Hugo

Martin Scorsese ceases to amaze me with his next project considering he usually directs such heavy-handed material, but with "Hugo" he continues to surprise me with his expertise at being able to pull off the unexpected.

Set in 1930's Paris, a 12 year-old orphan, Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father (Jude Law) and an automaton. Hugo's job is to maintain the station's clocks, but to him, his more important task is to protect a broken automaton and notebook left to him by his father. Accompanied by goddaughter, Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz) of an embittered toy merchant, Georges Melies (Ben Kingsley), Hugo embarks on a quest to solve the mystery of the automaton and find a place he can call home.
As mentioned above, this was directed by the incomparable Scorsese ("Mean Streets" '73, "Taxi Driver" '76, "New York, New York" '77, "Raging Bull" '80, "The King of Comedy" '83, "The Color of Money" '86, "Goodfellas" '90, "Cape Fear" '91, "Casino" '95, "Gangs of New York" '02, "The Aviator" '04, "The Departed" '06, "Shutter Island" '10) and many others. How he gets his actors to express themselves as they do with amazing character changes is pure genius. This was written by John Logan based on Brian Selznick's book, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret".

Others to round out the cast are Sacha Baron Cohen as Station Inspector, Ray Winstone as Hugo's drunk Uncle Claude, Helen McCrory as Mama Jeanne, wife of Georges, Emily Mortimer as Lisette, Michael Stuhlbarg as Rene Tabard, Frances de la Tour as Madame Emile, and Richard Griffiths as Monsieur Frick.

Scorsese utilizes a lot of the same people to assist him with his projects and Sandy Powell as costume designer is no exception. She has desiged costumes for the likes of "The Miracle" '91, "The Crying Game" '92, "Michael Collins" '96, "Shakespeare in Love" '98, "Far From Heaven" '02, "Gangs of New York" '02, "The Aviator" '04, "The Departed" '06, "The Other Boleyn Girl" '08, and "Shutter Island" '10. She will be looking at a nomination for her work here I'm sure.

The cinematography of Robert Richardson, asc ("Platoon" '86, "Wall Street" '87, "Born on the Fourth of July" '89, "JFK" '91, "A Few Good Men" '92, "Natural Born Killers" '94, "Casino" '95, "Nixon" '95, "Wag the Dog" '97, "The Horse Whisperer" '98, "The Aviator" '04, "The Good Shepherd" '06, "Shine a Light" '08, "Shutter Island" '10) and many others was simply perfection. The extreme lights and darks in this just added more of the richness this film already exuded. This film too, will be nominated for an Oscar.

If you decide to see this on the large screen, definitely view it in 3D. It only adds to the story and the amazing visuals this film has to offer. This is a great 'ride' for one and all for the pure adventure and entertainment factor that will keep you glued to your seat.

Out of 4 stars: 4                      Rated: PG                          126min.