Made by adults who know the best kids' movies are the ones that don't talk down to kids.
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04/19/03
Holes (2003)
77
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:133
Fresh:103
Rotten:30
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: Faithful to its literary source, this is imaginative, intelligent family entertainment.
Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins
Genre: Childrens
Synopsis: Louis Sachar's acclaimed teen adventure novel comes to dazzling life with this wildly entertaining adaptation. Stanley Yelnats (Shia LaBeouf) is an unassuming adolescent whose family has been... [More]
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, Patricia Arquette
Director: Andrew Davis
Reviews for Holes
The time-tripping subplots are confusing, plus the slow-paced middle of this suspenseful, serendipitous coming-of-age adventure begs for judicious editing, but it's an intriguing premise with sly humor and a payoff worth waiting for. Dig it!
04/19/03
Not exactly conventional kiddie fare, but it nonetheless captures their imaginations.
04/18/03
A wonderfully dark fairy tale.
04/18/03
One can't help but feel thankful that the movie doesn't always go the expected route, that the characters have a little more depth to them than average, and that the complexity, which is the movie's basic weakness, is also its fundamental virtue.
04/18/03
Crazy as it is, Holes could be the Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory of 2003.
04/18/03
Older kids, fans of the book and parents who remember the fun of reading dark stories under the covers should be happily engrossed in this adventure.
04/18/03
One of the more bizarre but rather entertaining mainstream flicks to hit the big screen in some time.
04/18/03
A slightly better-than-average tale of friendship, sacrifice and survival.
04/18/03
As kids' films go, it's a thoughtful, superior piece of work, an entertaining picture that youngsters can enjoy on first viewing and perhaps fully grow into as they get a bit older.
04/18/03
The target audience may be satisfied that the book is being respected, and the adventures of Caveman and Zero have a rootable, Hardy Boys interest.
04/18/03
It earns our attention the old-fashioned way -- by telling a solid story without such modern distractions as computerized effects, rapid-fire editing or the usual gratuitous frills that signal a bankruptcy of ideas.
04/18/03
A perfect father-son movie.
04/18/03
One of those movies that gets most of the plot but none of the essence of the book.
04/18/03
[Sachar's] sprawling, shaggy-dog story snaps together as neatly on film as in print, but its artificial design is glaringly exposed.
04/18/03
A dense yarn with a range of humor, imagination and emotions as wide as the desert floor upon which it is set.
04/18/03
Fills a hole in the genre by not treating kids with kid gloves.
04/18/03
Whimsical, harrowing, heartwarming and, all props to Harry Potter, quite magical.
04/18/03
Why can't all so-called family movies be like Holes?
04/18/03
Holes is great storytelling and great stories are what make for superb entertainment.
04/18/03
Latest News for Holes
April 24, 2007:
Shia Getting LeBuff for "Indiana Jones 4"
You know how that kid from "Holes" was cast in the next "Indiana Jones"? Well, you might not recognize him by the time the flick hits theaters next year. More...
April 04, 2007:
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Since Rotten Tomatoes is a website dedicated to movies, movie fans and movie critics, we obviously think a lot of Roger Ebert around here. And after a series of surgeries and a... More...
February 20, 2007:
Shia LaBeouf as Indiana Jones Jr.?
Let's just toss this particular piece of movie gossip into the "wait and see" pile to see how it turns out. According to a few sources, word is that Shia LaBeouf may... More...
April 21, 2006:
"Transformers" Cast Shaping Into Something Cool
IGN FilmForce snagged some solid scoopage by learning the names of several actors attached to Michael Bay's "Transformers" adaptation. We learned last week that Shia... More...
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