Interesting news:
BECOME A WIZARD AT CHESS WITH THE HARRY POTTER CHESS COLLECTION
STEP BY STEP MANUALS AND AUTHENTIC REPLICA CHESS SET BRING THE GAME OF CHESS TO LIFE RIGHT IN YOUR HOME
AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE UNITED STATES, THE HARRY POTTER CHESS COLLECTION IS NOT AVAILABLE IN STORES
ORDER ONLY ONLINE AT www.TIMELIFE.COM/HPCHESS
Let the fun of wizard chess come to life in your hands with The Harry Potter Chess Collection. Thirty-two richly illustrated manuals divulgethe strategies and tricks needed to transform you into a wizard at chess -- whether you are a beginner or already know the game. Full of original photos from the Harry Potter films, and a chess quiz at the end of every issue, these manualswill teach you how to trounce the enemy like Harry and Ron.
EACH PIECE HAS ITS OWN SPECIAL EFFECT
The Harry Potter Chess Collection includes an authentic, scaled-down replica of the life-sized wizard chess set seen in the film that started it all, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” And each “enchanted” piece has its own special effect, bringing the Harry Potter Chess Collection to life in your own home. Guide your rook with a magic wand, see pawns self destruct when captured, and watch the king lower his head and groan in defeat. The knights neigh, the bishops crash, and the queens glow when moved. Whether you’re a Harry Potter fan or a chess aficionado, The Harry Potter Chess Collection is a treasure to play.
LIMITED QUANTITIES AVAILABLE NOW; PREORDER TODAY!
Preorders are being accepted today! The quantities are limited so don’t miss out on your chance to get The Harry Potter Chess Collection. The estimated ship date is August 1, 2011.
AMAZING EXTRAS
The Harry Potter Chess Collection also includes two magic wands that move your Rooks across the board, and anauthentic recreation of Hermione’s Time-TurnerTM.
BENEFITS OF CHESS
As a game of strategy and patience, the benefits of chess are many. With the Harry Potter Chess Collection, you’ll discover the master’s tricks, strategies and tactics while developing iron logic and nerves of steel.
The Harry Potter Chess Collection is only available at www.TimeLife.com/HPChess and only in limited quantities. Don’t miss out.
The Harry Potter Chess Collection includes:
32 Authentic Replica Chess Pieces, each with a thrilling special effect
2 Magic Wands that actually guide your Rooks on the board – as if by magic!
1 Light Up Chess Board to illuminate your progress in the game
32 Collector’s Manuals with expert advice and strategies
1 Authentic Recreation of Hermione’s Time-TurnerTM
Signed Certificate of Authenticity, proving the chess set is an authentic replica from “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”
Pre-Order Begins: June 13, 2011
Anticipated Ship Date: July 31, 2011
List Price: $249.95
About TimeLife.com
Headquartered in Fairfax VA, Time Life Inc. was founded in 1961 as a direct marketing company specializing in music and books. It has since grown to become one of the world¹s largest direct marketers of audio and video products, selling more than 13 million units each year throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Time Life set the standard in the direct response industry by pioneering direct marketing techniques, building one of the most trusted and recognized brands in commerce. The company now also sells their products through major traditional and non-traditional retailers around the world as well as via the Internet. Time Life is a registered trademark of Time Warner Inc. used under license by Direct Holdings Americas Inc., which is not affiliated with Time Warner Inc.
About Warner Bros. Consumer Products
Warner Bros. Consumer Products, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world.
HARRY POTTER characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Harry Potter Publishing Rights © JKR.
Warner Bros. licensed products are available from this website only to customers within the United States of America and Canada
The official Harry Potter website is located at http://www.harrypotter.com/
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
SUPER 8 Mini-Site Launches from West Virginia Film Office
WV Film Office launches ‘Super 8’ promo site
CHARLESTON, W. VA. – “Super 8” is one of the most anticipated films of the summer, and the West Virginia Film Office is launching a dedicated website to celebrate the release of the film which was shot in and around Weirton.
