‘Argo’ Review: Ben Affleck Has Made Complete Transition From Actor To Director

Former acting heartthrob Ben Affleck has completely reinvented himself as a top-notch director with this year’s Oscar contender, Argo. Following up on the success of The Town and Gone Baby Gone before it, Affleck’s Argo continues his maturation as craftsman behind the camera, reaching heights he was unable to reach in front of it.

Argo sees Affleck playing Tony Mendez, a real-life CIA operative who helps to rescue six U.S. hostages who are kept captive in Iran in 1980. Affleck intros the audience to the situation by blending actual footage from the period with realistic recreations of Iran demonstrations in the film. Mendez, working with Bryan Cranston’s Jack O’Donnell, develops a scheme to save the hostages by creating a fake movie, so that the hostages will act as a Canadian film crew to attempt to flee their captivity.

Ben Affleck’s Tony Mendez gives out unwelcome news to hostages in “Argo.”

“Argo,” the name of the fake movie, is “created” with the help of Hollywood players, played by John Goodman and the crass but hilarious Alan Arkin. The Tinseltown aspects of the film provide required levity and balance the tension that the hostage situation holds at all other times. The fake film “Argo” has a real script and a casting session to give weight and cover to the reality that this production does exist, once the Iranian government starts to look into the matter. In the meantime, there is a race against time scenario as Iran discovers that there are traders in their midst, being held within their borders.

Affleck handles everything gracefully. There is real tension in scenes in Iran and the U.S., and given that the film is based on a true story, Affleck wisely addresses the subject with appropriate care. The main actors all give solid performances and the film will likely be in contention come awards season. I think it’s a lock to be considered for Best Picture at the Oscars, if not the current, early frontrunner. Don’t let the few missteps (an unneeded denouement; the fact that we know the outcome) dissuade you from viewing this solid film. Affleck is a true success story in Hollywood, the same way “Argo” was in this rescue mission.

Looper Movie Review

‘Looper’ Throws Viewers For a Loop with Sci-Fi Time Travel

Movies about the future can be hit or miss, but Looper can be considered a direct hit. Looper stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as Joe, a “looper,” which is a term for those that kill people sent back in time from the future to close their proverbial loop. The concept in and of itself is intriguing and exciting. Several of Joe’s co-workers (also loopers, who are hired by the mob) have been having their loop closed lately, where they essentially kill their 30 years from now future self. Loopers have been known to celebrate the achievement, knowing that they can live out the next 30 years with a bit of abandon. For Joe, the thought seems a bit more melancholy. The stakes are upped once Joe discovers that he will face a similar fate.

In this dystopian future (the movie is slightly unconvincingly set in 2074) Joe encounters old Joe, Bruce Willis, who somehow manages to escape death from young Joe. This leads to a cat and mouse chase thriller with a twist. Joe goes on the lam from Joe and encounters Sara (Emily Blunt) who has a strange situation herself. There is a reason that the attractive woman is alone with her son in the middle of nowhere raising crops. That will be revealed upon watching, no spoilers here.

Looper provides some interesting sci-fi and some cool “what ifs”. The movie engages us from the start and despite a seemingly challenging premise, all is easy to follow and makes sense upon watching the film. Director Rian Johnson (Brick, The Brothers Bloom) who once stamped himself as a director to watch with the best film of 2006, solidifies that notion here, with a strong script and excellent direction, despite what appears to be a moderate budget at best. Looper has an indy feel, which is a bit strange for a movie that would be a blockbuster.

‘Looper’ features an angry Joseph Gordon-Levitt toting guns. Say “hello” to my…

It’s worth noting that Looper employs some cool effects and makeup to allow Joseph Gordon-Levitt to look so much like a young Bruce Willis. As such, Looper hits plenty of the right notes. The one thing that the film lacks is much of a sense of humor. It is serious in tone and while that’s fine, the subject matter could have lent itself for a few chuckles here or there. The film is also very sci-fi, mending horror elements into it. That was unexpected but not unwelcomed due to how deftly it all plays out. Looper is the first must-see action film of the fall, so get out there to see it before your loop gets closed.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘The Master’ Review: A Film For Film Buffs

Editor’s Note: I know this is overdue since I saw the film several weeks ago, but am writing the review now. Forgive me.

