I wouldn't say I'm a hard-core "Holes" fan. I heard the book was very good, read the book, indeed found it very good, and that was that. The movie looked decent, I admire Sigourney Weaver, and it's always morbidly fun to see how the movie people will interpret a book.
All in all, I was quite pleased with this film. It stayed true to the book, most of the boy actors gave respectable performances, and it remained upbeat and interesting. The emotional bits went at a good pace, and most of them didn't reach that scary level of corniness. I feel that most of the critics are just being sticks-in-the-mud--I chatted with a few friends who had never before read the book and they followed it well enough. A little intelligence when viewing a film doesn't hurt. #1. This ain't the first movie to do flashbacks. #2. Louis Sachar didn't write the original novel for pre-schoolers.
My only big complaint was Patricia Arquette. While she was delightful as the cute school marm, I had trouble believing her as a ruthless criminal.
There were a few other rough parts and some spots that, frankly, could have been handled differently. But for the most part, this is a good family film that everyone should enjoy.
All in all, I was quite pleased with this film. It stayed true to the book, most of the boy actors gave respectable performances, and it remained upbeat and interesting. The emotional bits went at a good pace, and most of them didn't reach that scary level of corniness. I feel that most of the critics are just being sticks-in-the-mud--I chatted with a few friends who had never before read the book and they followed it well enough. A little intelligence when viewing a film doesn't hurt. #1. This ain't the first movie to do flashbacks. #2. Louis Sachar didn't write the original novel for pre-schoolers.
My only big complaint was Patricia Arquette. While she was delightful as the cute school marm, I had trouble believing her as a ruthless criminal.
There were a few other rough parts and some spots that, frankly, could have been handled differently. But for the most part, this is a good family film that everyone should enjoy.