To be honest, I was inspired to go see HOLES by HBO's "Project Greenlight 2." I went to see this film for the main purpose of seeing Shia LaBeouf's performance. Shia was not bad at all, but compared to other top young actors of the past decade it was nothing special. Haley Joel Osmet (THE SIXTH SENSE, A.I.), Judith Vittet (CITY OF LOST CHILDREN), and Natalie Portman (THE PROFESSIONAL, EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU) have set the bar pretty high, and Shia can't quite get over it. He is squarely in the middle of the pack. Perhaps in the top portion of the middle of the pack, but middle of the pack nonetheless. Victory or defeat at THE BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS may depend upon how much fight Shia has in him.
Back to HOLES. HOLES is a moderately entertaining film with some fairly sizable negatives. The most notable one if its use of flashbacks. There are flashbacks to at least three different time periods, including a flashback within a flashback. A film like GODFATHER: PART II, with a director like Coppola, can get away with this. HOLES cannot. Its director, Andrew Davis, has had some success with action movies (THE FUGITIVE, UNDER SIEGE) and one notable thriller (A PERFECT MURDER), but most of his films are of the "near miss" or "not even close" variety (COLLATERAL DAMAGE, CHAIN REACTION). He can add HOLES to the former category on his resume.
*** SPOILERS ***
The story is an impossible one: a camp for wayward boys exists in the middle of nowhere where comically sadistic counselors force the juvenile delinquents to engage in backbreaking labor under a blistering sun. There are no attempts to educate them in any way other than "we will beat bad behavior out of you." Gee, I wonder where these kids are going to end up as adults? My first guess would be a state or federal penitentiary. The new guy in camp, Stanley "Caveman" Yelnats, slowly pieces together the information from the flashbacks and discovers the secret of the camp, which I will not reveal here. I will reveal that it's a fairly decent payoff and ties up all the storylines into a neat little package.
This film is great for teens, not too childish and simplistic and not too complex. It may be a little...rough for younger preteen viewers. There are some mild four-letter words thrown around, and a few moments of deadly violence (that aren't actually seen onscreen), and the overall theme is somewhat dark (see previous paragraph). Older viewers won't be put off by the silly moments and will appreciate the depth of this Disney film. They may also appreciate Jon Voigt giving one of his most entertaining performances since the 70's. What happened to THAT guy?
Note: One of the flashback sequences focuses on an interracial relationship between a black merchant and a white schoolmarm. At the showing I went to, when the film showed a close-up kiss between the two, a man gathered his wife and family and ushered them out of the theater, never to return. Ahhh the joys of living in the South.
*** END SPOILERS ***
Rating: a very positive 6/10. Should be a worthwhile rental when the DVD comes out, if you're looking for something light.
Back to HOLES. HOLES is a moderately entertaining film with some fairly sizable negatives. The most notable one if its use of flashbacks. There are flashbacks to at least three different time periods, including a flashback within a flashback. A film like GODFATHER: PART II, with a director like Coppola, can get away with this. HOLES cannot. Its director, Andrew Davis, has had some success with action movies (THE FUGITIVE, UNDER SIEGE) and one notable thriller (A PERFECT MURDER), but most of his films are of the "near miss" or "not even close" variety (COLLATERAL DAMAGE, CHAIN REACTION). He can add HOLES to the former category on his resume.
*** SPOILERS ***
The story is an impossible one: a camp for wayward boys exists in the middle of nowhere where comically sadistic counselors force the juvenile delinquents to engage in backbreaking labor under a blistering sun. There are no attempts to educate them in any way other than "we will beat bad behavior out of you." Gee, I wonder where these kids are going to end up as adults? My first guess would be a state or federal penitentiary. The new guy in camp, Stanley "Caveman" Yelnats, slowly pieces together the information from the flashbacks and discovers the secret of the camp, which I will not reveal here. I will reveal that it's a fairly decent payoff and ties up all the storylines into a neat little package.
This film is great for teens, not too childish and simplistic and not too complex. It may be a little...rough for younger preteen viewers. There are some mild four-letter words thrown around, and a few moments of deadly violence (that aren't actually seen onscreen), and the overall theme is somewhat dark (see previous paragraph). Older viewers won't be put off by the silly moments and will appreciate the depth of this Disney film. They may also appreciate Jon Voigt giving one of his most entertaining performances since the 70's. What happened to THAT guy?
Note: One of the flashback sequences focuses on an interracial relationship between a black merchant and a white schoolmarm. At the showing I went to, when the film showed a close-up kiss between the two, a man gathered his wife and family and ushered them out of the theater, never to return. Ahhh the joys of living in the South.
*** END SPOILERS ***
Rating: a very positive 6/10. Should be a worthwhile rental when the DVD comes out, if you're looking for something light.