Hugo

[TNGTony]

[CONTAINER][MOVIE1]Title: Hugo

Tagline: One of the most legendary directors of our time takes you on an extraordinary adventure.

Genre: [GENRE]Adventure[/GENRE], [GENRE]Drama[/GENRE], [GENRE]Family[/GENRE]

Director: [DIRECTOR]Martin Scorsese[/DIRECTOR]

Cast: [ACTOR]Asa Butterfield[/ACTOR], [ACTOR]Chloë Grace Moretz[/ACTOR], [ACTOR]Ben Kingsley[/ACTOR], [ACTOR]Sacha Baron Cohen[/ACTOR], [ACTOR]Jude Law[/ACTOR], [ACTOR]Christopher Lee[/ACTOR], [ACTOR]Helen McCrory[/ACTOR], [ACTOR]Michael Stuhlbarg[/ACTOR], [ACTOR]Marco Aponte[/ACTOR], [ACTOR]Emily Mortimer[/ACTOR], [ACTOR]Ray Winstone[/ACTOR], [ACTOR]Frances de la Tour[/ACTOR], [ACTOR]Richard Griffiths[/ACTOR]

Release Date: [RELEASE]2011-11-23[/RELEASE]

Runtime: [RUNTIME]126[/RUNTIME]

Plot: [PLOT]Hugo is an orphan boy living in the walls of a train station in 1930s Paris. He learned to fix clocks and other gadgets from his father and uncle which he puts to use keeping the train station clocks running. The only thing that he has left that connects him to his dead father is an automaton (mechanical man) that doesn't work without a special key which Hugo needs to find to unlock the secret he believes it contains. On his adventures, he meets with a shopkeeper, George Melies, who works in the train station and his adventure-seeking god-daughter. Hugo finds that they have a surprising connection to his father and the automaton, and he discovers it unlocks some memories the old man has buried inside regarding his past.[/PLOT][/MOVIE1][POSTER1]

[/POSTER1][/CONTAINER]

 

[TNGTony]

Year after reviews - Hugo: so much more than a Kiddie story
Reposted from April 1, 2012 at 4:57am
I just got Hugo in the mail from Blockbuster. I knew nothing about the movie or the book it's based on. All I knew is I'd heard it described in the same terms as a "Harry Potter" but without the magic. Now after seeing the movie, I know that the description is utterly deficient and totally false. If anything this movie is more magical than any Harry Potter movie, but not because of the wizardry of the characters, The wizardry and magic comes at the hands of the story writers and film makers who vividly illustrate a tale about disillusioned old man's despair and ultimate redemption. What caught me completely by surprise is this movie is a love note to the originators of film as an art form told through the eyes of a boy in what can only be described as an anachronistic Dickensian tale set in the late 20s. I read somewhere Hugo was set in 1931 but most of the references were to the previous decade. Perhaps the grim look of the film was an attempt to depict the state of the economy at the time, but that is inconsequential really.

Visually, this movie was absolutely stunning! At the beginning of the movie I first groaned because I could definitely see the whole opening scene was so obviously computer generated and motion capture that I thought the movie might resemble the visual effects of The Polar Express. But as the shot began to fly into the city of Paris of 1931 and into the crowded train station, I was soon mesmerized and in short order I found myself smiling as I enjoyed what can only be described as a roller-coaster ride tour through what was the entire world in this movie. The details of the actual physical set and the computer graphics blended seamlessly to create a world that never existed except in a child's recollection of events. Everything moved. Everything had a purpose. This movie will require multiple viewings to see all the layers.

Hugo was shot as a 3D movie as this fad continues to hold on just long enough for people to get tired of wearing the glasses and coming out of the theater with headaches and nausea. Some of the sequences are so obviously done with the 3D effect in mind that they are a little distracting to 2D viewers. But the up side is for those of us who cannot see 3D in real life, the 2D version on a large screen was absolutely three dimensional in appearance at all times.

As I mentioned above, I had not seen or heard anything about this movie other than the buzz around it during Oscar time. I was surprised to learn that Hugo was directed by Martin Scorsese because he wanted to make a movie he could take his 12 year-old daughter to see. So it is definitely a "Children's movie". But it is so much more than that. It does not talk down to the intended audience and the story is truly timeless which any adult can enjoy even more than the kids. The movie does have the intentional two dimensional character that was so reminiscent of the "child catcher" in Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang that I almost expected a him to pull out a net from behind a column at any moment. But no such cheap laughs. Oh yes we had to have a little slapstick, but only a little. This movie even did this with class.

The main story line revolves around Hugo trying to complete a task he and his father set off to do, but were unable to complete because of the father's sudden death in a fire. This task makes Hugo cross paths with a toy maker and inventor, played by Ben Kingsley. who has a shop at the train station Hugo calls his home. Any more description would give away some of the fun of discovery in this movie.

My favorite element was the homage to the original film makers. The visionaries that through their efforts 110+ years ago made movies what we know them to be now. The film went into some great detail about the original films and some of the original movie footage was shown to us and at times the 1931 world melted into the 1890s/1900s world of these images in a way that touched me to to core. But the movie was not historically accurate or complete with the history of some the greats discussed. It was unnecessary to this story, but it would have added yet another layer of realism to this "false biography" that the movie creates.

I did have a few other problems with the movie. I thought some of the action was forced at points. And some of the character motivations were completely unclear. The adults reaction to Hugo seemed completely "off" to me. It could be that I am not seeing the world through the eyes of a 12 year-old boy as intended, but it seemed that the characters dispositions of disdain towards the boy were unbalanced even for a Dickensian tale. The movie was obviously a streamline f a much more detailed book so some forcing of the action should be expected, but this particular issue "bugged me".

This is a movie to see anyway. Unless you are the ages if 16-22 when you think yourself too old for the kiddie nonsense, you will enjoy this movie immensely. (and so will the 16-22 year-olds but they will never admit it.)

 

[JTBenson]

Great review. I agree with you about the homage to the original film makers. That was my favorite element also.

 

[. Raine]

Yes, definitely was a good movie.

 

[KE4EST]

This is one of those movies you can watch over and over! Very well done.