Wonderful but not for everyone

Rating: 9/10 (25 May 2012)

So I went to see the movie after the Academy Awards fame here in Germany with some friends. And I must say that this movie really bedazzled me.
The setting is taking place in Paris in the fifties i believe, where in the main train station young Hugo secretly lives and checks the local mechanical clocks. Always in fear of the strict station overseer played very well by Sasha Baron Cohen. One day he gets caught stealing supplies from an old toy maker, because he wants to finish an mechanical human which his dead father tried to repair. Being forced to redeem himself by working for the toy maker he gets to know his adopted daughter, which he introduces into his magical world behind the clockworks. As the story unfolds you get to know of the connection between the mechanical human, the toy maker and his past, not wanting to spoil it here.
When I say its not for everyone, that is because you got to have a good sake of your childish imagination and the ability to get very enthusiastic over certain scenery and magic moments. My friends didn't like it so much in the end because they lack the enthusiasm and found the acting too childish. For me as a steam punk/clockwork punk fan it was just heaven and the deepened look into the movie making of the twenties was just heart warming. I watched it 3D and found that the effect was OK but not overused because its more of a story telling film not aiming for visual effects all day long.
The ending was very well and gave you that warm fuzzy feeling that everything in the world can turn out nice, and even the station overseer has a soft core, without being corny or cheesy.
The actors did a good job, kids just being kids, with a little bit of a stereotype though going for the cheeky little girl that can be a bit annoying. Ben Kingsley one of my favorites in this one just gives a very believable performance and Sasha Baron Cohen proofs that he can play other roles then Borat/Ali G./Bruno stereotypes. The rest of the crew was also spot on with Jude Law as the caring father, and Christopher Lee as a book shop owner (what can that guy play without fitting?)