Movie Night: Hugo

Tag Line: Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station, is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.

I went to see this movie with little expectations beyond the fact I was going to see a movie filmed in 3D. I’d seen a preview a few months back, and it did little to pique my interest beyond the special effects. I assumed this would be another cute children’s film, so I was pleasantly surprised to see it was so much more.

HUGO is more about the wonder of storytelling, than it is about a little boy searching for answers he thinks are locked up in an automaton. While the first half of the movie is about young Hugo’s search, in the second half, the audience is treated to the heart-breaking story of the life of Georges Méliès, a person some would consider the first great fantasy film-maker. And yes, I did see the irony of Martin Scorsese, a visionary is movie making himself, directing a movie about this incredible man.

Georges Méliès saw beyond what ‘moving pictures’ were, to what they could be; a new way to tell stories. He is the pioneer of special effects including stop-motion photography, which is the foundation for all early special effects. And he did this during the first decades of the 20^th century.

As a children’s show, this movie is not for the very young; but more for the young at heart.   

Rating: 4 out of 5

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Pt 2

It’s done. Over. The final chapter in the tale of the boy wizard has been told. For ten years we’ve been enthralled with the adventures of Harry, Ron and Hermione. We laughed, we cried, we bitched about how some movies left out our favourite parts of the book, and with an incredible amount of emotion, we watched as the final battle played out.

As the movie opens, the Death Eaters have taken over Hogwarts, and it’s a sombre place now. No laughter or friends chatting, or running to class. It’s more along the line of a death march, bleak and fearful. It sets the tone for the entire movie, and even though you want the funny parts to be funny and break the tension, it’s hard to laugh. You know what’s coming, and you can’t help but feel that tightness in your throat. Especially when Harry is talking to the spirits of his family in the woods. When he realizes that he may be the one who destroys Voldemort, but it will cost him his life. He knows that now, and accepts the fact that he must die to save the others. No other scene is more moving than when he asks his family if it hurts to die.

As a fan of the series (movie and book), I was completely satisfied with DEATHLY HALLOWS. Like the other movies, it stuck to the main plot and didn’t get caught up in the subplots. Another thing I loved, how the actors, even the ones that had a small part, came back for this movie. The actor who plays Percy was there, he didn’t have a line to say, but seeing him stand next to his onscreen family made the movie even that much more special. I know that’s bad grammar. I don’t care.

Farewell, Harry, Ron and Hermione, it’s been a pleasure watching you.

Movie Night – Nanny McPhee Returns

I wasn’t very excited about seeing this movie as the previews showed it was the same formula as the first, but I did like the first so I put my criticism of the movie on the shelf.

Summary: Nanny McPhee comes to the aid of a woman and her children who are hounded by a greedy relative and two bratty cousins. It had all the wonderment and funny moments that made the first one so enjoyable, but it wasn’t until near the end that it was ruined.

In order for a movie to be a success, it has to ‘suspend belief’, which simply means, whatever is going happening on the screen, it must be believable, no matter how outrageous. Pigs flying? Not a problem, A baby elephant walking into a room without being seen, sneaking between the two adults with its trunk and taking things off the table without the adults seeing, and walking out? Problem.           

And at that point, my belief in the movie was shattered. Whoever suggested the elephant, was way off on this one, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this one thing turned at a lot of people off the movie as well.        

Three Star Movie