Hugo

Saw it today in a sneak preview today at the Director's Guild in LA. James Cameron who was there professed it's a masterpiece and the best 3D to date. And he's right on both fronts. The film is exquisitely crafted. The cinematography and set design is likely going to take home a couple gold guys. It's a film lover's dream movie. As with many of Scorsese's films, it's an inspired film history lesson along side of being a dreamlike children's fable. A really unique combination that will work for the film enthusiasts and discerning family's with kids. Maybe a bit long for broad audiences with very little kids, but the images are so enchanting, it should win over most everybody. Sasha Baron Cohen is a brilliant and hilarious standout as the twitchy constable. It should be very well received just on the 3D alone.

What Martin Scorcese has managed to do is add story dimensionality to a family film that has 3D technology. Some of the dimensions he's included which don't always make into Hollywood blockbusters are an imaginative and original concept, thematic unity and resonance and deft homage to film itself, in the story of Georges Méliès, French film pioneer.

Saw the film in an advance screening and we were among the many there who were obviously not standard family film consumers. This being a Scorcese film is likely to bring lots of adults to Hugo and I would think many of them, like me, will feel the film stands up as entertainment for all age groups.

I especially enjoyed the resonance and intricacy of the theme of clocks, clockworks, animatronics and "the ghost in the machine"--our fear, in the post industrial age that perhaps we are just a rather complex machine, rather than a divine creation. This is all beautifully rendered cinematically. I doubt the little ones will be bewildered while older viewers can pick out levels and layers in the film.

Good fun and visually interesting throughout. The 3D is used in service of the story. I hope Hollywood is watching and notices that special effects are only special when they get the heart of the machine working, like Hugo's little man.

Since its release, I've been confused why Martin Scorsese made this film. I knew very little about it of course, only that it was an adventure movie about an orphan boy living in the walls of a Paris train station. It certainly doesn't sound very Scorsese-like.

However that is merely the framing for what is an ode to the earliest days of cinema, and in particular one of its true pioneers, Georges Melies. With references to "Arrival of a Train" – one of the world's first films by the Lumiere brothers, Melies's "A Trip to the Moon" and many others, this really is a treat for movie fans. Yes on a very basic level it is a children's movie, but really there's far more here for adults. Scorsese wonderfully juxtaposes his most technologically advanced film yet to demonstrate the genius and inventiveness of cinema in its earliest days.

There are fine performances from the two children, as well as Ben Kingsley as Melies and Sasha Baron Cohen as a determined and love struck station inspector. I actually thought that Helen McCrory stole the show as Melies' wife Mama Jeanne.

I never got to see Hugo in 3D, but the blu ray version looks truly sumptuous, with some breath taking imagery of early 20th century Paris. The film does tailor off significantly towards the end, with Scorsese seemingly unsure of what to do with the final act once the children had solved their mystery. What comes before is truly magical though and this film gets a big thumbs up from me.

"If you've ever wondered where your dreams come from, just look around. This is where they're made."

Hugo Cabret's story was told so well that it felt like you were right there with him on his stunning adventure.

For those unfamiliar, this is the story about a young boy named Hugo. He lives inside the walls of a train station in Paris in the 1930's. His father dies, leaving behind a mysterious automaton that, when fixed, can write. Hugo makes it his mission to fix it, believing that it will reveal a message from his father. With the help of an eccentric girl named Isabelle, he tries to uncover a magical mystery about the old man at the toy booth (Isabelle's godfather) and enchanting early films.

I had been looking forward to this film for a very long time, and I was not disappointed at all. I was a bit unsure about the 3D at first, but it turned out to be superb. Every single object became part of the story, and the audience became immersed in this beautiful world created by Martin Scorsese and Brian Selznick. While every member of the cast was brilliant, there are two in particular I'd like to point out.

First, Asa Butterfield as Hugo. He carried the film with perfection and gave a truly incredible performance. His acting was very natural--you could hardly tell he was acting! He did an amazing job of bringing life to a complex, lost, sad character. Asa is one of the most talented young actors I've ever seen; a very likely Oscar nomination in his future.

Last (but certainly not least) is Chloe Grace Moretz. She is another young performer that never fails to amaze me. Chloe nailed the British accent and brilliantly portrayed a bright, energetic Isabelle.

This movie has it all: beautiful visuals, super-talented cast, magic, love, heart, feeling, emotion. Best Picture Nomination for sure, and quite possibly others. Overall, this movie is a must-see. It was the most enjoyable theater experience that I've ever had. The entire theater broke into applause once it ended. This film has something for all ages, and it's really something special.

Especially if you love adventure, mystery, wonder, and have a bright imagination, you will fall in love with this film just like I did.

"Come and dream with me."

It has taken me a long time to get round to watching Hugo, but I am so glad that I did. This is a wonderful and simply glorious ode to early cinema told through the eyes of Hugo (Asa Butterfield), an orphan who after the death of his clockmaker father (Jude Law) ends up living in the walls of a Parisian train station charged with winding the station's numerous clocks.

Hugo's only link back to his late father is through a majestic mechanical automaton, a sort of tin man which his father had been restoring in his spare time. As appears to be the way with all tin men this one is also missing a heart, but this time it is a heart shaped key which Hugo is convinced if he can find will unlock the secrets inside. This leads young Hugo on a dangerous but adventurous search which often lands him in the clutches of either the local shopkeeper (Ben Kingsley) or the Station Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen). Help is at hand though from the shopkeeper's god daughter Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz) and as the two join forces they soon discover they have more in common than they thought.

In Hugo, Scorsese has produced a truly magical tale which sucks the viewer into the screen via the innovative use of 3D so immersing us within the dynamics of Parisian life and the wonders that take place within the walls of the station. Butterfield is perfectly cast as young Hugo, a curious young boy determined to survive in a hard and cold world which constantly seems to deal him a bad hand; you simply can't help but love him. Moretz after a slightly shaky start soon finds her feet (and her accent), Kingsley is excellent, especially as the story develops and there is strength in depth from a top notch supporting cast including Emily Mortimer, Ray Winstone and Christopher Lee to name but a few.

Hugo's strength however is in its story, which effortlessly unfolds in front of you with real grace and elegance. Scorsese's love for the history of his craft and his desire to share this tale of early cinema is evident in every frame. Whilst it may not be the most historically accurate portrayal of cinematic history it has a true and good heart which beautifully captures the essence of what is cinema.

Some people have criticised Scorsese for creating a children's movie that is inaccessible for most children. I strongly disagree on this point. To me Hugo is a classic children's movie which works across all age spectrums, much in a similar vain to Spielberg's ET. In a world of Woody, Buzz, Jessie and meatballs that fall from the sky (which don't get me wrong are all fabulous in their own right), it is refreshing to see a children's movie of old. It feels like a magical Christmas movie to me, perfectly accessible and enjoyed by all.

Hugo is fully deserving of the many accolades that it picked up during the awards season. It is a wonderful and engaging film which I will show my children when they are a little older and I am certain they will fall in love with cinema in the same way their father need did so many years ago.

Review by Will Malone www.maloneonmovies.com