A trip that any self-respecting movie aficionado must take.

Rating: 8/10 (12 January 2012)

Many reviewers have labelled this kiddie-friendly adventure as Martin Scorsese's "love letter to cinema", and quite frankly, I couldn't have put it better myself. Set in a train station in 1930's Paris, Hugo tells the story of the titular orphaned boy (Asa Butterfield – occasionally grating in his overplayed innocence) who will do anything to fix the life-like robot left to him as he believes – hopes – it contains a message from his dearly beloved father, all the while discovering how cinema began thanks to a chance encounter with a grumpy old store owner (Ben Kingsley). Although played out honestly enough, it's merely a means for Scorsese, a self-confessed cineaste, to show off his encyclopaedic knowledge of all things movie-related; and, boy, it truly is a wondrous world we've been invited into by the maestro. Complete with flawless 3D that adds tremendous depth, countless references to pre-sound motion pictures and another incredible turn from Chloe Grace-Moretz, this is one trip that any self-respecting movie aficionado must take.