‘The Master’ is a Movie That Will be Hailed Critically and Crippled at the Turnstiles

Director Paul Thomas Anderson casts The Master expertly, with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix giving career-defining performances. There is no question that the performances are what stand out most in PTA’s film. Hoffman and Phoenix have simply never been better, and that includes their award winning roles in Capote and Walk The Line, respectively.

Hoffman plays Lancaster Dodd, an L. Ron Hubbard (Scientology, Dianetics) sort of figure, who runs a religious cult of sorts. “The Cause” gains followers and critics alike. His second opus, the geniusly-titled “Split Saber” causes some questions, even amongst Dodd’s devoted followers, which brings on some hang-wringing and fury.

Philip Seymour Hoffman channels a higher power in The Master.

Joaquin Phoenix is Freddy Quell, an alcoholic drifter with emotional issues sustained from his time in the Vietnam War. Quell serves as an ample mentee to Dodd as he challenges his power while also serving as a muse for his work. Freddy inspires and confounds Dodd, much as this picture probably will do to audiences.

Dodd’s own son mocks him, serving as Anderson’s reaction to mocking cults. Though he skewers religion, while languishing on sexual inhibition, Anderson also brings the camera intimately close to the action, allowing us all inside The Master’s inner circle. Fun stuff. The Master is a journey into Dodd’s cult and the troubles brought about by his teachings.

‘The Master’ Mocks Religious Cults and May Spell Trouble For PTA’s Career

There are several scenes that are both humorous and standout. Note the key “processing” scene between Freddy and Dodd. This is tightrope-walking stuff. Sexual acts and debauchery also abound. We witness Freddy faux-making love to a sand sculpture of a woman early on. The leads knowingly drink alcoholic elixirs mixed with poison throughout. Supporting performances leave a little to be desired and the story allows you to draw your own conclusions. However, while you attempt to piece together where the story goes at the end, you are also able to revel in its glory.

Joaquin Phoenix finds sexual solace with a sand sculpture in The Master.

Anderson continues to move further away from more traditional filmmaking into an area where few choose to go. With Boogie Nights, he was an auteur who balanced mainstream with avant-garde cinema. With The Master, he is strictly on the thought-provoking tip, allowing the viewer to draw his or her own conclusions as to the events that they have just witnessed. For the most part, that is what makes his movies so much fun. Anderson is the type of filmmaker who the best actors in the business want to work with. They know he will challenge them and bring out the best in them and that is about the highest compliment a director can receive.

The challenge to PTA’s career going forward is to continue to be able to make the movies that he wants to make. The fact that The Master has stumbled at the box office could put him into that difficult territory where someone like Terence Malick finds himself, critically lauded, but someone that studios are becoming increasingly less eager to work with. Hopefully, PTA can continue to churn out films like The Master, because they are indeed masterful works of art.

The Dark Knight Rises Review

Wrapping up a trilogy is not supposed to be easy. Especially one that has for the most part flipped the superhero genre on its head, making a superhero very real, human and grounding him and his world in reality in part, the way that Christopher Nolan’s new Batman trilogy has. With The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan says goodbye to his take on Gotham’s Dark Knight in grand-scale style.

To look at Rises, we have to look back to know the trilogy. The film opens on the thoughts of the end of The Dark Knight, with a city remembering the death of Harvey Dent. Commissioner Gordon wants to reveal the cover up of Dent’s death, as Gordon has been living a lie with the city, but he can’t bring himself to do it. Eight years have passed sine The Dark Knight became villain to the city and he has gone into retirement. Gotham’s organized crime is non-existent and cops are left filling the hours idly.

But Bane, a terrorist of origins not-unlike Batman, has a plot to rip Gotham to pieces. Tom Hardy’s Bane speaks through a gravely voice box that helps keep him alive. Indeed, without his mask, Bane is not so tough. Bane’s plot, coupled with an introduction to a thief in skintight gear known as Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, marks an apt time for Christian Bale’s Batman to make a return to protect the city he cherishes. But Batman has been idle too long, almost crippled from his previous Dark Knight duties and never seen outside. His reintroduction doesn’t go over so smoothly.

