn't exactly totally apropriate for kids. They swear a few times enough to make it PG-13. The story is about Stanley Yelnats who is wrongly accused of stealing a celebritie's shoes. Instead of spending time in jail, he is sent to Camp Greenlake, a place out in the middle of nowhere. To make it more ironic, there is absolutely no water of any kind, not to mention a "green lake". The peculiar thing about this camp is that the kids are required to dig holes every day, apparently to "build charector." Their are secrets around every corner, and the story is just so interesting. I love the fact that it all connects in the end and is so original. If you love the movie, try the book...it's even better!
Rating:
Summary: High-Quality Children's Entertainment!
Review: Stanely Yelnats IV (Shia LeBeouf) has had a run of bad luck lately. Well, actually, his whole life has been a run of bad luck, but recently his luck has been really bad. I mean, how many people get hit with some sneakers falling out of the sky and are convicted of stealing them? How was Stanley supposed to know that the sneakers belonged to a famous baseball player? Of course, no one believes him and he has the choice of going to jail or to Camp Green Lake. Stanley has always wanted to go away to camp like other kids do, so he leaps at the chance to go to Camp Green Lake. But when Stanley arrives, he discovers that there is no lake at Camp Green Lake - there are just a bunch of holes. It doesn't take Stanley long to figure out that there is more to Camp Green Lake than meets the eye. At first it is all Stanley can do to dig his 5 x 5 foot hole everyday and deal with the bad-tempered, sunflower-seed-spitting Mr. Sir (Jon Voight), the seemingly kind-hearted Mr. "Mom" Pendanski (Tim Blake Nelson), the rattlesnake-venom fingernail polish of the Warden (Sigourney Weaver), the bizarre heirarchy of the boys led by X-Ray (Brenden Jefferson), and a host of other characters including Zero (Khleo Thomas), whom everyone believes is nothing. As Stanley spends time at Camp Green Lake, he learns more and more about himself and discovers that the camp really was successful in building his character... I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It was fast & fun with quirky characters and four different stories tied together into one. The main story is the one of Stanley Yelnats IV and his experiences at camp, but we also follow the story of Stanley Yelnats I who was robbed in the middle of the desert and survived by using "God's thumb", there is Stanley's "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather" who got him into this mess in the first place, and the sad story of Kissin' Kate Barlow, the notorious outlaw who robbed Stanley Yelnats I. These stories are creatively woven together and have lots of humor, sometimes dark humor, but the stories are quite funny all the same. If you enjoyed the movie, I highly recommend that you read the book because you will get to know more about the characters, but the director did a very good job at staying true to the book. If you are looking for something out of the norm to watch with your family that is well acted and just plain fun, look no further!
Rating:
Summary: THOROUGHLY ENJOYING
Review: I'M AN ADULT AND I ADORED THIS MOVIE-IT'S NOT JUST FOR 'KIDS'. I HAD NEVER READ THE BOOK BEFORE, SO I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT, AND IT WAS VERY ENTERTAINING! I CANNOT WAIT TO WATCH THIS AGAIN, AND I AM GOING TO MAKE MY SISTER AND HUSBAND WATCH IT WITH ME BECAUSE I KNOW THEY WILL ENJOY IT TOO. IT CONTAINS A VERY INTERESTING AND UNIQUE PLOT LINE... I WAS STARVING HUNGRY WHEN I WAS WATCHING THIS, AND IT WAS SO DELIGHTFUL, I COULDN'T EVEN PUT IT ON PAUSE TO GO GET A QUICK SNACK! I DIDN'T WANT TO BE INTERRUPTED! TRY RENTING IT, YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED !
Rating:
Summary: Cursed Stanley Digs Holes...
Review: One day when Stanley Yelnats is on his way home a pair of shoes falls on top of his head that has been stolen from an orphanage. The police catch him with the shoes and they are not convinced that the shoes fell on his head. As a result, Stanley is sent to Camp Green Lake for juvenile delinquents where he digs holes under the desert sun and when the moon appears he must avoid the lethal yellow spotted lizards. This is compounded by a family curse that goes back to the 1900's which he thinks is still haunting him. Holes is a multifaceted story that is aimed for a younger audience, but it is still a terrific adventure for adults. In addition, as the story unfolds it teaches several valuable lessons for both young and old that promote thoughtful reflection.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book.Terrible movie
Review: I would have given it fewer stars if that was possible!
Today, I finished reading the book Holes for my daughter. If you want a good story that is well written and clever on top of being not very cliché, I highly recommend the BOOK. However, no matter the temptation, DO NOT BUY OR RENT THE MOVIE VERSION! The movie is terribly paced and only acted well on the part of three of the characters. John Voight, who plays a character called Mr. Sir, nearly saved several scenes. But, following the latest trends, Disney tried to blackify the story. The movie is crammed with poorly edited r&b and hip-hop music that is too loud and terribly out of place most of the time. In addition, the dialogue is something out of a nightmare of George Bush doing an impersonation of Vanilla Ice trying to be as black as one of the Beastie Boys. The story is changed enough that it loses just about all of its magic and wit. Also, it doesn't leave anything at all to your imagination.
