Hugo

" If you've ever wondered where your dreams come from, you look around... this is where they're made."


I was not prepared for Hugo as I planned to be. I was expecting to see a movie about a boy who works on clocks, but what I got was so much more.

I had planned to take my oldest boy, Tade, to go see Hugo, but time never allowed. With all the other movies that came out over the Holidays we did not make it to Hugo. For my birthday my wife got me a pass to the Oscar Showcase. A Saturday full of some of the Best Picture Oscar nominees. So I spent 10 hours with some of the years best films. First up on the List was Hugo...in 3D. My love affair with 3D has ended a while ago. I was very happy with this film though. Since it was made for 3D it was good. No cheap tricks with annoying things flying off the screen at you. I did like the snow and/or dust that you did see in almost every scene. Some people said it was too much, but it worked for me. The colors were bright, not as bright with the glasses on,but not too much.

Hugo is a story based on a children's book called The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Hugo is played by Asa Butterfield (Boy in the striped Pajamas, Nanny Mcphee Returns). He is a boy who after some rough life events ends up living in a train station where his job is to maintain the clocks. He works on a project that he began with his father a while before. The events following stem from his desire to finish the project hoping it will bring him a message from his father. There are many stars in the film: Ben Kingsley, Grace Chloe-Moritz Sacha Baron Cohen and Christopher lee to name a few. The best part is I never felt that the kids were trying to keep up with the veterans. The comic relief by Baron Cohen was just enough.

What I did not expect was the film lesson at the end. I had just read about the events at the end of the film, so I was very excited to see it unfold before me. If you are a film buff and like the history of film you will love this. It is no wonder that it was given such good marks by critics. I must say that this is the second best film I've seen from this past year right behind The Artist. I can't wait to see this film again.

8 out of 10