Hugo

The legendary director Martin Scorsese has made many violent and very adult films. Now he is making something for the kids and trying his hand at 3D in the process.

The use of 3D has been abused by Hollywood lately, with most films not being worthy of having been made in that way. It is one of those things that needs a skilled film maker to really be any good. Which is why it is used so well here. Martin is a skilled film maker who fully understands how films are made. Which is demonstrated with this film in more ways than one. On the one hand he has used the 3D process brilliantly. The way he makes the environments stand out are simply breathtaking. The film is set in a clockwork like environment so there are many cogs and wheels all over the place. I've always been fascinated by clockworks and how all the cogs can fit together to make something work so precisely. Which is why I loved the look of this film so much. The way the camera moves through the various sets is a thing of magic. One of the few occasions where the 3D process is worth the extra price of admission.

Martin also shows off his mastery of cinema with his integration of the early days of cinema into the plot. I found this part of the film fascinating. It was a very good lesson in simple film techniques which prove you do not need flashy special effects to tell stories. Back in those days they used the most basic skills to make magic on screen and still make it seem wonderful. Granted it would have wowed audiences back then and most audiences these days would find it quaint, but it is still great to see how simple things can have the biggest effect. To many people the film making process can be very boring. But on all the film sets I've been on I've always found it fascinating to see how things work and what goes into getting each shot. Which is why I loved this part of the film so much.

I only had one minor problem with the film, that I found it a bit too long. There were a few sections that dragged a bit and could have done with some tighter editing to make them move the pace of the film along a bit quicker. Other wise this is a wondrous piece of film making.

Asa Butterfield is one of those young actors we will be seeing a lot of in the future. He is very skilled at giving an emotional performance as a troubled young man. It is nice to see Chloe Grace Moretz making a film that suits her age group. She is delightful and so wonderful in this film. Ben Kingsley gives a nicely understated performance as the classic film maker. Many people only know Sacha Baron Cohen from his crazy characters like Borat, Bruno and Ali G. What many tend to forget is his skills as a comic actor in less wacky roles. Here he hilarious as he plays a role that reminds you of the comic performers that were around when the film was set.

Perhaps younger film makers need to go back to school and have some lessons from these older film makers in how to really use the 3D process to make wonderful films. Definitely a film worthy of the extra money to see in 3D.