Hugo

Rating: 8/10 (2 June 2012)

Very well done story about a fictional (?) boy named Hugo, and wanting to find out the secret behind the animatronic man he inherited from him Father. The connections lead to the mysterious man in the trinket shop at the train station. I had heard a lot about how great Hugo was, but somewhat purposely avoided to find out what it was about except hearing little hints along the way (It was a tribute to the movies! A Trip To The Moon is somewhat involved!) and I'm glad I did. Hugo is made by Martin Scorcese, clearly a guy who loves the historical background of the movies (I've actually seen, and touched his collection of films at the Eastman House Archives (no public access!) and this was obviously a labor of love for him. I enjoyed it. I wasn't necessarily OVERWHELMED by it, but it was cute, it seemed to have a bit of a "Chaplin" feel to it though, and may have just been a wee bit sentimental. The Academy made the right choice in giving the Best Picture Oscar to "The Artist", the OTHER film about the love of the movies.