The website, www.wvfilm.com/super8, will allow fans to get a look at some of the behind-the-scene elements of what is expected to be a blockbuster for Paramount Pictures. The film will open nationwide on June 10.
“Super 8” is set in a small town in the summer of 1979. A group of young friends are making a super 8 movie when they witness a catastrophic train crash, after which they suspect it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin happening, prompting the local deputy to investigate. The truth is something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined.
The movie was directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg, and stars Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Ron Eldard and Noah Emmerich. In addition, numerous West Virginians were hired to work on the crew and hundreds were extras in the film.
The website features a timeline that reveals how “Super 8” came to shoot in West Virginia, from the first call to the state Film Office to the theatrical release. “People often ask how we do what we do, when every project is different in its scope and needs,” said Pam Haynes, director of the Film Office. “We hope this site, and in particular, the timeline, will provide a glimpse of the work that goes into recruiting the film industry to the state.”
Other special features include interviews with local crew members, community leaders and visiting industry professionals who were made to feel welcome in Weirton. Also, you can find selected news clips and behind-the-scenes photos of the production. Haynes added that the website will be regularly updated with new information as it becomes available.
Part of the lure for Paramount to shoot in Weirton was the West Virginia Film Industry Investment Act, a tax credit program designed to recruit film business to the state. Paramount filmed in Weirton for four weeks in September and October 2010 with additional days in February 2011.
Haynes said one of the ways Weirton is taking advantage of the tourism potential from the film is by conducting tours of the locations where “Super 8” was shot. There also is a brochure that includes a list of those locations available for fans. Weirton was recently named one of the top five movie location destinations to visit this summer by Fandango.
The West Virginia Film Office is a section under the WV Division of Tourism at the WV Department of Commerce, and can be visited at http://www.wvfilm.com/.
CHARLESTON, W. VA. – “Super 8” is one of the most anticipated films of the summer, and the West Virginia Film Office is launching a dedicated website to celebrate the release of the film which was shot in and around Weirton.
The website, www.wvfilm.com/super8, will allow fans to get a look at some of the behind-the-scene elements of what is expected to be a blockbuster for Paramount Pictures. The film will open nationwide on June 10.
“Super 8” is set in a small town in the summer of 1979. A group of young friends are making a super 8 movie when they witness a catastrophic train crash, after which they suspect it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin happening, prompting the local deputy to investigate. The truth is something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined.
The movie was directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg, and stars Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Ron Eldard and Noah Emmerich. In addition, numerous West Virginians were hired to work on the crew and hundreds were extras in the film.
The website features a timeline that reveals how “Super 8” came to shoot in West Virginia, from the first call to the state Film Office to the theatrical release. “People often ask how we do what we do, when every project is different in its scope and needs,” said Pam Haynes, director of the Film Office. “We hope this site, and in particular, the timeline, will provide a glimpse of the work that goes into recruiting the film industry to the state.”
Other special features include interviews with local crew members, community leaders and visiting industry professionals who were made to feel welcome in Weirton. Also, you can find selected news clips and behind-the-scenes photos of the production. Haynes added that the website will be regularly updated with new information as it becomes available.
Part of the lure for Paramount to shoot in Weirton was the West Virginia Film Industry Investment Act, a tax credit program designed to recruit film business to the state. Paramount filmed in Weirton for four weeks in September and October 2010 with additional days in February 2011.
Haynes said one of the ways Weirton is taking advantage of the tourism potential from the film is by conducting tours of the locations where “Super 8” was shot. There also is a brochure that includes a list of those locations available for fans. Weirton was recently named one of the top five movie location destinations to visit this summer by Fandango.