What plays out over a nearly three hour running time is Nolan playing on his filmmaking from the previous two films. Nolan uses lines and plot points as perfect feeders for those who have followed his Dark Knight to his story’s conclusion.  Almost all the players from films past, save for The Joker, due to Ledger’s passing, have some sort of role to play here. All the while, Nolan introduces new members fairly seamlessly into the last film.

Nolan wisely doesn’t attempt to top The Dark Knight, but he successfully melds the themes, characters and stories of the previous two films into The Dark Knight Rises. Bane serves as a fairly apt villain; Catwoman serves as a difficult puzzle to put together and the scale can’t be under mentioned. This is epic filmmaking while Nolan infuses the all-important human element into the film.

The movie is not without it’s flaws in my estimation. Much of the film is predictable, in particular for those who have paid close attention to the way Nolan has laid out previous films in the series. Bane is a good villain, but his tussle with Batman maybe lacks a little of the individual scope that it might have. Perhaps he gives into convention a bit in rounding out this tale. The film takes one shot too many at the very end for my personal liking, all the while causing a few opportunities for strong emotional reactions to the end of his Batman story.

Nolan has done the near impossible with his three films – he’s managed to make a hero seem utterly real, with a performance by Bale that deserves recognition as his tortured crusader runs the gamut of emotions throughout the series. The Dark Knight Rises, though marred by tragedy recently, as Nolan’s previous film both benefitted and hurt from in Heath ledger’s untimely death, still wraps up an immersive trilogy of a man who is going to be hard for many filmgoers to let do….The Dark Knight. Cut to black and cue the music!

‘Moonrise Kingdom’ Review, Wes Anderson Directs Bruce Willis and Edward Norton

Moonrise Kingdom is a return to the vintage form of Wes Anderson’s most famous works, like Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums. Kingdom stars Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as Sam and Suzy, fish out of water types that find eachother and embrace an adventure of their own. Anderson delivers the film in his notorious style, setting the camera in the middle of every set piece and building the direction around that. The adventure-love story delivers the goods that you’d expect in an Anderson film, with pitch perfect locations, quirky characters, revengeful kids, germane adults and a creative story that is both familiar and fresh at the same time.

The film begins with Sam skipping out of a crowded Scout camp, feeling he doesn’t belong – at least that is the company line. In truth, he has hatched a plot to meet up with Suzy, a cute but troubled gal, who feels alone in a family of boys. Sam’s Scout survival skills play front and center as he pitches tents, catches fish, climbs mountains, kayaks waters and scales the terrain of New Penzance, with a freshly escaped from her home Suzy in tow. Their departures set off a massive search on the New England island, which propels the action.

A massive storm has been foreshadowed, so there is inherent danger in the kids’ getaway, placing an urgency to the matter that may not otherwise be there. The search party, led by Police Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis) and Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton), struggles with finding the elusive duo, what with Sam’s skills being utilized to their max. It’s part of the reason Sam was loathed by his fellow Scouts, particularly advanced at what he does, which withdraws him from their good favor. Suzy has her own issues, dealing with anger management issues common to teens going through puberty. The tale unwinds in expected, but still fun, ways.

Bruce Willis and Edward Norton Lead a Cast of Stars in "Moonrise Kingdom."

Norton, Willis and Bill Murray provide the headlines and star quality to help sell the film, but it’s the teenage leads who carry most frames and who the story is entirely centered around. The stars merely fill in the blanks to help round out the cast and assist in the action. The film is not without some minor faults, such as secondary storylines that are unfulfilled (an implied affair between Captain Sharp and Laura Bishop – Frances McDormand – comes to mind) and don’t need to be there, but all in all Kingdom delivers the goods on a cute and convincing tale of newborn love. It’s the humor and quirk of Anderson’s characters that usually win out

Despite Stars, Director Wes Anderson Takes Chances on Unknowns

Anderson, though he may not be credited for doing so, is actually a pretty risky director. He has taken chances on unknown actors and by giving them lead roles in his films, he’s largely helped them into the public consciousness and aided in turning them into stars. For Bottle Rocket, his earliest film venture, he gave the world notice of Owen Wilson. In Rushmore, he handed the lead role to Jason Schwartzmann (who has a great scene stealing mini role in Kingdom). Here, he features two young actors who have never worked in film before and both turn in convincing, solid performances. Both kids may be names to watch in the future. Anderson deserves credit for taking chances, when many may simply see his films as cute, cult pieces.

