Everywhere I go recently, all I hear about is the new film Holes. It got 3.5 stars from Ebert. And apparently, this was also a huge bestseller as well. I looked up a plot description of the film and here's what I got:

A bunch of kids dig holes.

Huh? How the hell did this become such a huge phenomenon? Are kids today so hard up for entertainment that this plotline interests them? Digging holes?

Seriously, what am I missing here?

Yeah, I'd never heard of this until just recently, being bombarded with television advertisements. I dunno, apparently it's supposed to be a pretty good kid's adventure movie, but it sure does look pretty lame.

If they make a sequal, I wonder what they'd call it... "Voids"? "Chasms"? "Fissures"?

Stupid title...

It has Sigourney Weaver in it. That's enough for me.

What about the tag line from the comercial?

"The book, is now a movie"

I can't wait now!!

That's the brilliance of the book....it apears to be about digging holes, but these holes lead to discoveries.

Very excellent book.

Wax on, wax off, Daniel-san!

Same vein?

I had never heard of the book or movie until I saw the trailer a few weeks back.

After reading about it, I really want to see this.

Best unintentional porn title ever!

"In fact, fans of Louis Sachar's 1998 novel (which won accolades as well as the admiration of kids and educators) and even those who haven't heard of it will dig Holes."

Dig...Holes...get it?

I don't get it.

Maybe it was your delivery.

Try me again.

so does ANYONE know what this is all about?

Doesn't look like anyone does..

I've seen the trailer a couple times in the theater and it didn't really explain very well what the movie was about there either. I kind of want to see it just because it stars the kid from Evens Stevens - he's a hoot!

You can find the studio's official synopsis here:

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/...?section=movie

According to the New York Times, Holes is "the best American movie released so far this year."

Amidst the Rob Zombie movie, Kangaroo Jack, and the like, it might not seem like a huge compliment...but it's still a very positive review for a genre that usually gets critically lambasted. I'm interested to see it.

The guys behind the marketing campaign really should try harder. The tv spots just cut various shots of kids walking around in a desert! Who the heck would want to spend money to see kids wandering a desert?!

Sounds like it's about a bunch of kids in a concentration camp that are forced by abusive wardens to dig holes. I can see why kids love it!

Maybe a bit of a stretch. The reviews look good but far from perfect....


http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/Holes-1121821/

Everything i hear it about it seems to lead to... kids dig holes... and stuff happens. :-/

Life's a hole, dig it?

I could make a joke, but I better not.

kids go to camp. camp warden or so forces the kids to dig holes in the desert or something. kids themsevles don't know why they are digging holes but do some investigating and find out there is some buried teasure or something valuable hidden out there and the head camp gal is using them as slaves. i don't know the rest of the plot but i could speculate.

I agree. Ever since I saw the first commercial, I thought it was going to be some kind of sci fi flick. Then I saw some new commericals and I thought, "Oh, wait, it must be a comedy." Then, "Oh, maybe it's an action adventure." And the book is such a huge hit, I guess it's not a cross over hit like Harry Potter because there are plenty of people who never heard of it, but I guess if you're a fan of the book then the trailers will appeal to you, but I see them and I am like, "WTF???"

I am an educator and have recently had a unit with my students on the book HOLES by Louis Sachar. We timed the finish of the book unit to coincide with the movie's release.

Let me say that I was VERY impressed with the movie. One of the best done movies of the year. And that's saying something since theater is a hobby of mine and I am usually very hard to impress. Even with the movie's complexities and twists that are hard to follow, the screenwriter (Sachar, himself) and the director did a fabulous job translating this to film. This is a quality job, folks --- both from an acting and technical point of view.

This is not only a "kids" movie. It is something all ages can enjoy. It is also a movie that has some "heart and soul" to it -- not just a trashy teen flick that is so common today. This movie is not a "done by the numbers" or "formula" flick; rather, it's an unconventional thought provoking movie that has melodrama, action, and comedy packed within.

If you haven't had a chance to see this movie, I would give it a very strong recommendation and would encourage you to go. I would like to see "Holes" do well to encourage film makers to continue to make movies such as this in the future.

My rating: 3.75 out of 4.00 stars. (A few minor special effects and editing flaws keep it from perfect).

I made a comment to one of my friends a few weeks ago that I've seen this film marketed at least 4 different ways:

Family Film
Sci-Fi
Action/Adventure
Comedy