The West Virginia Film Office is a section under the WV Division of Tourism at the WV Department of Commerce, and can be visited at http://www.wvfilm.com/.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Review: High Quality Ensemble Leads "Galaxy Quest" (Happy B'day, Tim Allen)
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Running time: 102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some action violence, mild language, and sensuality
DIRECTOR: Dean Parisot
WRITERS: David Howard and Robert Gordon; from a story by David Howard
PRODUCERS: Mark Johnson and Charles Newirth
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jerzy Zielinski
EDITOR: Don Zimmerman
SCI-FI/COMEDY/ADVENTURE
Starring: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell, Enrico Colantino, Robin Sachs, Patrick Breen, Missi Pyle, Jed Rees, and Justin Long
For a period of 4 years from the late 70’s to the early 80’s, on a sci-fi television series called “Galaxy Quest,” the starship, NSEA Protector, and its crew set off on thrilling and dangerous missions in outer space, until the show was cancelled. Twenty years after the series began, the five stars of the classic show: Jason Nesmith as Commander Peter Quincy Taggart (Tim Allen); Gwen DeMarco as Lt. Tawny Madison (Sigourney Weaver); Alexander Dane as Dr. Lazarus (Alan Rickman); Fred Kwan as Tech Sgt. Chen (Tony Shaloub); and Tommy Webber as Lt. Laredo (Daryl Mitchell) are still in costume, making appearances at various Galaxy Quest shows and sci-fi conventions, making speeches and signing autographs for their rabid and die-hard fans.
However, a new group of fans that are a bit too “far out,” appear at one of the conventions, but it turns out they really are aliens – the Thermians from the planet Thermia located in the Klatuu Nebula. The Thermians, who saw Galaxy Quest when the TV transmissions of the show traveled through space and reached their planet, believe that Galaxy Quest was a series of “historical documents,” of the real events. They shockingly believe that Galaxy Quest was about a real commander and his crew. They’ve built an exact replica of the Protector, but it is fully functional and operational. The Thermians whisk the crew off into space on an adventure to help them in their all-too-real war against the vile and deadly General Roth’h’ar Sarris (Robin Sachs). Now, the original crew plus Galaxy Quest TV show extra Guy Fleegman (Sam Rockwell) have to use their wits and their acting talents to save the Thermians and their own lives.
Galaxy Quest is simply an ode to the ultimate cult TV series, the original 1960’s “Star Trek.” This movie plays on the notion of the original Trek cast trying to escape the fame (or infamy) that came with being on the show, although the series’ enduring popularity made them famous and kept earning them money. Galaxy Quest’s hook is to ask the question, “What if the cast of such a show really had to be interstellar space adventurers taking on deadly galactic threats?” Ultimately, the film takes this novel idea and turns it into a superb, comic sci-fi film – one of the best sci-fi comedies ever to hit the screen. Anyone who has ever seen Star Trek will get the jokes and in-jokes because this film is so obviously a riff on everything that has to do with Star Trek, from the series itself to the Trek actors and the rabid Star Trek fan base, known as “Trekkies.”
I don’t know if someone who has never seen Star Trek will get this flick (“Galaxy Quest” was the title of an actual short lived Canadian TV series), but those who know Trek will love the gentle reminder of what made the series good and what makes it fun to be a fan. When Galaxy Quest seems to ask, “What if this were real?” we can feel that and can dream of how much fun it would be, and this winning and charming film captures that sense of fun.
8 of 10
A
Saturday, May 27, 2006
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Sunday, June 12, 2011
Review: "TRON: Legacy" is All Good All on its Own
TRON: Legacy (2010)
Running time: 125 minutes (2 hours, 5 minutes)
MPAA – PG sequences of sci-fi action violence and brief mild language
DIRECTOR: Joseph Kosinski
WRITERS: Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz; from a story by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal (based upon the characters created by Steven Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird)
PRODUCERS: Sean Bailey, Steven Lisberger, and Jeffrey Silver
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Claudio Miranda
EDITOR: James Haygood
COMPOSER: Daft Punk
Academy Award nominee
SCI-FI/ACTION/DRAMA
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner, James Frain, Beau Garrett, and Michael Sheen
TRON: Legacy is a 2010 science fiction film. It is the sequel to Walt Disney Pictures’ 1982 sci-fi film, Tron. Tron: Legacy follows Sam Flynn, the son of Kevin Flynn, the innovative software engineer who entered the Digital World, a place that existed inside a computer (as depicted in the original Tron).