When Scouts escape, weapons are yielded in Wes Anderson's new movie.

Moonrise Kingdom ultimately succeeds through the delivery of a unique story, in a style that fans are sure to embrace. This is his best film since Tenenbaums and one that will provide fans with a satisfying theatrical experience. For those, it’s required viewing. However, with many things Anderson, for others, an acquired taste. I, however, am a fan.

Movie Review of Sacha Baron Cohen’s ‘The Dictator’

Sacha Baron Cohen is perhaps best known for his turn as Borat, here in the U.S. While Borat balances innocence with hints of shamelessness, The Dictator is simply crude, willing to bash any and all comers. Far less innocent, but this mostly works. In The Dictator, SBC plays General Admiral Aladeen, the ruler of a small middle eastern country Wadiya. Aladeen rules Wadiya with an iron fist, preferring to execute those that disagree with him or even hint at mocking his lack of intelligence.

Larry Charles Directs Sacha Baron Cohen in ‘The Dictator’

Admiral Aladeen basically does whatever he wants. He is so clever and proud of himself that he renamed 300 words in the dictionary to “aladeen.” This has been the source of some confusion in certain circumstances. Aladeen has won his own Golden Globes, 14 gold medals in his own Olympics and apparently remixes American songs, from Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On” to Dr. Dre’s “The Next Episode.” Alas, the General is lonely inside, preferring to bang wealthy American stars, but not just the names you might suspect. Anyway, in general, Aladeen is simply a bit nuts.

Megan Fox is not the only celeb that General Aladeen gets out of their underwear.

People close to him conspire against him though. Thus, Aladeen is forced to come to America to address the United Nations, advising them that he will not sign a treaty to turn his country into a democracy. However, his plot is foiled when he is kidnapped and replaced by a lesser form of human being. Aladeen’s right hand man (Ben Kingsley) plans to turn his country into said democracy, and handsomely profit by doing so. SBC’s Aladeen must stop this at all costs.

Sacha Baron Cohen’s ‘The Dictator’ Riffs On Everything

To give too much more away about the plot would ruin it, despite the fact that the plot merely serves as a loose framework to load on the gags and crude jokes. Alas, SBC provides them in spades. He leaves few stones unturned, fearing not to offend any race, gender, belief system, political standing and more. At one point, Aladeen – with his feminist love interest Zoe (Anna Faris) – has an incident with a cell phone during a child’s birth. The man just doesn’t stop, and it’s something you have to respect.

Anna Faris plays a mostly unwilling accomplice to Baron Cohen's creation.

Fortunately, several of Hollywood’s big names are name-dropped and at least a few are in on the jokes. Baron Cohen pushes as many buttons as he can in The Dictator and while this can’t always pay off, it works enough to keep you laughing, forced or embarrassingly so or not, throughout the proceedings. A word of warning though, this is a film that plans to offend. Women, minorities and more will be demolished, so stay away if you can’t handle the consequences. For those that like this sort of madness, The Dictator will rule your funny bone for a while I’m certain. (By the way, stay through the end for some good outtakes and a little more pushing of the storyline.)

Charlize Theron Downplays Her Sexy Looks in ‘Young Adult’ Movie Review

Young Adult never really latched on with domestic audiences, and it’s understandable why. The film earned just $16m in the U.S. despite a recognizable star (Charlize Theron) and an emerging named director and writer. The film is difficult to classify. It was sold as a comedy, but it’s definitely dark – if and when you are laughing. Meanwhile, it carries the pacing of a drama. Its lead is an adult who thinks she’s still young, in part due to her profession and in part because she really appears to be mentally challenged and depressed. This is a film with a strange tone, very independent in nature though seemingly aspiring to bigger audience appeal. What results is a middling film that struggles to find its footing with an audience. It tries to be too many things at once and ends up hitting singles and doubles instead of home runs most of the time. What laughs there are do hurt deliciously though.

Theron does “her thing” – which is to play against her considerable looks. Her Mavis Gary is a ghostwriter for a once popular teen series of books. So, while she has the money from a seemingly successful career, she doesn’t really have the recognition. A writer’s life is lonely. She is of a small town who moved on to write in big, bad Minneapolis. However, her loneliness leads her to return home to said small town to try to win back her high school flame, Buddy (Patrick Wilson). Unfortunately, as Mavis is well aware, Buddy has a newborn and a wife to contend with. Alas, she intends to breakup his marriage and be with Buddy.

