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Reviews14
gusmcrae's rating
I definitely think HOLES is worth the money you pay to get in, be it a matinee showing or a late night. The movie has humor, romance, adventure and mystery. It's been a long time since we've seen a 'clean' teen type of movie, especially one made by Disney.
The story is simple, though it takes awhile to realize that. Stanley Yelnats (notice the palindrome at work?) is a young teen, unjustly sentenced to serve some juvenile detention time at Camp Green Lake. Arriving there he discovers that there is no lake, that he is in the middle of Texas desert country, with a bunch of wild ruffians who spend their days laboring in the hot sun, digging holes (hence the title). As we are told about his time at the camp, we're also told amazing stories from the past-about Stanley's family history and curse, and another story about the history of Camp Greenlake. The stories all manage to wind themselves together, and you find yourself having an "Ah-hah moment" at the end as you figure out how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together exactly.
This is a wonderful tale of friendship. The young actors are all amazing. In a time where their witty sarcasm and silly exploits are all that we see of teens in movies, it was nice to see teens portrayed in a somewhat realistic manner. Granted it's not totally real, but very genuine at parts. The friendship that develops between Stanley and Hector is expecially so.
The movie is kind of jumpy at the beginning as it works to weave all the stories together. The scenes from the past are not the most historically accurate I'm sure, and that was somewhat bothersome, but after getting into the movie I didn't notice it as much. It's my major complaint about the film. The acting is superb as I said. Sigourney Weaver and Jon Voigt turn in some great performances.
Take the kids to see this one for sure. And heck, if you're an adult just wanting to be a kid for awhile, see it too. It's definitely worth it. 10 out of 10 stars!
The story is simple, though it takes awhile to realize that. Stanley Yelnats (notice the palindrome at work?) is a young teen, unjustly sentenced to serve some juvenile detention time at Camp Green Lake. Arriving there he discovers that there is no lake, that he is in the middle of Texas desert country, with a bunch of wild ruffians who spend their days laboring in the hot sun, digging holes (hence the title). As we are told about his time at the camp, we're also told amazing stories from the past-about Stanley's family history and curse, and another story about the history of Camp Greenlake. The stories all manage to wind themselves together, and you find yourself having an "Ah-hah moment" at the end as you figure out how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together exactly.
This is a wonderful tale of friendship. The young actors are all amazing. In a time where their witty sarcasm and silly exploits are all that we see of teens in movies, it was nice to see teens portrayed in a somewhat realistic manner. Granted it's not totally real, but very genuine at parts. The friendship that develops between Stanley and Hector is expecially so.
The movie is kind of jumpy at the beginning as it works to weave all the stories together. The scenes from the past are not the most historically accurate I'm sure, and that was somewhat bothersome, but after getting into the movie I didn't notice it as much. It's my major complaint about the film. The acting is superb as I said. Sigourney Weaver and Jon Voigt turn in some great performances.
Take the kids to see this one for sure. And heck, if you're an adult just wanting to be a kid for awhile, see it too. It's definitely worth it. 10 out of 10 stars!
I had the opportunity to see CHICAGO on stage a couple of years ago. It's not my favorite musical by any means (anyone seen RENT? LES MISERABLES???)...but it's full of winning numbers. Going into see the movie I looked forward to a few of them...ALL THAT JAZZ, CELLBLOCK TANGO, RAZZLE DAZZLE....but figured I'd be bored with the rest of the film.
Was I? Nope. Not for a second. The acting was pheonomanal. The choreography was top-notch. Overall the film is an easy 9, possibly even a 10. This high rating comes out of how incredibly smooth the film rolls along. The whole movie glides along, from number to number. It makes one realize just why this show has so many Tony's under it's belt, and hopefully now some Oscars.
A quick overview of the acting: Catherine Zeta-Jones IS Velma Kelly. She captures the glamour of that part in a way you could only hope an actress would manage to do. Not only that, but she can sing and dance too! So she's a triple threat! Go Catherine Zeta-Jones! Renee Zellwegger...what can I say about her? She's not my favorite actress. I honestly wasn't sure how she'd fit this role, but she proved that she could be Roxie Hart. As for Richard Gere, he hasn't looked so handsome in years. He carried Billy Flynn's arrogence like he was born with it himself. His singing wasn't the best, but the acting he did manages to make up for that. And how about that tap dance! Great! Queen Latifah was great as Mama Morton, fleshing out the character, bringing her to life. And John C. Reilly was probably the most perfectly cast in the nearly invisible role of Roxie's husband Amos. Loved his MR. CELLOPHANE.
Now for the film itself. The transition from song and dance numbers to 'real life' was done smoothly and usually was quite intricate with the numbers running at the same time as the 'real life'. I wasn't sure how they'd handle it after seeing the show, but I think the way they did it gave the movie an excellent sense of realism about it (something you can't see on stage where they mostly focus on the song and dance.) The film has smoke and mirrors, bright lights, color..... dancers....acrobats...got it all.
The only recommendation I would say is leave the kiddies at home. This is not a show for them. But for the rest of you (16 and up) it's a great show. There's a lot of laughs and the music will get your heals tapping.
Was I? Nope. Not for a second. The acting was pheonomanal. The choreography was top-notch. Overall the film is an easy 9, possibly even a 10. This high rating comes out of how incredibly smooth the film rolls along. The whole movie glides along, from number to number. It makes one realize just why this show has so many Tony's under it's belt, and hopefully now some Oscars.
A quick overview of the acting: Catherine Zeta-Jones IS Velma Kelly. She captures the glamour of that part in a way you could only hope an actress would manage to do. Not only that, but she can sing and dance too! So she's a triple threat! Go Catherine Zeta-Jones! Renee Zellwegger...what can I say about her? She's not my favorite actress. I honestly wasn't sure how she'd fit this role, but she proved that she could be Roxie Hart. As for Richard Gere, he hasn't looked so handsome in years. He carried Billy Flynn's arrogence like he was born with it himself. His singing wasn't the best, but the acting he did manages to make up for that. And how about that tap dance! Great! Queen Latifah was great as Mama Morton, fleshing out the character, bringing her to life. And John C. Reilly was probably the most perfectly cast in the nearly invisible role of Roxie's husband Amos. Loved his MR. CELLOPHANE.
Now for the film itself. The transition from song and dance numbers to 'real life' was done smoothly and usually was quite intricate with the numbers running at the same time as the 'real life'. I wasn't sure how they'd handle it after seeing the show, but I think the way they did it gave the movie an excellent sense of realism about it (something you can't see on stage where they mostly focus on the song and dance.) The film has smoke and mirrors, bright lights, color..... dancers....acrobats...got it all.
The only recommendation I would say is leave the kiddies at home. This is not a show for them. But for the rest of you (16 and up) it's a great show. There's a lot of laughs and the music will get your heals tapping.