Hugo Review
Since I was a little boy I have loved movies, it did not matter if I was watching them at the movie theater or at home on TV it was just something that connected with me.  There are a few movies that I can look back on and remember how I felt while watching them, I can still remember the being awe struck while watching Jurassic Park, or Tim Burton’s Batman.  Martin Scorsese’s new film Hugo was a movie that reminded me of those feelings as it displayed a love for cinemas ability to provide its audience with these experiences and feelings.

Hugo is based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, and is story of a young Orphan boy who lives in a train station in Paris during the 1930s.  When we meet Hugo (Asa Butterfield) he is moving about through the walls and rafters of the train station where he lives observing the daily life of station while also secretly working on and maintaining the stations clocks, as he had been taught by his uncle (though he has disappeared and has left Hugo all alone).
We learn through flashbacks that Hugo was orphaned when his father died in a museum fire, prior to his death he and Hugo had been working on fixing an automaton (a clockwork robot that once fixed will write a message) to see what it would do.  When Hugo is not working on the station’s clocks he is working to finish the job that he and his father had started, and to do this he takes parts he needs from stores in the station.  Hugo often finds the parts he needs in the toy shop of Georges Méliès (Ben Kingsley).  Georges catches Hugo stealing from and discovers a notebook that Hugo’s father had written and illustrated to help fix the automaton, and this notebook greatly disturbs the old man who threatens to destroy it.   To save his notebook Hugo follows Georges home where he meets the man’s goddaughter Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz) who he asks to help him save the notebook.  Isabelle joins Hugo in his quest so that she can take part in an adventure.   Along the way they encounter a variety of colorful characters who work in and around the train station, including the station inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen) who is out to keep order in the station and who seeks to catch orphans and turns them over to the police.  Each of these extra characters helps to move the story along and each actor is given the opportunity to shine.
Hugo and Isabelle’s adventure has them learning the secret of the automaton which also leads them to a secret that Georges Méliès has been keeping for many years.  This secret leads the pair to discover some of the early history of cinema, and they are able to experience the wonder and delight that movies can bring to their audiences.
The character of Georges Méliès is based on the early film maker of the same name, probably best known for the film A Trip to the Moon.  (As a boy I had a large illustrated book about the history of science fiction and one of the images from the book that has always stuck with me came from that film, it is the picture of a rocket landing in the eye of the man on the moon).   The film takes some liberty in telling the story of Mr. Méliès (as Hugo is a work of fiction); however it does contain some truth as well in teaching its audience about his life story.  Some of my favorite scenes from Hugo are the ones in which they show excerpts and recreations of some of his films, and also show the audience how this man went about pioneering classic movie special effect techniques.
With Hugo director Martin Scorsese has made one of the best films of his career.  I went into the movie a bit skeptical as to how the director of Goodfellas, Casino, and The Departed would handle a family film; thankfully my skepticism was unwarranted as Hugo should appeal to children and adults.  When I saw the film in theaters I saw it in 3D, and I was very impressed with the films use of this technique.  This was not gimmicky 3D where things are constantly flying out at you, but instead it was used to simply enhance the visuals.  The way that Scorsese made use of 3D made me feel as though I was looking through a window rather than watching a flat screen.  If you are someone who does not enjoy 3D at all, watching Hugo in 2D should still be an amazing experience.
If you did not get the chance to catch Hugo during its theatrical run, I recommend that you give it a try on DVD, or Blu-Ray.  Thankfully as Hugo is a Paramount movie, so you will not need to wait a month to rent it from a Red Box or from Netflix.  I am happy to give Hugo the first five bucket review for Bleed Geek: Movies.