‘Up In The Air’ Director Jason Reitman and ‘Juno’ writer Diablo Cody Team Up for ‘Young Adult‘

While Mavis arrives in said small hometown, she meets Matt (Patton Oswalt) at a bar. Matt was a former classmate who Mavis barely remembers. Oh yeah, Matt is a “cripple”, due to an unfortunate beating he took in high school. Matt is every bit as depressed as Mavis is, without the delusions of grandeur. You can already tell where their relationship is heading and that is one of the saccharine issues with Young Adult. It’s obvious Mavis, who thinks like a “Y.A.” as she calls it, does so because she is a writer attempting to get into the mind of teens for her book series. Her delusion takes on a real form though, due to a failed marriage of her own along with massive amounts of Maker’s Mark – a stiff whisky for those not in the know.

A writer in her element. Charlize's Mavis eavesdrops on a convo in 'Young Adult.'

Ultimately, Mavis chases Buddy, while Matt looms. The conclusion to the drama is coming from a mile away, but that’s not always the point. The beats the film hits are typical and expected. However, the movie still has so many moments of awkward discomfort that there is redemption to be had. The juxtaposition of small town and big town is at play. The idea of giving up who you were and moving on from your past. There are some real themes explored in Young Adult and the film is mostly successful at this exploration.

Still, its not an entirely fun ride getting there – director Jason Reitman lacks visual flair, simply portraying small town America as a place few would seemingly want to be, yet most are. The punch to Diablo Cody’s writing is biting but errs on sadness rather than humorous. You wanted to laugh more than you were allowed to. That ultimately settles the film into middle of the road fare, kind of like it’s small town and local denizens. They’re either happily dimwitted or occupied with repressed depression and neither is a particularly pleasurable place to be.

Justin Timberlake Stars in Andrew Niccol’s Sci-Fi Movie ‘In Time‘

Director Andrew Niccol’s In Time stars Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried as 25+ year olds who are stuck in a world where people stop aging physically at that age ’til the end of time. The only question is – is how long people live past that point. How that is determined is by how much “time” they have left. Time is like money – aha a metaphor! – in In Time, so it can be passed on from one person to the next, it can be stolen, it can be gambled, you earn time through work, etc. The more time you have, the longer you will live. In Niccol’s world, some people have lived for well over a hundred years. And even if that sounds like fun, it can wear on a person mentally.

We are thrust into this futuristic world immediately when Timberlake’s Will greets his mother Rachel (Olivia Wilde), as they, naturally, look about the same age, although Rachel is celebrating her 50^th birthday. When Will encounters a man who draws attention to himself and might end up getting killed as a result, Will attempts to save him. Unfortunately, while Will temporarily succeeds, this man was cursed with having too much time on his hands, more than a hundred years and he already was 150 years old (though he looked 25, again). The man commits suicide, gives Will all his time and Will is framed for the murder.

"Breakin' the law, breakin' the law!" Timberlake and Seyfried avoid the Timekeepers.

‘In Time’ Used to be called ‘Im.Mortal’, an Equally Silly Title

Will uses his time to move to a better area, but is completely out of place among the rich, people that “come from time.” Seyfried’s Sylvia is one such person, the daughter of one of the most-wealthy men in this world we are in. Will kidnaps her when the authorities known as “Timekeepers” (mainly Cilian Murphy) come to put Will in jail. Thus the chase is on, as Will and Sylvia dodge the authorities throughout this world, nearly running out of time at several opportunities.

Describing the whole premise is a bit exhausting and the only thing you really need to know when you are watching is that it is a “chase” movie. That is unfortunately my biggest gripe with the film. It’s fun enough, but also reduced to standard fare, while the duo dodge the cops, fall in love and you have your usual twists and turns. Niccol makes the world look pretty enough, but the premise is a little weird to grasp and the love story a bit forced.

In Time has a clever premise and should be respected for trying to step out from something basic and put a new spin on it. For me, it was all a little too cutesy though and when the time on the movie ran out, a shrug was about all I could muster. If you like sci-fi or Niccol, you might feel differently, otherwise, I would say this is simply an average film. Rentable, but don’t waste too much time with it.