The book, however, is fantastic. My daughter and I loved it thoroughly. It is imaginative, witty and well-paced. There is a good bit of clever humor. There is also sugar-free love, and well-measured danger. There are two violent scenes, but nothing that one can't handle, or explain in the context of the story. The Disney version, on the other hand, stuffs these scenes in to try to wake up those who fell asleep and do to the changes in pace, the scenes are much more gratuitous. In my opinion, there was no stereotyping in the book. But the movie was typical Disney casting which goes something like this: Director: Let's go downtown and try to get a feel for what
the "inner city" is like. I want
this movie to feature real-life characters. Casting director: But, isn't that dangerous? Dircetor: Ya, you're right, maybe we'll just watch a couple of
hours of Menudo and try to
get a good grasp on the modern day lingo of today's
African American youth.
They do still prefer that term, right? Casting Director: Yesiree, my brother! This would have been a better movie had Tim Burton directed it...but I guess his plate was full with "Big Fish".
Rating:
Summary: Great book. Terrible movie!
Review: I would have given it fewer stars if that was possible! Today, I finished reading the book Holes for my daughter. If you want a good story that is well written and clever on top of being not very cliché, I highly recommend the BOOK. However, no matter the temptation, DO NOT BUY OR RENT THE MOVIE VERSION! The movie is terribly paced and only acted well on the part of three of the characters. John Voight, who plays a character called Mr. Sir, nearly saved several scenes. But, following the latest trends, Disney tried to blackify the story. The movie is crammed with poorly edited r&b and hip-hop music that is too loud and terribly out of place most of the time. In addition, the dialogue is something out of a nightmare of George Bush doing an impersonation of Vanilla Ice trying to be as black as one of the Beastie Boys. The story is changed enough that it loses just about all of its magic and wit. Also, it doesn't leave anything at all to your imagination.
The book, however, is fantastic. My daughter and I loved it thoroughly. It is imaginative, witty and well-paced. There is a good bit of clever humor. There is also sugar-free love, and well-measured danger. There are two violent scenes, but nothing that one can't handle, or explain in the context of the story. The Disney version, on the other hand, stuffs these scenes in to try to wake up those who fell asleep and do to the changes in pace, the scenes are much more gratuitous. In my opinion, there was no stereotyping in the book. But the movie was typical Disney casting which goes something like this: Director: Let's go downtown and try to get a feel for what
the "inner city" is like. I want
this movie to feature real-life characters. Casting director: But, isn't that dangerous? Dircetor: Ya, you're right, maybe we'll just watch a couple of
hours of Menudo and try to
get a good grasp on the modern day lingo of today's
African American youth.
They do still prefer that term, right? Casting Director: Yesiree, my brother! This would have been a better movie had Tim Burton directed it...but I guess his plate was full with "Big Fish".
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable Movie with a Distinctive Disney feel
Review: This is an enjoyable movie with a distinctive Disney feel to it. It seemed a little slow in the middle but the plot was interesting and the ending heartwarming. Two family curses intertwine in the arid West Texas landscape when Stanley Yelnats is sent to Lake Greenwood for stealing a pair of shoes which he, of course, did not actually steal. This, he figures, stands to figure as all the males in his family have been cursed since his great, great grandfather failed to keep a promise to a gypsy soothsayer in the old country. Lake Greenwood is not a lake but it used to be. When a black man was shot in cold blood over a hundred years ago over a kiss from the white schoolteacher (Disney picks some strange stuff for their children's movies, don't they) a curse falls on the area and no rain falls from that day forward. The lake dries up and the family that owns it, now represented by Sigourney Weaver as the warden of Lake Greenwood, is digging holes. Each child in the juvenile center is to dig one hole five feet deep and five feet wide every day. Only Stanley can piece together what they are looking for but first he has to take care of his own family curse.
Rating:
Summary: Great story, great film!
Review: I'd heard great things about this movie. Everyone would tell me I had to see it. So, finally, I rented it and watched it with my husband. Usually when a movie is touted as a must-see, my high expectations are dashed upon seeing the movie. Not the case with this one! I love movies that have lots of smaller parallel plots along with the main one that all come together at the end. It's great for all ages, though younger kids may need a little explanative narrative from an older viewer to help them follow along. We loved it, and I'm recommending it to everyone who hasn't seen it yet.
Rating:
Summary: Defenetly a good DVD to own!!!
Review: My class finished reading Holes 1 week before it came in theaters! The movie dident leave out anything at all. It followed the book really well! Great cast,and Caveman the star of the movie is played by Shia Lebeuf from Evenstevens on Disney channel. I own the DVD and its filled with great special features like,"Dig it up" music video,cast interveiws,and more!
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