Sunday, March 4, 2012

Family Adventures: Hugo


Image via Kidsmomo

In some ways, it seemed kind of silly to go see a movie in the theater the weekend after it had been released on DVD. But Essex Cinemas had a 10:15 a.m. showing of Hugo today and, as it turns out, Sunday morning's a great time to see a film. We were the only ones there - essentially a private screening! And now, I can definitely say that it was worth seeing this particular film with the big screen, the 3D glasses, the surround sound - the works. It was, after all, Our Girl's introduction to Martin Scorsese films. Mind you, I expect we'll hold off for a while on the others...

Last week's Academy Awards reminded us how few of the nominated films we'd seen this year. Hugo, in particular, had been on our to-see list for a while but we just never got around to it before this. We were lucky that it stayed in our local theater for so long. The Artist, of course, was the big winner last Sunday, beating out yet another Scorsese film for Best Picture. Scorsese's woes at the Oscars are well known. The almost undisputed greatest director of his generation has only ever won the Best Picture and Best Director awards once each - both for Departed, a film which most who know his work wouldn't even put in his career top five. His masterpieces - Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and GoodFellas - all fell short. With 20+ years hindsight, all three are seen as seminal films of the era, far better than Rocky, Ordinary People and (really?) Dances with Wolves respectively. If time be the true test, Marty always wins.


Scorsese photo via Rotten Tomatoes

I expect the same will be true for Hugo. I'll admit to skepticism during the early part of the film. The movie was dazzling to the senses but the story was slow and lacked the sort of hook to draw you into the narrative.


!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!

But once the big revelation hit about the true identity of Ben Kingsley's character, Georges Méliès, the legendary French filmmaker, the real magic kicked into gear. I'll admit upfront that I'm a sucker for movies made for people who love movies and Scorsese's homage to early film is simply divine. The tale of Hugo Cabret, an orphan living on his own in the clockworks of a train station, is a wonderful parable for the true tale of Méliès, a genius lost to the wilderness of obscurity only to be rediscovered later in life. Oscars or no Oscars, Scorsese's legacy is secure and I love that he's chosen to use his high pedestal to celebrate a forgotten titan of his medium.

My favorite film geek moment actually comes up twice, the shot of movie goers ducking in reaction to the image of an oncoming train in a very early 2D film. It's a nice little joke in our current cinematic age, and Scorsese's first 3D movie.

!!!END OF SPOILER!!!


Five out of five stars for Hugo. On my Netflix profile, I don't give five stars very often. For me, this highest rating is reserved for those films against which I judge other films. The Empire Strikes Back is a five. The Wizard of Oz is a five. GoodFellas is a five. Now, not only might Our Girl be inspired to see more of Scorsese's films once she's older, but might also be curious about the history of the art form and be eager to learn of its early masters. That's the true gift of Hugo.

On the way home, we stopped at Pulcinella's for lunch. I had the polpette parmigiana panini - a nice choice but, as usual, My Wife ordered better. She got the salsiccia e broccoli rapini panini. The highlight of the meal for me was dessert, a sinful chocolate stout cake made with Guinness.

20 comments:

  1. I love going to the movies when no one else is in the cinema. It's so rare though! I still haven't seen Hugo, but it's on my list.

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  2. I watched Hugo this weekend and loved it. I thought it ended up being a really charming film with just the right amount of special effects. Loved it.

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  3. I still want to see this film. We missed it in the theaters. I think we saw The Muppets instead.

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  4. We were going to watch this, yesterday, but the only showing was in the next town over and we didn't quite make it ...

    I threw my foam brick at the TV when 'The Artist' won Best Picture. Whatevs.

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    1. Like I said, 20 years from now, justice will be served. The novelty of "The Artist" will wear off by then (just as it did for "Dances with Wolves") and "Hugo" will still be outstanding. Admittedly, I argue this point without actually having seen "The Artist" but history tends to be kind to Scorsese's films.

      Foam bricks for throwing at televisions - now, there's a marketing opportunity! How do you come by yours? Yoga? Child-rearing?

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    2. And the thing is, Scorsese seems, besides being quite obviously genius, like such an authentically nice guy.

      Bought the foam brick at a box store six or so years ago during Super Bowl season. There was some display full of party supplies and I thought, yeah, not gonna pass this up.

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  5. Thanks for visiting my blog. I appreciate it, and am glad to return the favor. Whenever anyone starts discussing recent movies, (and by recent, I mean anything that hasn't made it to TV yet) I'm kinda out of the loop. It's probably been twenty years since my hubby and I went to the movies. Years ago, it was nothing to sit through a double feature, newsreel, coming attractions, and cartoon, (sometimes, TWICE, just to take advantage of the air conditioning) but nowadays, we get too antsy to sit still through an entire movie. Still, you make "Hugo" sound intriguing. Ditto the whole 3-D craze. (I have a feeling the technology has improved considerably since I last saw one of those movies!)

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    1. We don't go very often either - few seem worth the expense. When our daughter was younger, they freaked her out too much and rare was the opportunity for my wife and me to go on our own. All of that has changed over the past few months. We've seen five films in the theater in the past year. It's been nearly a decade since the last time we could say that.

      And SFS, since you bring it up, I think the 3-D craze will pass just as it did the last time. It's fun, but not really worth paying that little bit extra for the tickets.

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  6. I still want to see "The Artist" and "Hugo". I think they will both be remembered for a while due to their difference from the rest of today's films

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  7. Not seen 'Hugo' or 'The Artist' yet either- 3D is probably a fad but it very very much appeals to my childish sense of delight in gimmicks, so wish I had seen 'Hugo' in a cinema. Our TV is tiny, but we have good sound.

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  8. Two of my favs - chocolate cake and guinness - never had them together though. Thanks for following me - looking forward to the A-Z challenge!

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  9. I've been curious about Hugo, but the wife isn't, so I'll see it when I can. Thanks for the really obvious Spoiler Alert; very helpful ;)

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  10. Hugo was a great flick. I want to see the Artist on the big screen if I get the chance I love the idea of the elegance of silent story telling :) Nice to meet you too and following back great blog :)

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  11. I really liked Hugo, but I have yet to see The Artist.

    www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

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  12. Hi! Stopped by to give you a follow from the A-Z challenge! It's rare that I even like a movie that has won an Oscar. And my all time favorites continue to be those old black and whites- especially the mysteries. They just seem more intense/suspenseful in black and white...maybe because they leave something to the imagination?

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  13. Thanks for the caption quote - excellent :)

    (You get extra Kudos for being the first one to realize what was going on.... No idea how the ball got stuck.... but it was funny watching them try dislodge it :)

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  14. i've been wanting to go see it, and still will... the spoiler alert did not deter me...

    nice write.

    and thanks for stopping by and checking out my site... i am looking for to the april's challenge....

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  15. Well, since I agree with your other five star ratings, I may have to give Hugo a watch! Thanks for the review.

    Allison (Geek Banter)

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  16. Sounds like a great day!
    I was proundly affected by Aviator. How do you feel about that movie? I actually am quite interested to know. We are great movie lovers here, although when I review (which is frequently) I mostly review books, for Amazon.
    We love music, as well!
    Nice to meet you and to get to be your 100th follower is so COOL! :) I am honored!

    jean

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    1. Thank you for being my 100th follower, Jean! I must confess that I've not seen Aviator. I guess I'll need to give it a go.

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