Hugo

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Plot: Hugo (Asa Butterfield), an orphan in 1920's Paris, lives in a train station where he winds the clocks, and tries to keep clear of the constable (Sacha Baron Cohen). He tries to steal parts for an automaton from a toy dealer (Ben Kingsley,) but is caught and soon meets the dealer's foster daughter Isabella (Chloe Grace Mortez.) Isabella and Hugo discover a secret about the toy dealer which propels the movie to its conclusion. 

Review: This story about the plight of orphans in Paris is a stylized fantasy, but well-done, always entertaining, and fun to watch. 

The tween actors, Asa Butterfield and Chloe Grace Mortez, are excellent, and they execute their lines with emotion and not woodenness.

I also liked the Sash Baron Cohen character, who is handicapped physically and emotionally. His whole subplot was pretty cool, and is a parallel story to Hugo's. 

A really well-directed 3D movie where much of the action occurs in a plane perpendicular to the screen rather than left to right. The photography is very good, and the giant clock scenes are outstanding in art direction. 

Cast: Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Mortez, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Rating:   3.5 stars: top film: nearly 4.0

More: The filmmaker is certainly in love with film making. 

Even more: I liked the stylized artwork in the old silent movies.

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