Sunday 27 January 2019

Hugo (2011 Martin Scorsese)

Now, the backlash. Not sure John Logan's screenplay is that great - and dialogue between the kids sounds soapy. Asa Butterfield isn't strong enough to play the lead. Even Chloe Grace Moretz seems underpowered - maybe Marty isn't great at directing kids? Robert Richardson's photography may be very beautiful but it's like The Aviator again - how much of it is CGI? There's certainly something queasy about the animated Paris and the real stuff - whilst I guess this fits fine with Méliès and Illusion, it's distracting fakery (compare to, for example, the set designs in Cuaron's The Little Princess). It's the old Marty too big train set thing again.

Ben Kingsley. Sacha Baron Cohen, Ray Winstone, Emily Mortimer, Christopher Lee, Helen McCrory, Michael Stuhlbarg again, Frances de la Tour, Richard Griffiths (died two years later), Jude Law, Kevin Eldon.


Great production design. Best bits remain the silent and Méliès clips (the dragon is still my favourite). In fact I started to wonder whether he was the main inspiration for Wes Anderson.



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