Hugo
2011 Directed by Martin Scorsese
Synopsis
One of the most legendary directors of our time takes you on an extraordinary adventure.
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.
Cast
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Part of Dastardly Difficult December: film nr.100
I thought it would be fitting to watch as my hundredth film this month (Thanks again for the heads up, Dave Vis!) a film about one of the heroes of cinema, a film allegedly about the beauty of imagination and this medium I so love.
Scorcese's film looks absolutely stunning. It is perhaps the most beautiful film I've seen all year. From the opening shot onwards, you know you're in for a visual treat. The way Scorcese moves and twirls the camera through this Parisian train station is breathtaking and an absolute delight. There are a couple of these wonderfully flowing action sequences that made me wish I had seen it on the…
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Let me start by saying that this film is not perfect. 3D is still not flawless. The frame-rates at which they make these films is far too low, and it shows whenever there is motion.
The acting here is also not perfect. Sure Sacha Baron Cohen is great, but Chloe Moretz does come across as if she is trying slightly too hard. But honestly, it doesn't matter.It doesn't matter at all.
Its actually quite hard to believe that the man behind the camera is the man who brought us Taxi Driver and Goodfellas. There's no grittiness, and darkness here. Instead Martin Scorsese is showing us his deep love of film. Explaining to us, why he went into the film…
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Several years ago I read Brian Selznick’s novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and whilst won over by the world created I was left bitterly disappointed by the story. Not long after, Martin Scorsese showed an interest in adapting the book for the silver screen and I was actually quite hopeful as film was the natural medium for a story about the magic of cinema. Yet, despite my optimism all of the novel’s failings are present in the adaptation and it ends up being just as frustrating and disappointing as it was back in 2007.
The production design is sensational, capturing a romanticised Parisian train station in all of its bustling glory. The cinematography is equally impressive and it isn’t…
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Hugo is a love letter to film making. At the same time that it shows the early days of special effects and filmmaking, Scorsese crafts a film with proficient technical artistry in a medium that is in a point of major growth and development. Cameron changed 3D use in popular filmmaking with Avatar, but unfortunately it became a medium that was improperly used for the sake of driving up ticket sales.
In the theater I loved the effect on Avatar, thought it was really well done for Transformers 3 and Prometheus. But is was Hugo that utilized the format in a way that that was expertly made and worked in conjunction with the plot. The movie is about pioneering technology,…
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Absolutely wonderful!
I was dragged in by the very first shot through the station!
Immensely inspiring story, wonderfully told, wonderfully acted and most definitely wonderfully shot."I'd imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So I figured, if the entire world was one big machine, I couldn't be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason. And that means you have to be here for some reason, too."
- Filled with gems like these, perfected by leads Asa Butterfield and Cloë Grace Moretz, two wonderfully brilliant displays of child acting done the way it's supposed to.
I love the magic air of the film and the way we follow Hugo on his adventure. Absolutely adored it. -
After 40 some odd years of film making, Martin Scorsese proves he still has a few new tricks up his sleeve. Watched this again, this time on Blu-ray. I enjoyed it even more this time (not a fan of 3D)... movie looks incredible on BD. My favorite movie of 2011, Martin Scorsese's love letter to films. It just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
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Pretty sure this entire project was Scorsese's way of finally coming completely and spectacularly clean as a balls-out, bare-faced, raving, shameless, and helpless cinema junkie - tucked inside a pretty movie for his grandkids. I have a hard time faulting that.
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neat in 3D. good movie and story. m&d
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On a short list of movies my future children will be forced to watch. A love letter to film that stands on its own as a film to love, Scorsese's late career work continues to blow his peers away.
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Relies heavily on that charming, semi magic tone, and I didn't really connect with it. But it's entertaining overall.
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I've been listening to pretty much everyone nitpick the FUCK out of Django Unchained.
So, now I'VE found a beloved movie with problems fans don't want to address. :)
When this is a movie about movies, it's ACE! It's fantastic.
When it's about what goes on in a Paris train station, I'm bored out of my mind.
"Oh, just get on with it already!" I kept thinking.
Scorsese should have made a straight George Melies biopic instead of this.
Whenever Ben Kinglsey was off screen, I was THIS close to turning the movie off.
PS - Marty, stop using digital.
After Wolf of Wall Street, go back to film..... please go back to film.
I maintain what I said about…
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It GRIEVES me to say this. But, Scorsese's kinda 0 for 2 with his last 2 movies and me. I hated Shutter Island, and Hugo's only a little better.
I REALLY found this movie boring for the most part. Why 2.5 stars, then and not zero?
When this movie focuses on the work of Georges Méliès, it's pretty much perfect. Ben Kingsley giving a fine performance as the breakthrough filmmaker.
But that's about 20 minutes worth of screen time in this 2 hour film.
The rest of it is dedicated to a VERY boring set of characters led by this kid Hugo. A plot about FINDING Georges Méliès, a plot not as interesting as the man himself.
The whole time…
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L'escència d'una època, d'un naixement, i també d'un fenomen, explicat amb sensibilitat i intel·ligència per Martin Scorsese. Un exercici d'estil, on la seva tècnica esdevé un component expressiu que contrasta amb l'aplicació moderna del 3D; un doble joc encertat, una batalla entre autòmats i enginys cinematogràfics i la tecnologia contemporània de la perspectiva. Big naranja o Big Cristal?
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The perfect homage to cinema by one of the best directors in cinematic history.
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This was a beautiful movie. I think the only downside could be that the audience is kept in the dark in terms of plot occasionally.