(rated PG, 111 mins.)
A coming-of-age adventure based on the award-winning book by Louis Sacher about a boy, Stanley Yelnats (Shia LaBeouf) cursed by an ancient family curse. Perpetually in the wrong place at the wrong time, Stanley is sentenced to a stern detention camp where he meets campmates Squid, Armpit, ZigZag, Magnet, and Zero. Forced by menacing warden (Sigourney Weaver) and her right-hand man Mr. Sir (Jon Voight), the boys are ordered to dig holes in order to build character. While the story is kid-friendly with a ‘life-learning-lesson’ that will interest parents, the Wild West flashback is unnecessarily confusing and the storyline seems predictable, while at the same time not sure where it’s headed. Too bad, as the young actors deliver peak performances even for a bunch of hole-digging delinquents.
