Hugo

Starring: Asa Butterfield, Chole Grace Moretz, and Ben Kingsley       
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Year: 2011
IMDB / Wikipedia

Every now and then, I will find it necessary to break protocol to tend to my extremely large Netflix queue. This is one of those times. 

I have found that, by and large, 3D films get a bad reputation about being all flash and no substance. I, personally, have only seen a handful of movies in my time and I do not seek them out. Aside from being outrageously expensive (especially IMAX 3D films) they don’t add anything to cinematic experience (which is also my case against Blu-Ray/HDTV). Yes, it looks nicer and the effects are very direct, but that’ about it. If the story sucks then it’s living up to only half of the hype.

Hugo, despite being labeled as a box office flop, was an extraordinary and very beautiful movie. Just as some are moved by great works of art, I was moved by this moie’s aesthetics much like I was moved the first time I saw Edward Scissorhands. Everything in that film was so rich, vibrant, and meticulously designed it was beautiful even without the 3D experience.

But, more than that, it had a good story along with it. It was not a unique story by any means, but the fact it was all encapsulated in this one setting of a Paris rail station, that made it so rich. There was the main story about the boy and the automaton he is fixing after his father’s untimely death, but also the story of the people around him in the station who have their own lives and simple stories to tell. Other movies and movie-makers would have tried to tackle too much with multiple story lines (which does happen ever so often) but Scorsese only added what was needed to add emotion and give support to the dominant story arc.

Normally, I would have the film’s faults here at the end before my summation, but it was hard to find one. If anything, my only complaint is that this was too perfect a movie. Yes, it did have the happy ending (which usually pisses me off, but here it doesn’t) and it did resolve everything (I’m so used to movies leaving plot holes open that I’m used to is) and the entire experience did not leave me exacerbated. Even the lack of 3D didn’t bother me. In all, this was a wonderfully fantastic movie that would resonate with movie lovers of all ages.

Most Valuable Actor:  Chloe Grace Moretz as Isabelle, the goddaughter of Ben Kingsley’s character and the engine that makes this entire film go. Without her, or even with another actor in this character’s shoes, this doesn’t work and the movie falls flat. Moretz brings this character to life with her spontaneity and her childlike lust for life as she befriends Hugo and the adventure begins.