Holes on DVD
Okay, well admit it right up front. Wed never heard of the book
Holes, but had to admit that the trailers on TV interested us.
Then we got the DVD.
We tried; we really, really tried. Maybe its just us. We read innumerable
online reviews of Holes to see if wed missed the point. Perhaps we did.
But we tried, we really, really tried.
But in the end, we found this a very tedious time in the home theater. By that
time it was over, we were relieved to have lived through the experience.
There are some good themes here, and some real potential. But it appears wasted
to us, because its packaged into a movie that, despite memorable characters
and situations, suffers from the fact that its really, really boring.
Stanely Yelnats IV (Shia LaBeouf) is sentenced to Camp Green Lake, a youth
detention camp thats neither green nor has any evidence of a lake, for
a crime he didnt commit. The crime, theft of a pair of running shoes belonging
to a sports celebrity, wouldnt warrant such a sentence in real life -
especially since this is supposedly a first offence - but there you are. Stanley
finds himself at this POW-like institution where he and the other inmates are
charged with digging a five foot wide by five foot deep hole every day, supposedly
to build character.
It appears that character is something with which the kids are already imbued,
however, and theyre just like kids everywhere else: some are good, some
are bullies, some are quiet loners, etc.
As they dig, theyre admonished to look for interesting things
they may dig up, with the carrot being that if they find something that catches
the wardens fancy they might get out of digging for the rest of the day.
Meanwhile were treated to a more interesting back story, that of the
same area a hundred years or so ago when there was a lake and a real community
there. But its a tragic story wherein attractive school marm Katherine
Barlow is turned into Katherine 'Kissin' Kate' Barlow thanks to some racist
oafs who take offence to the fact that she was kissed by a black man (who, in
fact, seems to have more on the ball than any of them).
Kind of a politically correct Cat Ballou
But maybe its just us, but watching this was like listening to fingernails
scratching on a blackboard - in glorious 5.1 surround sound that would make
your hair stand on end.
To be fair, the cast is very good. Jon Voigt in particular seems to be having
a good time as the irascible Mr. Sir, who appears to be the camps drill
sergeant. Sigourney Weaver is also fine as the warden, and the kids are all
well-cast and turn in good performances. Our favorites, however, were Patricia
Arquette as Katherine Barlow and Dule Hill as Sam The Onion Man, who in a different
time could have been her love interest.
None of them are enough to save this film, however
.
The DVD is a different matter. Its a THX-approved transfer that looks
and sounds spectacular - a real waste of the technology as far as were
concerned
Needless to say, the video quality (which is presented in anamorphic widescreen,
16x9 TV compatible) is spectacular. Why, you can see every grain of sand in
those damn holes, and every dirt-stained line on the casts faces! Colors
are bright and rich (if they werent for the most part so sun-bleached)
and the images are sharp as can be.
Audio, which is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, doesnt display
a lot of surround but nevertheless is still excellent.
Then there are the extras. First up is a running commentary featuring cast
members La Beouf , Khleo Tomas, Jake M. Smith, and Max Kasch, and a filmmakers
commentary by director Andrew Davis and author/screenwriter Louis Sachar, a
Gag Reel of outtake-compatible stuff, and a "Dig It" Music Video
performed by the cast.
You also get a Making of Holes" featurette.
We're left to wonder why.
Oh well, maybe it's just us.
Holes, from Walt Disney Home Video
117 min. amamorphic widescreen (1.85:1, 16x9 TV compatible), Dolby Digital 5.1
surround
Starring Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, Patricia Arquette, Tim Blake Nelson,
Shia LaBeouf|
Produced by Mike Medavoy, Andrew Davis, Teresa Tucker-Davies, Lowell Blank
Written by Louis Sachar, directed by Andrew Davis
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