'Hugo' may be unnecessarily long, but it is ultimately redeemed by it's visually striking cinematography and great acting. On the backdrop of 1930's Paris, Hugo contains a beautiful colour palette of orange and blue, combined with delightful directing by Martin Scorsese, Hugo is a visual delight that can be enjoyed by everyone. It's winning Academy Awards are well deserved, particularly for Best Achievement in Cinematography. Additionally, it's wonderful casting also contributes to the many greats of this film. Asa Butterfield plays the blue-eyed, determined young character of Hugo perfectly, and demonstrates how he is one of the best child actors of this decade. Chloë Grace Moretz and Ben Kingsley are also brilliant in their roles and really make this film shine. Despite this film having all the right elements to be a masterpiece, it falls short in it's pacing. With a running time of just over two hours, this film can tend to drag on quite bit with unnecessary scenes that are dragged on. Considering this film is advertised as a family film it is bound to bore children with a short attention span, which is basically every child. Despite this, the storyline is still a delightful homage to the origins of film and will definitely appeal to film lovers. This film can be thoroughly enjoyed by those who can overlook it's drawn out plot line and appreciate it's visual beauty and wonderful cast.

A true masterpiece by a master filmmaker, Martin Scorsese. By far this the best film I've seen from him. And that's saying a lot considering I've seen Wolf of Wall Street, The Departed, and The Aviator. What makes this work for me? The performances, the visual effects, and the story. Firstly, the master actor Ben Kingsley was the perfect choice to play Georges Melies as a defeated and broken man. Asa Butterfield proves to be the best child actor working today, he gives a very mature performance that I think Kingsley would approve of. Chloe Grace Moretz was more than just a typical love interest, but has a complex situation with her grandfather. The visual effects are astounding. The story I love most of all, it respectively pays tribute to the birth of cinema while also telling a touching, complex story. Overall, the film is very satisfying in all the right ways. The only negative I'd have to say is not much, I struggle to think of any gripes. So go see it, its worth a look.

Hugo was one of those cinematic experiences I occasionally have in which I feel a need to pen a letter of apology once it was finished. As a young cinephile just getting my feet wet in film, I did what I thought we all were supposed to do; worship at the altar of Martin Scorsese. During my second Film Studies class, I struck a deal with my professor where he let me complete a career retrospective in place of making a short film for my final project. I was thrilled that my professor agreed to this deal, as writing a 60-page paper seemed like less of a daunting undertaking than operating a camera. I knew I was going to pick Martin Scorsese before I knew if my professor was going to let this happen or not. With his help, I watched every film Scorsese ever made from Who's That Knocking at My Door to Shutter Island. Not only did I see all of his full-length features but I also saw a great deal of his shorts and documentaries. It was supposed to be a cathartic experience of me getting as close as possible to the director I loved until it wasn't. That's not to say I didn't enjoy and appreciate many of Scorsese's films--I did, but I also learned that his enormous contribution to cinema didn't necessitate him being my favorite director. It's unfortunate that this project was one year too early to have Hugo included because once this project was complete, I tended to shy away from Scorsese films that came after, for a spell anyway. I missed seeing Hugo in the theatre, how could I have known I would have loved it so much and it would have been about one of my favorite cinematic subjects? Georges Méliès was one of my first cinematic idols, and he remains one today, as I am finally completely healed from my tattoo immortalizing his iconic image of the moon with a rocket that landed on its eye. I even attempted my own version of a shot-by-shot re-imagining of A Trip to the Moon, achieved by painting 146 individual canvas screens photographed to appear as though they move; an intensive labor of love that has never seen the light of day. Georges Méliès life being portrayed on screen would have been enough to get me to a theatre had I not been in such a Scorsese burn-out that I never even bothered to read what his 2011 film was about when Hugo hit theatres. Starring Ben Kingsley, Asa Butterfield, and Chloë Grace Moretz, Hugo is a brilliant spectacle that would make even the most devout skeptic believe in magic.Based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, Hugo follows an orphan boy who lives in the clock mechanism of the train station keeping the train clocks running so he can have a place to live undetected avoiding the orphanage. Still reeling from the death of his father, Hugo (Asa Butterfield) painstakingly works to repair an automaton (mechanical man) that his father instructed would only be complete with a unique key. Once Hugo finds the key, he will know what secret it contains and retrieves the last message his father sent him. While attempting to find the key, Hugo crosses paths with a shop owner Georges Méliès (Ben Kingsley) who believes him to be a thief. When Hugo meets Georges' goddaughter, Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz) who is always looking for an adventure, Hugo learns that their paths were destined to cross in ways he could have never imagined.Hugo is one of the most beautiful films to look at that I have ever seen. Scorsese's outpouring of love to classic cinema and film preservation couldn't have tugged any harder on my heart strings if that had been the intention. Every single shot is gorgeous, capturing Scorsese's grand production design and exquisite colors. This is a film for us, for cinephiles, for the ones who don't feel the magic in any other setting than a dark theatre. Hugo is for the ones who dream in 16 millimeter and can't imagine a life without cinema. Hugo encompasses everything a cinephile feels in their heart when a film begins to roll, proving that "the movies are our special place."

The main problem with Hugo is about artificially of the movie,the plot no make sense at all and those graphic computer spoils this poignant story, driven to kids or mature audiences didn't get the target on both sides, Ben Kingsley is inappropriate to the role...he played so many bad guys lately that the public don't forget...bad choice indeed...some characters don't have any connection with the story itself...despite Sacha Baron Cohen made a fine job as station inspector he is a bad guy...he send children to orphanage all the time without pity...the both leading children are amazing pure and without malice saves the movie...anyway Martin Scorsese made a movie that is out of the level...even that is a poignant story....watchable if you forget all thing above!!! Resume: First watch: 2017 / How many: 1 / Source: Netflix / Rating: 7