Drake Doremus’ ‘Like Crazy’ is Part of an Independent Movement

Like Crazy made the rounds in the news late last year, hailed as a film of the new independent movement. It was touted for being shot on the Canon 5D and 7D DSLR cameras. The result is a picture of great intimacy. Like Crazy stars Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones as young lovers who share an affection that is as the title suggests. The film is about love, relationships and the struggle to capitalize on and understand the emotions of youthful bliss.

Directed by newcomer Drake Doremus, Crazy begins in a college classroom where a note signals the desire of Anna (Jones) to meet Jacob (Yelchin). This sets off a love story that spans continents and several years. An issue arises when Anna, an exchange student, overstays her allotted time in America on an expired visa. How do the lovers make their relationship work when separated by thousands of miles between Los Angeles and England? This is the central dilemma to the film, which finds the lovers doing anything they can to stay together, then seemingly everything they can to forget about eachother, only to find that their emotions run so strong that letting go is not that simple.

Anna was a little shocked by Jacob's "compromising and unusual request."

The Movie ‘Like Crazy’ Suffers From a Complex Time Structure

The film captures the difficulty of youthful longing – the changes that occur when kids turn into young adults – and the things they will do for love. Both lovers eventually seek the comfort of new arms, with a nice guest shot by Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence as Sam, but their complex relationship continues to permeate their existences, separate or together. Like Crazy is an intimate portrait of love, but suffers from a muddled timeline and a lack of any wide shots, one of the limitations of the cameras used in the filming.

How much time has passed in the film is difficult to discern as the couple goes from together to apart, falling into new arms, then getting married, then still failing to end up together, to, well…you get the point. The film is not without its merits as the soft touch of two people sharing the same space is deftly handled for the most part, even while the end of the film leaves the audience to draw their own conclusions as to the lovers ultimate outcome. The film looks gorgeous and is a credit to Doremus and cinematographer John Guleserian, as well as the power of the little indy cameras that are changing the landscape of filmmaking. Still, in the end, it’s the writing, story, direction and performances that make a movie and Crazy is actually a little too tame to be a breakout film.

Scorcese’s 2011 Family Film Hugo: A Movie Review

If there was ever a movie that solidified Martin Scorcese’s love of filmmaking, Hugo is that film. Hugo stars unknown Asa Butterfield as the titular hero, an orphan boy living in a clock tower in the dream-like animated city of Paris. When Hugo’s father (Jude Law) dies tragically, he leaves behind an unfinished automaton – a mechanical robot – with a potentially important message. Hugo’s life’s mission is to complete the robot and uncover the message.

Hugo, the movie, is attractive to look at. Scorcese captures an animated Paris and bustling travel center complete with all the towns’ denizens. There is a security guard/station inspector (Bruno’s Sacha Baron Cohen), whom Hugo has to dodge at all costs or fear the repurcussions of being sent back to an orphanage. There is a toy shopkeeper with a mysterious past named Georges (The Wackness’ Ben Kingsley) and his niece Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz), who seeks and finds adventure with Hugo. All the requisite characters are in place for hijinx and wonder.

The robot automaton was depressed that he couldn't draw a circle.

The story centers on Hugo, Georges and the automaton. What unravels is a unique film that remains interesting, but slow for a kids/family film. The pacing hinders the film from being more raucous and fun, focusing instead more on story and dream fulfillment. The acting and directing are excellent. There is little point in discussing the plot, as with a kid’s film it is easy enough to discern how things work out in the end.

Director Martin Scorcese Clearly Loves Movies and Hugo Proves That

What shines through is Scorcese’s love for film and his fable for following your dreams. It’s a common theme in kids films, though this one seems to have been caught a bit between pleasing adult audiences and kids, which is where it struggles to find a perfect balance. It is understandable why the Academy loved the film, bestowing it with 5 Oscars, but equally understandable why it failed to break through with audiences, crafting a middling $67 million in the U.S. to this point off an estimated $170 million budget.

Hugo is one of the top films of the year and the craftsmanship of the film is evident. What lacks is any true surprise or child escapism, since the story has an almost adult theme bubbling underneath the surface. For those expecting a ride like in Finding Nemo, you’ll be disappointed. For those familiar with Scorcese’s adult fare (The Departed) and wondering what else he can do, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.