VariousHugo [Blu-ray]

Good Movie

'Hugo' tells the story of a boy named Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) who only wants to find his purpose in life. He spends his days in a Parisian train station running the clocks and observing the everyday activities of interesting side characters. Hugo is an orphan whose father (Jude Law) died in a museum fire and the only thing Hugo has left of him is a mechanical man called an automaton. Hugo believes that by fixing the automaton, he will recover a message from his father and will find just what part he is in the great machine that is the world.Hugo meets a crusty old toymaker (Ben Kingsley) while trying to steal parts for the automaton. The toymaker, who is first known as Papa Georges, takes a notebook from Hugo, which is vital in helping Hugo fix the automaton. After following Papa Georges to his home in hopes of getting his notebook back, Hugo meets Isabelle (Chloe Moretz). Isabelle soon becomes Hugo's only friend and through their adventures, they find out that there's more to Papa Georges than meets the eye.While this is all going on, Hugo has to avoid capture by the ruthless station inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen). What's eventually revealed is that Papa Georges is the forgotten filmmaker Georges Melies, who is in the most simple terms, one of the most important pioneers in film history. A great appreciation for what Melies did is found, but more importantly, 'Hugo' makes any movie-goer appreciate the magic that is the movies in a way that brings warmth to the hearts of all who witness it.Butterfield does a fine job in the title role. Subtle and sensitive, he makes the character of Hugo believable. Moretz is delightful as Isabelle. Something tells me that she has potential to do greater things. Baron Cohen moves beyond 'Borat' and 'Bruno' and shows true acting chops while providing some needed comic relief in what is other wise a serious film. Baron Cohen certainly stands out as one of the strongest members of a wonderful supporting cast. The supporting cast includes: the station inspector's flower lady love interest (Emily Mortimer), two lovers separated by a dog (Frances de la Tour, Richard Griffiths), and Georges Melies' wife Mama Jeanne who is played by Helen McCrory with a gentle sensitivity and compassion for her husband. All of these people add much-appreciated personality and delight that makes the difference between a great and excellent movie. Kingsley, as Melies, is nothing short of sensational. This was, in my eyes, a huge snub for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars.'Hugo' is one of the most visually dazzling movies you will ever see. It boasts the best use of modern 3D technology since 'Avatar'. It is a beautiful portrait of a movie that secures its excellence with a strong cast, compelling story, and a superb directing job by Martin Scorsese. 'Hugo' will leave you feeling wonderful while instilling a greater appreciation for how far films have come and how it can be a masterful form of art. A+As for the product, 'Hugo' has to be one of the best movies that one can view in Blu-ray. A film that is filled with stunning CGI visuals and Oscar-winning cinematography, Blu-ray brings out the best of this visual masterpiece. I do not have capabilities to view the 3D version right now, but I bought it anyway as an investment for the future that is worth it. There will come a time when every TV and Blu-ray player will be able to play 3D. That future is not so far away.I want to address complaints about the Ultra Violet digital copy. All one has to do is copy the code into the 'Redeem' section of the iTunes Store homepages (top right-hand corner of the page) or follow the other instructions on the bottom half of the instructions (gray background). In short, do not mess with the Ultra Violet part if you don't want to risk it.

On one level, Martin Scorcese's HUGO is about French filmmaker Georges Méliès, who made hundreds of films between 1896 and 1913. Anyone who has ever taken a film class in college will remember Méliès's "A Trip to the Moon." Film aficionados will delight in the story of Méliès's life, his work in the industry, and his eventual disappearance into obscurity following World War I. Ben Kingsley does a commendable job playing Méliès as a disappointed man near the end of his life, believing his life's work has been forgotten.But on another level, HUGO is about our very human need for purpose. Hugo himself (Asa Butterfield) is a young boy living in the walls and clock tower of the Montparnasse train station in Paris. Hugo's father (Jude Law) has died, leaving him alone with a strange and magical "mechanical man" which his father found in a museum and was desperate to repair. Hugo makes it his purpose to continue his father's work, believing that the mechanical man has a message for him from his dad. When Hugo steals mechanical parts from a toy dealer in the train station (it's Méliès of course, played by Kingsley), he inadvertently forms a connection between himself and the now-reclusive filmmaker. The heart of the film, then, is in Hugo's gift to Méliès - the recovery of the man's purpose, the resurrection of his belief in himself.What makes HUGO a wonderful film, however, really has little to do with either its message or its historical portrait of a French filmmaker. Méliès's work in film was all about the visuals, and so is Scorcese's HUGO. This is a movie that explores what makes film a unique medium. Books can tell stories; writers can even vividly describe images, but the reader is ultimately responsible for seeing them. But film instantly grabs us out of ourselves and plunges us into time and place in a way that no book ever can. HUGO is the train station, with its motley group of salespeople, commuters, and orphaned children. It's the magnificent clock, filled with intricate gears and levers. It's color and sound and motion, all happening at once. There's a grandness to the visuals here, a magical beauty that is at once hypnotic and immediate. This is what Scorsese was going for. We experience film here the way people experienced Méliès's work a century ago. The images we see surprise and delight us. This is why we love film today. This is why it's magic.HUGO is best appreciated by those who delight in the artistic beauty of film itself, and what amazing feats can be accomplished with a camera and an artistic vision. This is a film that plays with cinematic visuals in ways that are truly wonderful. For that alone, it's worth five stars and multiple viewings. I highly recommend it.