Movie Info
Movie Name: Hugo
Studio: GK Films
Genre(s): Drama/Mystery/Suspense/Family
Release Date(s): November 23, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG
Who is Hugo?
Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) lives in a Paris train station tending to the clocks and trying to keep out of the eye of the station inspector Gustave Dasté (Sacha Baron Cohen). Hugo is an orphan and working to rebuild the robot his father discovered in the hopes of somehow bridging time and space to contact him. When Hugo learns that the mysterious “Papa” Georges (Ben Kingsley) intends on not permitting him to finish the project, Papa’s goddaughter Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz) and Hugo find themselves on an adventure to uncover the mystery of the robot and why Georges seems bent on its secrets remaining hidden.
Directed by Martin Scorsese, Hugo is a family mystery-suspense drama. It is based on the 2007 award winning The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, and the 3D film was released to critical acclaim. It won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, Best Art Direction, and Best Visual Effects with nominations for Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Score.
Unlock the mystery!
As a person who likes movies, I read The Invention of Hugo Cabret and enjoyed it due to its unique visual presentation and the story it told. The movie Hugo also gave a great presentation and although I am not a huge fan of 3D, the movie was a great 3D film.
The story is presented both as a drama of an orphan and a mystery, and the orphan drama is smartly woven into the mystery (with a little of the matchmaking feel of Amelie inserted). The meat of Hugo is the story of Georges Méliès life and amazingly enough the basic outline of this story about Méliès is true…his life, his fall, and his return to prominence did happen. By itself, it is a great story, and unlike a lot of movies that call themselves biopics, this fictionalizes it so it encourages you to find the real story.
It’s all magic!
The cast is strong. Both Asa Butterfield and Chloë Grace Moretz are good child actors and are able to carry the movie. Ben Kingsley is great as Papa Georges (and should have had more recognition for the role), and Sacha Baron Cohen gets the right tone in playing Inspector Gustave Dasté. The movie has a lot of supporting actors with Christopher Lee, Jude Law, Helen McCrory, Richard Griffiths, Emily Mortimer, Ray Winstone, and Michael Stuhlbarg. Icons Salvador Dali (Ben Addis), Django Reinhardt (Emil Lager), and James Joyce (Robert Gill) appear and there are small cameos by Michael Pitt, the author Brian Selznick, and director Martin Scorsese.
I didn’t mean to call you Borat, ok?!?!
The movie is great looking by itself as a period piece, but it also effectively utilizes 3D in its sets and cinematography. The pictures really jump out at you but it also is shot in a way that it isn’t much of a distraction if you see the 2D version. This is married to a great soundtrack which wraps up the great presentation.
Hugo is a good movie that I hope will stand the tests of time. It is a smart family movie that has heart and a solid cast. If you love film, I recommend the movie just because it holds an interesting piece of film history within its story and even thought it a fiction film, the kernel of truth it presents feels more real than a lot of movies that present reality…Hugo is a winner!
Related Links:
The previews made it look a bit like an action-adventure movie but it really wasn’t. I was a bit let down in that sense. However, it was a really well done film with an ‘awww shucks’ feel for the holidays.
I thought it was funny that Hugo was made by an old filmmaker and it’s about an old filmmaker making movies.
yeah i was totally thrown of by the movie trailers as well. thanks tim for dropping by.