Hugo (2011) - Scorsese's critically acclaimed, magical 3D family adventure/financial disaster

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2 Time Film Excess Nominee:


Best Non-adult Actor: Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz (lost to Amara Miller for The Descendants)
Best Cinematography: Robert Richardson (lost to Phedon Papamichael for The Descendants)


+ Best Family Movie of the Year
+ Most Expensive Flop of the Year
+ Best 3D Movie of the Year 
+ Worst Poster of the Year

Does the poster for Martin Scorsese's Hugo spell magic and adventure, in 3D? (Probably not as much as it should have.)

QUICK REVIEW:

Hugo Cabret lives in Paris' main train station in 1930, because he operates the clocks there alone after his father's death and his uncle's disappearance. Together with a girl, he wants to unlock his father's message from inside a robot that he has left him with.

Hugo is an adaptation of Brian Selznick's (The Houdini Box (1991)) 2007 illustrated novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret by John Logan (Skyfall (2012)), directed by master filmmaker Martin Scorsese (Casino (1995)). It is a film that brings joy to its audiences simply through its images, which Scorsese and Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Richardson (Django Unchained (2012)) have created with enormous, visual talent and resources. Hugo is a 3D movie, and praised for its 3D use, among others by James Cameron (Avatar (2009)), which he has said was the best he had yet seen, but it can also be seen and enjoyed without 3D, - no problemo.
On the Hugo posters, Asa Butterfield (Ender's Game (2013)) and Chloë Grace Moretz (Clouds of Sils Maria (2014)) look sickly pale, unappealing, almost ugly, (which is a really bad choice for the posters that have to mass-sell a film), but the two act fantastically in the film, and they are backed up by a first class ensemble: Jude Law (A. I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)), Ray Winstone (Edge of Darkness (2010)), Christopher Lee (The City of the Dead (1960)), Sacha Baron Cohen (The Dictator (2012)), - who is really funny here, - and Ben Kingsley (Gandhi (1982))!
This is a magical, touching, grandiose film about the amazing world of film and its importance. It might not be absolutely unforgettable, but it is certainly an outstanding movie.


Related posts:
 

Martin Scorsese:  2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) - One helluva movie!  
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]  
2011 in films - according to Film Excess
Boardwalk Empire - 1st season (2010) - Luxurious 1920's ensemble gangster treats  
The Aviator (2004) - The grand American biopic 
Casino (1995) - Scorsese's sumptuous Vegas gangster tale has the wingspan of a Greek tragedy   
The Age of Innocence (1993) or, Stayin' IN the Pants
Cape Fear (1991) - Scorsese adds lots of stuff to remake but loses the balance  

Sascha Baron Cohen is funny in Martin Scorsese's Hugo

Watch the trailer here

Cost: 150-170 mil. $
Box office: 185.8 mil. $
= Huge flop
[Hugo's production, co-produced by GK Films and Johnny Depp's Infinitum Nihil, shot in London and Paris, went way over budget, (a reported 70 mil. $!) due to runaway production and 3D-related costs. It was extremely well-received critically, making it to many top 10 lists of the year, and it won a mountain of awards, including 5 Oscars (Cinematography, Art Direction, Visual Effects, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing), out of 11 nominations, making it the year's most Oscar-nominated film! But the public did not, regrettably, flock to see it in the required numbers. It was quite a hit in Italy, where it made 7.3 mil. €. In the US, it made 73.8 mil. $ (40 % of the total gross), following its 15.4 mil. $ opening weekend. Besides better posters, it might have helped it Hugo had had one or two significant non-white actors in its ensemble as well.]

What do you think of Hugo?

Dark Shadows (2012) - Fun, flamboyant vampire romp is a celebration of culture

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Johnny Depp in theatrics for Tim Burton's Dark Shadows

QUICK REVIEW:

The coffin of Barnabus Collins is found in the 1970's after he has rested in it for almost 200 years. And the culture shock during his re-assimilation with his current family members do not end with the fact that Collins is a vampire...!
This very cheerful horror comedy is based on a beloved Gothic soap opera of the same name that ran from 1966-71. 
Shadows by the great Tim Burton (Batman Returns (1992)) has lots of tongue-in-cheek gags, good effects, tomfoolery, and an enthusiastic, excellent Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands (1990)); Michelle Pfeiffer (What Lies Beneath (2000)) appears in a dashing 70's wig, and the film has cameos by Christopher Lee (The Man With the Golden Gun (1974)) and heavy-rocker Alice Cooper (Monster Dog (1984)). - And really groovy music, both contemporary (that is, 70's) and from composer Danny Elfman (Mars Attacks! (1996)). Dark Shadows is very Burtonesque and hard not to enjoy. Not his most original film, but a good, fun, entertaining time.
One reservation: The overly busy digital stylization of the movie threatens to impose on it a more anonymous, disgusting look. Burton, beware -- remember that texture and mistakes are natural and inherent in cinema!
Burton's next film, the interestingly sounding artist biopic Big Eyes, is coming out later this year and is being revealed in glimpses to eager reporters in Cannes at the moment.