In 1989, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), who was also the CEO of ENCOM International, disappeared seven years after he defeated the Master Control Program in the Digital World. Twenty years later, Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), now a tech-savvy 27-year-old, has little interest in ENCOM, although he is the controlling shareholder. His father’s friend and ENCOM executive, Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner), tells Sam that he has received a mysterious page from a number originating at Kevin Flynn’s old arcade, which has been shutdown for 20 years.
Entering the arcade, Sam finds a concealed computer laboratory hidden in the basement. Sitting at his father’s computer, Sam accidentally transports himself to the Grid, a virtual world inside his father’s computer. There, he finds a world of gladiatorial games and fierce computer programs, and the Grid is ruled by CLU, a renegade program that looks like a young Kevin Flynn and was actually created by Flynn. Escaping CLU’s attempt to kill him, Sam is reunited with his now older father and Quorra (Olivia Wilde), a warrior and Kevin Flynn’s confidant. Together, reunited father and son try to stop CLU’s plot to invade the real world.
With its dazzling visuals and state-of-the-art production design, Tron: Legacy is one of the most innovative films of the last few years. It is a digital light show that dazzles the mind via the eyes, sometimes threatening to fry both. The computer-generated, younger version of Jeff Bridges as CLU is quite impressive, except for those few moments when CLU looks too plastic and moves awkwardly.
As in the original Tron, the human characters and story occasionally get lost in Tron: Legacy, especially amidst the elegant, eye-popping special effects. It is not that the story is bad. This is a standard action movie pitting good guys against bad guys, but a movie this visually adventurous deserves a more daring story. However, with the imaginative landscapes and production design and inventive costume design, this standard action movie doesn’t look so standard.
At this point, I have to say that you, dear reader, should see this visually splendid film for yourself. Some of the effects are breathtaking, and the simply magnificent score by the electronic music duo, Daft Punk, is the perfect soundtrack for a milestone film like Tron: Legacy. Modern with the touch of retro-1980’s synthesizer music, Daft Punk’s score thunders and swells, and best of all, it sweeps you off your feet just like film. It may be a little soft on story and character, but Tron: Legacy soars to the next level visually, sonically, and musically.
8 of 10
A
NOTES:
2011 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Sound Editing” (Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague)
Friday, June 10, 2011
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Review: Original "TRON" Still Impresses
Tron (1982)
Running time: 96 minutes (1 hour, 36 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR: Steven Lisberger
WRITERS: Steven Lisberger; from a story by Steven Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird
PRODUCER: Donald Kushner
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Bruce Logan
EDITOR: Jeff Gourson
COMPOSER: Wendy Carlos
Academy Award nominee
SCI-FI/FANTASY/ACTION
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, Barnard Hughes, Dan Shor, and Peter Jurasik
First released in 1982, Tron is a science fiction film from Walt Disney Pictures. Written and director by Steven Lisberger and produced by Donald Kushner, it is considered a landmark and a milestone (especially in the computer animation industry). Tron was one of the first films from a major studio to make extensive use of computer graphics and was also one of the first to make extensive use of computer animation.
The film focuses on Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), a gifted young software engineer who used to work for the software company, ENCOM. Flynn has been attempting to hack into ENCOM’s mainframe to get evidence that a senior executive, Ed Dillinger (David Warner), stole Flynn’s code for several now-popular arcade games before firing him. Flynn is blocked by the Master Control Program (MCP), an artificial intelligence that controls the mainframe and also steals other programs.
Flynn’s former coworkers, ENCOM employees, Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) and Lora Baines (Cindy Morgan), tell Flynn that Dillinger has tightened security clearances. Bradley, however, has created a security program called, “Tron,” which would monitor communications between the Master Control Program and the outside world. Bradley and Baines help Flynn get inside the ENCOM’s building so that Flynn can help the Tron program. During Flynn’s hack, MCP uses a nearby laser to digitize Flynn and transport him into the mainframe.
Inside the mainframe is a Digital World where Programs appear in the likenesses of their creators (called “Users”). The programs also fight each other in gladiatorial events, including Light Cycle races. Flynn joins the Program named Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) in a race to stop the MCP. But to beat the MCP, Flynn will have to race across a digital landscape that is like nothing he has ever seen or experienced.
