“First off, personal update that will inevitably dictate some of the future of this blog. My theatre group had our show selection today and we’re doing Urinetown this spring and Reefer Madness in the summer. Both are shows I’d very much like to be involved in. And we all know what happens to my write ups and side projects when I’m doing a show. You’ve been warned. Also, I’m social comm again!
It’s rare that a movie (in wide release) that’s so hyped and getting such great buzz manages to hit its release date without me ever seeing a trailer. Granted, I dont go watching them online, but I’m at the theater so often that I typically see all trailers multiple times. But such was the case with Hugo. Going in, I really had no clue what to expect story wise. Non-story wise I had an idea. I knew it was brought to us by the wonderful Martin Scorsese. That right there was reason enough to see the movie. I’d been hearing great things about the 3D as well, but being kinda jaded on the fad, I was leery.
Basically what jumped this to the top of my priority list was a conversation with a co-worker the other day. He was emphatic that as a film buff, I would love this movie. Color me intrigued. He also emphasized that I needed to see it in 3D. Not difficult.
Im still a little unsure of my overall feelings toward the film. On the one hand, it was fun and full of intrigue and more goodness that I’ll elaborate on momentarily. But on the other, it dragged quite a bit. Now maybe it was just that I was really feeling this cold I cant shake, and was jonesing for some throat coat tea, but there def were scenes that I either didnt care about or felt that went on for too long. Also, the way the story was structured felt a bit off balance.
The way it started out was fantastic. The scenes within the clockwork were stunning (I’m not sure if I’m sold on it being the “”best 3D ever”” but it was gorgeous, third dimension or not). I fell in love with our hero, Hugo, and loved watching him and getting a glimpse into his life. There was some mystery and intrigue that kept me with baited breath, wanting more (the whole not having seen a trailer and having no clue what was going on helped that a bit too). But where I think things were off was when the whole film appreciation element comes into play later in the game. I do feel that Scorsese is quite possibily the single best director to have been able to address that side. He has such a respect and knowledge of film that would have come across even if I didnt already know that about him. But where that hurt was that it seemed like the film backstory and related scenes could have been cut a bit shorter, and they disrupted the narrative flow a bit. I also feel we could have done without most of the side characters and their stories. Yes all the other people who frequented the train station were cute, but they didnt really add anything other than minutes to the run time.
Overall, good but not as great as I’d been led to believe.
Hugo – \m/ \m/ \m/