Holes (2003)

Director:

Andrew Davis

Writers (WGA):

Louis Sachar (novel)
Louis Sachar (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 April 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Mystery

Tagline:

The book is now the movie.

Plot:

A wrongfully convicted boy is sent to a brutal desert detention camp where he joins the job of digging holes for some mysterious reason.

Plot Keywords:

Lake | Digging | Desert | Jail | Curse

Awards:

3 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Sigourney Weaver	...	Warden Walker
Jon Voight	...	Marion Sevillo / 'Mr. Sir'
Tim Blake Nelson	...	Dr. Pendanski
Shia LaBeouf	...	Stanley Yelnats IV / 'Caveman'
Khleo Thomas	...	Hector Zeroni / 'Zero'
Jake M. Smith	...	Alan / 'Squid'
Byron Cotton	...	Theodore / 'Armpit'
Brenden Jefferson	...	Rex / 'X-Ray'
Miguel Castro	...	José / 'Magnet'
Max Kasch	...	Ricky / 'Zigzag'
Noah Poletiek	...	Brian / 'Twitch'
Zane Holtz	...	Lewis / 'Barfbag'
Steven Kozlowski	...	Lump (as Steve Kozlowski)
Ski Carr	...	Guard
Roma Maffia	...	Atty. Carla Morengo

MPAA:

Rated PG for violence, mild language and some thematic elements.

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Netherlands:MG6 | Iceland:10 | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG | Denmark:11 | Germany:6 | New Zealand:PG | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #39623)

Filming Locations:

Anderson Street Overpass, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

A screenplay was initially written by Richard Kelly, who greatly departed from the source material by writing a dark, violent adaptation of the story set in a post-apocalyptic world. The studio reportedly found the script far too disturbing for a children's movie, rejecting it in favor of the final script written by the novel's author, Louis Sachar.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Caveman and Zero are sitting in the hole with Kissing Kate's loot and the lizards, you can see a bright, neon-green X on Caveman's suit which is a mark for the lizards to be placed.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Barfbag walks towards a rattlesnake]
X-Ray: Hey, Barfbag. What are you doing?
[Barfbag takes his shoe and sock off and steps on the snake, which bites him]
Barfbag: [yells] Aaaaaah!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

For Old Times Ache

Not your average kids film

Typically, "kids" films have some annoying quality to it that makes it way too sappy and unbearable for someone over 13. But then again, that's before Holes hit the scene. Sure, it has the very same moments that often times give a kids movie its aforementioned quality, but this film does a good job of staying away from such conventions. The acting was decent, and the uneasy dynamics that Stanley had with some of the other campers was more realistic than what most movies seek to portray. What I especially liked about this movie was the fact that this film didn't try to break your heart or make you cry. The emotional power was a little more natural than most would imagine, kind of like The Shawshank Redemption in many ways (which Holes also has a similar, redemptive ending to it). The only down side? The hokey looking lizards. Overall, however, an 8/10.