Considering that computers and animation played the largest part in bringing it to life, Tron is surprisingly engaging, even warm. The story is slight, but the humanity of the characters shines through the technological light show. Especially in the Digital World, the plight of the characters often comes through, allowing the viewers to get, at the very least, a small look at their personalities and quirks. Tron is not all razzle-dazzle, nor is it ultimately empty like so many of the special effects and computer-created extravaganzas that have come since Tron first appeared in theatres.
Tron may have been considered ahead of its time, but looking back on it now, this movie still amazes. The film still looks as if it could not have been created back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Tron still looks like nothing before or after it. Director Steve Lisberger, producer Donald Kushner, and their collaborators made something special – something new that captured audiences’ attentions and even captured the imaginations of some of them. And 30 years on, Tron is still fun.
8 of 10
A
NOTES:
1983 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Costume Design” (Eloise Jensson and Rosanna Norton) and “Best Sound” (Michael Minkler, Bob Minkler, Lee Minkler, and James LaRue)
1983 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Special Visual Effects” (Richard Taylor and Harrison Ellenshaw)
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
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New Sylvester Stallone Movie Begins Filming in Louisiana
Dark Castle Entertainment to Partner with IM Global and After Dark Films on New Sylvester Stallone Action Thriller
- The project re-teams producer Joel Silver with Stallone and with director Walter Hill -
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dark Castle Entertainment will partner with IM Global and After Dark Films on director Walter Hill’s upcoming action thriller starring Sylvester Stallone, it was announced today jointly by the three companies.
The film is scheduled to begin production on location in Louisiana later this month and will be distributed domestically by Warner Bros. Pictures, under its ongoing arrangement with Dark Castle.
Based on the graphic novel Bullet to the Head, written by Matz and illustrated by Colin Wilson, it tells the story of a New Orleans hitman (Stallone) and a New York City cop who form an alliance to bring down the killers of their respective partners.
Joel Silver, Chairman of Dark Castle Entertainment, previously produced the Stallone films “Demolition Man” and “Assassins.” He says, “Sylvester Stallone is an iconic action star the world over and I’m thrilled to be working with him again. I look forward to joining with IM Global and After Dark in bringing this exciting new story to the screen.”
Says IM Global CEO Stuart Ford, “Joel and his Dark Castle team are the perfect partners to help steer a project like this successfully forward and we’re delighted to have them onboard, as well as having Warner Bros. as the U.S. distribution home for the film.”
Silver’s previous creative collaborations with veteran director Hill include the box-office hit “48 Hours,” “Warriors” and HBO’s long-running “Tales from the Crypt.”
The new film, a Warner Bros. Pictures presentation, in association with Dark Castle Entertainment, IM Global and After Dark Films, also features rising star Sung Kang (“Fast Five,” “Ninja Assassin”) in a key supporting role. Additionally serving as producers will be Alexandra Milchan, Miles Millar, Alfred Gough, Kevin King-Templeton and Andrew Rona. Stuart Ford, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Deepak Nayar, Courtney Solomon, Allan Zeman and Steve Richards will executive produce.
- The project re-teams producer Joel Silver with Stallone and with director Walter Hill -
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dark Castle Entertainment will partner with IM Global and After Dark Films on director Walter Hill’s upcoming action thriller starring Sylvester Stallone, it was announced today jointly by the three companies.
The film is scheduled to begin production on location in Louisiana later this month and will be distributed domestically by Warner Bros. Pictures, under its ongoing arrangement with Dark Castle.
Based on the graphic novel Bullet to the Head, written by Matz and illustrated by Colin Wilson, it tells the story of a New Orleans hitman (Stallone) and a New York City cop who form an alliance to bring down the killers of their respective partners.
Joel Silver, Chairman of Dark Castle Entertainment, previously produced the Stallone films “Demolition Man” and “Assassins.” He says, “Sylvester Stallone is an iconic action star the world over and I’m thrilled to be working with him again. I look forward to joining with IM Global and After Dark in bringing this exciting new story to the screen.”
