Holes
I bought the book "Holes" on the weekend and both John and I zipped through the book in the last few days. It was highly readable, intriguing, with a witty engaging writing style, sympathetic characters, subplots that intertwine wonderfully with the main plot, as well as some deeply moving messages about friendship and destiny.
John and I decided we couldn't wait until the weekend to go see the movie so we went to see it tonight.
My first comment is to
jewelsong, who told me yesterday how much she and her daughters liked the book and how she was apprehensive that the movie couldn't be as moving. My recommendation, jewelsong? Go see the movie. I don't think you will be disappointed. I know I wasn't. It certainly moved me.
I think it helped a great deal that Sachar wrote the screenplay as well as the novel, but the movie is extremely true to the book. The main plot and the interweaving of the crucial subplots is really deftly done. One of the pleasures of the movie for those of us who have read the book is seeing how neatly all the pieces of the story fit together and are realized on the screen. In a story as wonky as this one I was caught off guard by how moved I was by some of the characters and relationships- the central friendship between Stanley and Hector, the love story of Katherine and Sam, the warmth of Stanley's family, the surprising vulnerability of the Warden and just how magically all these characters affect each other's lives.
The casting is wonderfully done and the boy playing Zero is particularly charming. Stanley's family is perfect, Jon Voight is both goofy and menacing as Mr. Sir and Sigourney Weaver (sp?) is ruthless and surprisingly sympathetic as the Warden. And Eartha Kitt as Madame Zeroni- how cool is that? You can tell these "A-list" actors are having the time of their lives and taking the material seriously.
John thought the ending of the movie was laid on a little thick (too many coincidences all happening at once), but I think Sachar sets up his story well enough that I buy into the ending just fine. I really liked the movie a lot, it made me very happy.
I'm so glad I finally found the time to get to know this story. It will go on the shelf with my favorite children's books and I'll certainly buy the DVD when it's available.
John and I decided we couldn't wait until the weekend to go see the movie so we went to see it tonight.
My first comment is to
jewelsong, who told me yesterday how much she and her daughters liked the book and how she was apprehensive that the movie couldn't be as moving. My recommendation, jewelsong? Go see the movie. I don't think you will be disappointed. I know I wasn't. It certainly moved me.I think it helped a great deal that Sachar wrote the screenplay as well as the novel, but the movie is extremely true to the book. The main plot and the interweaving of the crucial subplots is really deftly done. One of the pleasures of the movie for those of us who have read the book is seeing how neatly all the pieces of the story fit together and are realized on the screen. In a story as wonky as this one I was caught off guard by how moved I was by some of the characters and relationships- the central friendship between Stanley and Hector, the love story of Katherine and Sam, the warmth of Stanley's family, the surprising vulnerability of the Warden and just how magically all these characters affect each other's lives.
The casting is wonderfully done and the boy playing Zero is particularly charming. Stanley's family is perfect, Jon Voight is both goofy and menacing as Mr. Sir and Sigourney Weaver (sp?) is ruthless and surprisingly sympathetic as the Warden. And Eartha Kitt as Madame Zeroni- how cool is that? You can tell these "A-list" actors are having the time of their lives and taking the material seriously.
John thought the ending of the movie was laid on a little thick (too many coincidences all happening at once), but I think Sachar sets up his story well enough that I buy into the ending just fine. I really liked the movie a lot, it made me very happy.
I'm so glad I finally found the time to get to know this story. It will go on the shelf with my favorite children's books and I'll certainly buy the DVD when it's available.