Hugo 2011

It's one of the best looking films I've ever seen. I saw it in 3-D and if "Hugo" is the typical example of the technology I say "more please".

I also think it's great that Scorsese made this movie more of a tribute to film than a story about a sad little boy who finds happiness. That story has been told many, many times before. But Scorsese's love of the wonders of the movies dominates the waning moments. I had been hounded by my 12-year old daughter to read the book for months but still had not as I sat in my theater seat.

Here's the sad thing. I thought the story was pedestrian. That's not the director's fault. The source material just doesn't interest me that much. The encouraging thing is that my 12 year-old was absolutely giddy as we watched. She loves the book and the film and even though it isn't my cup of tea, I am thrilled that she finds something so artfully done to be so exciting. You see this film demands attention. It's slow sometimes and there isn't much action. I think most kids will have a very hard time sitting still through "Hugo", but mine didn't and that makes me happy.

Scorsese makes this appealing for film lovers but it's a story for children that is uncharacteristically reserved and steeped in wonder.

I’m super ambivalent about this one. On the one hand, it’s a wonderful love letter to Georges Méliès, one of the true grandfathers of cinema. That was really fun to see from a film-nerd perspective. Knowing about Scorsese’s childhood and his long history of promoting film restoration enhances the experience and makes the whole film seem very personal.

On the other hand, from a film-making perspective I’m just not sure I’m on board. First,I like the idea that Scorsese is pushing the boundaries of the medium in the same way that Melies did, but I still hate 3D. Rewatching the movie at home on a 2D Blu-Ray, it contains way too many ostentatiously depth-filled shots that stick out like a sore thumb. Second, Scorsese really needs to lay off the teal/orange color correction (see The Aviator for another big offender.) Third, I’m not sure there was a single shot in the movie that didn’t have a CGI effect in the frame, and large sections of the movie were wholly animated. I think CGI is used best when it’s used sparingly, so these animated sequences grated on me. The whole movie was basically no more real than the “Jolly Holiday” sequence from Mary Poppins.