Says IM Global CEO Stuart Ford, “Joel and his Dark Castle team are the perfect partners to help steer a project like this successfully forward and we’re delighted to have them onboard, as well as having Warner Bros. as the U.S. distribution home for the film.”
Silver’s previous creative collaborations with veteran director Hill include the box-office hit “48 Hours,” “Warriors” and HBO’s long-running “Tales from the Crypt.”
The new film, a Warner Bros. Pictures presentation, in association with Dark Castle Entertainment, IM Global and After Dark Films, also features rising star Sung Kang (“Fast Five,” “Ninja Assassin”) in a key supporting role. Additionally serving as producers will be Alexandra Milchan, Miles Millar, Alfred Gough, Kevin King-Templeton and Andrew Rona. Stuart Ford, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Deepak Nayar, Courtney Solomon, Allan Zeman and Steve Richards will executive produce.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Review: "Holes" is a Winning Mystery Film (Happy B'day, Shia LaBeouf)
Holes (2003)
Running time: 117 minutes (1 hour, 57 minutes)
MPAA – PG for violence, mild language, and some thematic elements
DIRECTOR: Andrew Davis
WRITERS: Louis Sachar (based upon his novel)
PRODUCERS: Mike Medavoy, Lowell Blank, Teresa Tucker-Davies, and Andrew Davis
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen St. John
EDITORS: Tom Nordberg and Jeffrey Wolfe, A.C.E.
DRAMA/FAMILY/MYSTERY with elements of adventure and comedy
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, Patricia Arquette, Tim Blake Nelson, Dulé Hill, Khelo Thomas, Jake M. Smith, Byron Cotton, Max Kasch, Miguel Castro, Brenden Jefferson, Henry Winkler, Siobhan Fallon, Nathan Davis, Rick Fox, and Eartha Kitt
Stanley Yelnats (Shia LaBeouf) is dogged by the bad luck stemming from an old curse on the Yelnats, and it gets him in trouble with the law when he’s wrongly accused of stealing the prized shoes of an athlete named Sweet Feet (Rick Fox). For this, a judge sends Stanley to Camp Green Lake, a very weird work camp for male juvenile offenders that isn’t very green and isn’t a lake; it seems that Green Lake may also be laboring under a curse.
At the camp, he meets a colorful cast of campmates, and like them, he has to dig a hole a day to keep The Warden (Sigourney Weaver) and her henchmen, Mr. Sir (Jon Voight) and Dr. Pendanski (Tim Blake Nelson) at bay. There is, however, more to digging those holes than just the character building Mr. Sir says digging gives a boy. Stanley’s family history is somehow tied to incidents that happened a century ago where Camp Green Lake stands today, and Stanley and his new friend, Hector Zeroni or “Zero” (Khelo Thomas) are going to solve that old mystery, even if it gets them in trouble with The Warden and endangers their lives.
In Holes, the star of the film is not the setting, although the rundown camp and desert add a sense of foreboding and mystery to the film. The star is also not the story, which is intriguing with its twists and turns, interconnectedness with the past, and the fact that characters from the past are related to some in the present. Holes’ star, its center of radiance, is then-16-year old Shia LaBeouf, although his name was fourth on the marquee, behind the better-known adult actors. Shia drives this film, and the narrative sometimes drifts when it shifts away from him, especially when it shifts to the past. Shia epitomizes the average kid who rises to the challenge – a Harry Potter type, and that talent is this film’s charm.
I liked the central mystery and Holes’ resounding message about family and legacy. The mild turn of the 20th-century romance, that happens in a series of flashbacks during Stanley’s time at the camp, can feel a little jagged (because it was such a dangerous thing for two people to do), but the romance only adds to this Holes’ sense of peril and risk. Tim Blake Nelson stands out amongst the adult cast, and it’s always good to see Sigourney Weaver on the big screen. The rest of the boys in the camp seem woefully underutilized, but even their relatively small parts help to make Holes a compelling family drama and a winning juvenile mystery.
7 of 10
A-
July 19, 2005
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