Hugo review

 Number 698 on the top 1000 films of all time is Martin Scorsesee's 2011 historical drama 'Hugo.'

Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) is an orphan who lives in the clocktower of the Parisian Gare Montparnasse railway station. Before his father (Jude Law) died in a fire, the two of them were restoring an automaton that they found in the back of a museum. In honour of his dad, Hugo resolves to finish fixing the robot by stealing parts notably from cantankerous toyshop owner Georges (Ben Kingsley,) while being aided by Georges' goddaughter Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz) and librarian Monsieur Labisse (Christopher Lee.) Meanwhile, Hugo has to avoid being caught by station inspector Gustave Daste (Sacha Baron Cohen) who will send him to the orphanage.

If you had told me this was a Martin Scorsesee film, I would never have believed you. There's no mafia, no profuse use of the F word, no Leonardo Dicaprio and no Robert De Niro. Yet Scorsesee has still lovingly crafted a creative, engrossing story with lovely visuals and a great cinematography. At the end of the day, he is a film director and lover of film, so it's no surprise that he took to this film with such ardent fervour. And film is at the heart of Hugo. Upon fixing the automaton, Hugo stumbles upon a mystery that goes all the way back to the birth of cinema, tying together elements like the Lumiere Brothers, Georges Meliet and the famous film 'A Trip to the Moon.'

The ensemble cast were all very good together. Asa Butterfield has grown up a little from his leading role in the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Ben Kingsley is always great regardless of whatever he is in and Sacha Baron Cohen brought a frenetic energy and mischief to his role. The only one I was less sure about was Chloe Grace Moretz. As an American, she obviously had to put on a British accent, but it sounded very put on. Maybe because it was the stereotypical posh accent that Americans do whenever they're playing British characters.

Nevertheless, this was a very entertaining film. It was creative with a great cast and it serves as proof that Scorsesee can do a lot more than just mob films.