This week in the challenge Rob selected Hugo for me to watch, this is one film that i always planned to watch one day but had never got around to see it.
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer: John Logan (Screenplay) Brian Selznick (Book)
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Chloe Grace Moretz, Ray Winstone, Emily Mortimer, Christopher Lee, Jude Law
Plot: Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Special Little Story
Story: Hugo starts in the Paris train station where we see young Hugo (Butterfield) an orphan who lives in the walls of the station. He is always out to keep away from Station Inspector (Cohen). Hugo has been working on trying to work on his father’s work and Georges Melies (Kingsley) has discovered the work and stolen his book. Hugo not giving up easily follows Georges and meets Isabelle (Moretz) who agrees to help retrieve the book for Hugo.
We learn that Hugo’s Father (Law) was trying to build this automaton with Hugo but the mystery of how to get the machine to work is one both of them are searching for before his father is killed in a freak accident. Hugo is left having to live with his Uncle Claude (Winstone) who teaches him about running the clocks but takes him out of school. We do continue to flash between the two time periods and in the 1930s Hugo must now earn his notebook back from Georges by working in his stale for all the parts he has stolen.
We watch how Hugo gets his first love interest as well as learning about growing up by working in the stands inside the train station as he could final get to finish his father’s work and unlock a secret about Georges.
Hugo is a story that is very easy to watch unfold and brings us a positive feeling through a negative time. I really didn’t know where the film was really going which is always a good part of a story. When we end up looking into the past of the film director it ends up going towards giving the people who deserve credit getting what they deserve. We also have the idea of learning and a building friendship with a clash of different backgrounds. There is also small parts to the story that show romances between minor characters. I think this will give everyone a feel good factor by the end, but I slightly too long especially having two different character explain about the directors past. (9/10)
Actor Review
Asa Butterfield: Hugo Cabret is our orphan who lives inside the train station, he is still trying to finishes his late father’s work which will help him unlock a secret somebody is trying to keep quiet. He spends his time constantly trying to hide from the station inspector who wants to send him to an orphanage as he keeps all the clocks running inside the train station. Hugo ends up going on an adventure with Isabelle. Asa does a great job in the leading role alongside a much more famous cast. (9/10)
Chloe Grace Moretz: Isabelle is the young girl similar age to Hugo that tries to help him unlock the secrets that have been kept hidden. Chloe continues her career here with a good supporting performance. (7/10)
Sacha Baron Cohen: Station Inspector is the hapless inspector who is trying to keep the orphans out of the train station, he enjoys catching them, but Hugo always escapes his grasps. Sacha shows that he doesn’t need to do all these horrible comedy films because he is a very good actor. (8/10)
Ben Kingsley: Georges Melies is the Godfather to Isabelle who has taken Hugo’s notebook, but the truth is that he is hiding a secret that he doesn’t want coming back out. Ben brings the heavyweight performance here having to show a true range of emotions through the film. (8/10)
Support Cast: Hugo has a mega cast of cameos and small parts that all help the story unfold, including Christopher Lee, Jude Law, Emily Mortimer and Ray Winstone.
Director Review: Martin Scorsese – Martin uses all his skills from the years and experience and brings us a great film. (9/10)
Action: Hugo doesn’t have the most action with most just being chases around the train station. (6/10)
Family: Hugo is one for the whole family to enjoy because they can have the moments of family, friendship and a final chase to be remembered. (/10)
Mystery: Hugo does create a small mystery but it isn’t the whole factor from the story. (6/10)
Settings: Hugo re-creates the settings perfectly for the time periods being used during the film. (10/10)
Special Effects: Hugo uses the special effects to help create the authentic look of the locations. (9/10)
Suggestion: Hugo is one for the family to sit down and watch together giving you a nice feeling by the end. (Watch)
Best Part: Learning about the early films.
Worst Part: Repeating the same story in the film.
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: Won 5 Oscars and nominated for another 6.
Box Office: $74 Million
Budget: $170 Million
Runtime: 2 Hours 6 Minutes
Tagline: Unlock the secret
Trivia: Martin Scorsese and Christopher Lee are very good friends, but up until 2010 had never worked together. Lee’s response when he was asked by Scorsese to appear in Hugo was: “It’s about time!”
Overall: Brilliant Tale an achievement in story telling.
Rating 
