Holes

This was a movie that, when it was on, I couldn't not watch. I recently watched it again, and I fell in love with the movie all over again. I love all the curses and legends interwoven into the story. The fortune teller's curse on the Yelnats, Sam's curse on the lake, and Kissin’ Kate Barlow’s curse on the Warden’s family. I love these subplots that at first seem irrelevant only to play a key role throughout the course of the story. I love the story of Sam and Kate, even if it is heartbreaking. When I was little I really loved how cool Kissin’ Kate Barlow was. The characters in the story are just so unique and interesting, but still seem authentic. All the little details, from the rattlesnake venom nail polish, the smelly feet cure, the song for the pig, the story is just so wild and I love it. All those coincidences that usually bug me just make this movie even cooler. The peaches and onions as secret ingredients in Sploosh, Zero being a Zeroni, and the onions repelling those deadly lizards. Everything blended seamlessly and I love it. I even almost don't mind the early 2000s pop soundtrack. Almost.

For those of you who did not grow up with the magic that is Holes, it is about a guy named Stanley Yelnats the fourth. He is sent to a reform camp after being falsely accused for stealing a pair of a celebrity basketball players donated shoes. Ironically, his father is trying to cure smelly feet. All the still living Stanleys tell Stanley the fourth that the family is cursed because the first Stanley was cursed by a fortune teller. He had used her pig to try to pursue his love but, after rejection, did not carry out his part of the bargain. The camp Stanley goes to after his arrest is centered around a dried up lake. To reform the teenage criminals there, they dig holes in the lake. The reason the lake dried up? The town’s people lynched a guy because he was black and kissed a white woman. It never rained a drop after that. The woman he kissed? Shot the sheriff and became a bandit accumulating vast wealth and burying it somewhere in the lake. It’s a pretty empowering movie. 10/10 recommend