Tuesday, December 20, 2011

This movie was directed by who?!

Sorry for the delay folks, I know I came back but then finals started up again and if I want to remain in school I had to actually be productive. But it's time for winter break, which means I am back in action! This break also means lots of movie seeing, television watching and college football bowl season. However, this blog is going to be dedicated to a movie I saw during finals week (a break I surely needed during my studying) and a film that totally hit the spot.

Hugo is a surprising film and I mean that in every good way possible. First it's directed by Martin Scorsese. That's right, Scorsese made a kids movie. The director of movies like The Departed, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, Raging Bull and any other movie opposite a kids movie you can think of. That's correct, Hugo is a fantastic, beautiful, well-written film, with superb acting and an overall cinematic masterpiece. It is a hats-off to old film making, something Scorsese has made clear he is in love with. I got lost in this movie, totally and utterly disappeared into this world and it was mostly due to the way Scorsese directed the film. The first I say six minutes before the title comes on is just awesome.

For those of you who don't know what the film is about I would tell you but I in fact didn't know much about it. The trailer doesn't explain much and I didn't read much before seeing it. And the fact that I did that helped immensely in the way I saw this movie and how much I enjoyed this movie. So, instead of giving you a plot summary I'm just going to tell you to go see it. The cinematography is absolutely fantastic (the movie is based in Paris). The acting is great, especially by the two children who are going to do great things. The title character is portrayed by actor Asa Butterfield (yes, that is his real name) who has done good things already staring in Nanny McPhee Returns and Boy in the Striped Pajamas. The main girl, Chole Moretz is a little more well-known, as the main girl in Kick-Ass and the sister in 500 Days of Summer. Both were fantastic and effortlessly carried this film.

The older actors also did a fabulous job. Another reason I may have liked this movie so much is it had three Harry Potter actors in it. Richard Griffiths who plays Vernon Dursley, Helen McCrory who plays Narcissa Malfoy (she has the biggest part in Hugo and is absolutely brilliant) and then Frances de la Tour who plays Madame Maxime in Harry Potter. Not to mention Jude Law, Christopher Lee, and Ben Kingsley who is also a main character. All these actors play their small part in this great movie that I believe kids will find fun, adults will fond over and people my age will purely enjoy.

Essentially what I'm saying is see this movie. It's a great family film that you can take anyone to and it is one everyone will enjoy. I don't know how a man who makes gangster movies was capable of grabbing my attention for two hours and take everything going on in my life (especially the stress of finals) and make me forget it all. Then again, he is Martin Scorsese.

With that here are some lovely movie side notes.
1. Despite it's not-so-great reviews, the second Sherlock Holmes film took first place in the box office, but definitely did not receive the numbers it was looking for. Nonetheless, it's a movie I surely want to see. Get ready for the next couple weeks though, some fantastic films are coming.
2. Finally! The first real trailer for Dark Knight Rises has been released and may I say it looks just fantastic. I have not seen the eight minute beginning that was released in front of the new Mission Impossible movie in IMAX, but the trailer was enough excitement for me. Should be a summer filled with blockbusters.
3. I was going to talk about the Golden Globe nominations but I was too in love with Hugo to not talk about it. So here are my brief thoughts: Sad about Harry not getting a nod, look at Ryan Gosling in both the drama and comedy categories, dang the Artist with six nods, I've gotta see the Descendants, no Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids which is crap, there is no dominant animation movie, The Help rocks out with so many deserving nominations.

With that I say... Live long and prosper.

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