Hugo

                        
   Hugo DVD     
Stars: 31/2 Stars
Rated: PG
Studios:  Paramount 
Director: Martin Scorsese  
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz,  Christopher Lee, and Ben Kingsly      
Length: 126 Min.                                                  



http://www.hugomovie.com/#video

    If you do not have a box of Kleenex tissues in your house then you may want to go to the store and get one before you dare to watch this movie. Of course, if you are one of those manly guys that always seems to get something in his eyes during the climax of a tear-jerker movie; then toilet paper will do for you or a dirty rag if you prefer. Either way, you will most likely either cry or tear up at least there times during this film. (Well unless of course, you are an axe murderer or like to kick small dogs and little children; then you may just find this move mildly funny.) Hugo, like most of Scorsese's films, is a masterpiece of film making; and in today's PG-13 world of family oriented movies Hugo manages to be entertaining for both the parents as well as the kids without all of the hidden adult humor and undertones.
    The movie is over two hours long making this film a bit of a marathon for smaller children; but, the tempo of the storyline and the unique stylization of Scorsese keeps the viewer enraptured constantly wanting to know what each new turn in the story will bring. Scorsese manages to interweave all of the characters in a way that keeps you guessing as to how they all fit into the greater whole of the story, but never seems to confuse you as your imagination tries to put all of the pieces together. My only beef with the film is that some of the characters seem to be thrown in without any introduction or explanation and then never explored.  Christopher Lee, for instance, plays an old book store owner who lends books to and gives books away to people who he feels needs them. Whereas he does lead the two main characters to a book about films that becomes paramount to the rest of the story; Lee's character is never fully realized and it leaves the viewer with the sense that something important about him has been left out. There are a few other characters such as Hugo's father played by Jude Law who are also left unexplored. I guess it is near impossible to adapt a book to a screen play without loosing something in translation.
    The film follows Hugo a young boy of about 12 who lives inside of the walls of a train station in Paris with his Uncle who is his legal guardian. Since his uncle is a drunk he trains the young boy to do his job of maintaining and winding the stations many clocks. Hugo's uncle eventually leaves in essence abandoning the boy to his own deices to fend for himself. Alone now fully, Hugo is forced to turn to a life of petty thievery in order to survive. His only possession in the world is an automaton which looks like a small robot that could have been designed by Leonardo Da Vinci that he and his father had planned on fixing together. Eventually Hugo is caught stealing by a small toy shop owner (Ben Kingsly) who threatens to tell the Constable of his infraction if he does not let him see the contents of his pockets. Upon emptying his pockets a small journal is revealed with pictures of the automaton in it. The shop keeper asks the boy where he acquired the book and the boy refuses to answer; so he takes the book home leaving the boy sad and alone. Why did he do this, and what is the significance of the journal and the automaton? Well, if you want to know you will just have to watch the film for yourself since to tell you anymore would certainly be telling you too much. All I can say, however, is that this film will certainly make you reexamine what it means to truly "work" as a person; and, what it means to truly find your place in the grand puzzle that is life.  Hugo is a sweet film that manages to completely follow the traditional Hollywood formula while still finding away to be surprising and magical at the same time. As my friend Deb put it, "It's like a love song to film. I was enchanted by every moment"; and this one statement expresses it better then anything I have written in this entire review. Go out tonight and get yourself some popcorn and your favorite beverage and rent this film tonight! You will not be disappointed.

Content: This film is rated "PG" for some mild cartoon style violence, some scenes that could be considered to scary for young children and one scene involving a dead body.