Related reviews:

Tim Burton: Batman Returns (1992) - Burton gives us the ultimate, Gothic spin on Gotham City and its sinister characters
Batman (1989) - A huge, glitzy, empty joker
Beetle Juice (1988) - Burton and team serve one of the best horror comedies ever

A delicious character header for Tim Burton's Dark Shadows

Watch the very amusing trailer here

Budget: 150 mil. $
Box office: 245.5 mil. $
= Minor flop

What do you think of Dark Shadows?
Rate Johnny Depp's performances in Tim Burton's films, (if you are familiar with them)

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) - Issues can't overturn Lucas' thrilling achievement

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+ Best Fight Scene of the Year: Yoda vs. County Dooku + Best Space Movie of the Year
 

 

An epic-teasing and quite delectable poster for George Lucas' Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

10 years have gone by since the events in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), and Padawan apprentice Anakin is now a young adult. Obi-Wan Kenobi has taught him the arts of the Jedi, but Skywalker is rebellious and arrogant. Queen Amidala is now Senator, and assassins try to kill her. Anakin moves her to safety, while Obi-Wan follows the mysterious leads that soon reveal a clone army.

 
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones is written by Jonathan Hales (The Scorpion King (2002)) and great Californian filmmaker, co-writer/director George Lucas (THX 1138 (1971)). It is the 5th film in the Star Wars franchise.

Up to this point it was also the longest Star Wars film (at 142 minutes) and probably the least liked generally, but for me it is a satisfying space adventure; Episode III (2005) is the weakest in the original 6-film saga, with Episode I and Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) as the strongest.
The biggest hurdles in Episode II and III are Lucas' questionable ability to write romance, and Hayden Christensen (Takers (2010)), the uncharismatic, dull and dubiously talented new actor employed for the pivotal part of Anakin Skywalker. Lucas has a much better actress in Natalie Portman (Black Swan (2010)) as Senator Amidala, but still the two mostly fail in bringing feelings of real romance into their calculated scenes, set in excessively picturesque settings to lure the viewer's attention away from the stony dialog and interaction.
I have problems connecting the dots between the overly smart, cute boy Anakin of Episode I with the brooding, dumb Anakin of Episode II. Something has somehow gone terribly wrong in the ten year span that we are left unaware of: The young man talks continuously about his mother and unfairness committed against him; he is almost entirely in his emotions' control. Even the death of his mother (played by Pernilla August (Young Royals (2021-24)) only inspires him to be an enormous idiot. The character, which I loved in Episode I, is now the dumbest Jedi apprentice ever, in Episode II.
Fortunately, Episode II has many better things to offer, which counter-weigh the issues with Anakin and his stale romance:
Ewan McGregor (The Impossible (2012)) is a great Obi-Wan, and I enjoyed his almost detective-like adventure to Kamino and beyond a lot. Samuel L. Jackson (Django Unchained (2012)) is good as Master Windu, and Christopher Lee (Dracula (1958)) is always a great villain, here as Count Dooku. Behind him, Ian McDiarmid (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)), still lurks around in the villains' wardrobe as the imposing Chancellor Palpatine. All of his scenes are amazing.
For levity, Jar Jar Binks, who was not treated mildly by many audiences of Episode I, has been minimized as a character in lieu of more of our old pals R2D2 and C3PO. By theatrical chronology, (Episodes IV,V,VI,I,II,III), I think I have sometimes had enough of the latter at this stage, but at least he loses his head in this film. (That happens in the droid factory scene, which I quite enjoyed.)

The pioneer efforts on the film's digital photography and visual effects end are considerable, and the achievements in this area are deeply impressive. Not least the entirely CG monsters and the giant benevolent lizard are terrific entertainment.
What many fans will remember as the best of Episode II  is undoubtedly Yoda's fight scene. It is highly satisfying and thrilling to finally see him in action, also a technical milestone. There's also a really good scene earlier in the film, where Yoda is teaching young Jedi Padawans.
So while Episode II has its issues, it is also rife with amazing scenes and adventure, and it made me nuts to see the saga-finalizing Episode III in its day, I remember vividly.
Finally, the Star Wars films are also so exciting because of their masterful sound design and the music, composed and conducted by John Williams (The Post (2017)), and performed by the London Voices and the London Symphony Orchestra.

 

Related posts:

 

Star Wars franchise: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker/Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019) - A solid saga ending 

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) - Disney, Howard and Co. drive expensive stick through beloved franchise 

Star Wars: The Last Jedi/Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017) - Glorious, rousing, superb adventure 

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) or, Ginny's Fate: A Star Wars Calculation
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) - Abrams scores big time, makes beautiful space opera blockbuster

George Lucas: 2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) - The nostalgic last of the 'original' Indy movies (story contributor)

Howard the Duck (1986) - Legendary flop is more duck than turkey (executive producer)

American Graffiti (1973) or, Cruisin' Modesto '62

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 115 mil. $
Box office: 653.7 mil. $
= Huge hit (returned 5.68 times its cost)

[Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones premiered 12 May (Los Angeles) and runs 142 minutes. Shooting took place from June - September 2000, with reshoots in March 2001, in Australia, London, England, Tunesia, Spain and Italy. It was allegedly the 3rd film to be shot fully in digital HD. The film opened #1 to an 80 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another weekend at #1 and then another 3 in the top 5 (#2-#3-#5), grossing 302.1 mil. $ (46.2 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Japan with 78.1 mil. $ (11-9 %) and the UK with 58.7 mil. $ (9 %). The film was the year's 3rd highest-grossing in North America, behind Spider-Man and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and 4th highest-grossing globally, a first time a Star Wars film was not #1 over-all. The film was nominated for the Best Visual Effects Oscar, lost to The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Roger Ebert gave the film a 2/4 star review, translating to 2 notches under this one. The Star Wars franchise returned with Lucas' Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), also Lucas' return as a director. Christensen returned first in Shattered Glass (2003); Portman in Cold Mountain (2003); and McGregor in Solid Geometry (2002, TV movie) and theatrically in Down with Love (2003). Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones is fresh at 65 % with a 6.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones?