*** Official "HOLES" Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now designated the Official Discussion Thread for "Holes" please, post all comments, links to outside reviews, film and box office discussion items to this thread.

All HTF member film reviews of "Holes" should be posted to the Official Review Thread.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.


Crawdaddy

 

[Camp]

I'm not going to see it and I've never even heard of the book but I'm curious enough to want to know:

Just what are they digging for?

 

[Adam_S]

To build character,
there's another motive, but you should really probably see hte movie as the story is charming and wonderful, I can't wait to see it and neither can my whole family (but we're out of town for the holidays and won't catch it until next week).

 

[Greg.K]

We'd purchased the book on tape for a family car trip a few months ago, and loved the story then. I think the movie was nice, Sigourney Weaver & John Voight were just about perfect as the Warden & Mr. Sir.

But I can imagine some people being somewhat confused by it if unfamiliar with the story.

For instance, I don't think the movie did a good job of explaining why the yellow-spotted lizards didn't bite Stanley and Zero. In the book, the explanation was made afterwards, and made the scene more suspenseful. In the movie, the explanation was a throw-away during one of the flashbacks early on and was likely forgotten.

The fact that the Camp Green Lake was going to be turned into a Girl Scout camp was a bigger ironic punchline in the book. In the movie, they just said "Girls Camp".

BTW, Louis Sachar had a cameo in the movie. My wife & kids met him at a book signing and he said to look for him in the flashback buying onions from Sam as a cure for baldness.

 

[Adam_S]

Greg we found the story via book on tape as well, I recognized Sachar's name and had heard good things about him so when I saw it on audio cd at the library I grabbed it. We haven't enjoyed an audio story that much sense cheaper by the dozen, a view from Saturday,
The Giver, or Maniac Mcgee (that's extremely good company to be keeping), and my Mom says its her favorite audio as well.

I hope the dvd has either an extended cut or a lot of deleted scenes. EArly test screenings said the film was about 15-20 minutes over two hours long, so they must have cut around 30 minutes from the original cut.


Too bad about the reason for not biting, it would have been extremely easy to do it in the film, they're all standing there frozen by the lizards, not daring to move and the camera holds this for thirty seconds or longer building tension, and then fade into the past for the explanation and fade back into the morning; neatly trimming all the long boring night out in the process.

Adam

 

[Hunter P]

Cool movie. A good way to spend a matinee. I am too lazy to look up the actors' names but Caveman and Zero did a really good job in the movie.

The flashback story seemed to have a Princess Bride feel to me. Maybe because it had Robin Wright Penn in it. I just kept getting reminded of the beginning of The Princess Bride. I wonder if the filmmakers had it in mind too.

BTW, I didn't stay for the end credits. What is the "small, small surprise"?

 

[Adam_S]

in the official reveiw thread, Jake Johnson said:

I felt that there were too many parts that were sped up into fast motion. I know this was done to make it look wacky, and kooky, but those scenes felt like a country music video. You ever notice that tons of countrty music videos have a lot of fast motion in them? country videos are the worst.

I didn't even notice this, and I'm not sure what exactly you're getting at. The only time there was speeded up motion was during the Kissin Kate Barlow montage. I'm reasonably sure that they mixed new footage (played at regular speed and digitally desaturated and aged [it looked terrible]) with old, silent-western stock footage. If it's the old stock footage, than its sped up because the footage was shot at 16 frames a second and when they insert it into the film it runs at 24 frames a second, half again as fast as the original footage. So its understandable that it seems speeded up. It's possible that they shot their own footage and then altered it to look like silent stock footage, but the differences between the speeded up footage and the regular footage are vast enough that I doubt it. Don't know why country music videos do the same effect, my guess is because its funny, and a lot of country music is supposed to make you laugh anyway.

Adam

 

[Matt Stone]

Can someone tell me how the last 20 minutes of the film played out? The damn projector broke, and while I could have stayed around to catch another showing for free, I had a class to get to.

 

[Claire Panke]

I was completely charmed by this movie. I took a friend's young sons and loved this film. Holes is definitely not for kids only. I can't believe it's from DIsney.

Matt, go catch it again to find out what happens (just what you think). ; )

 

[Matt Stone]

Well, at this point I can't get a refund anymore...and being a broke college student, I'm not spending another $8.25 to see that final 20 minutes.

 

[Dan Shogren]

I was greatly surprised at the FANTASTIC job disney did at adapting the wonderful book. I was expecting a sappy little kids movie (The only reason i saw it was because i read the book in 6th grade) but i definetly wasnt expecting to see a entertaining, great, funny, charming movie. 4 1/2 stars out of 5 (Just because they made caveman skinny)