Hugo

Martin Scorsese brings Brian Selznick's beloved children's book The Invention of Hugo Cabret to life in this magical adventure set in a busy Parisian train station in the 1930s. Living with his dissolute Uncle Claude (Ray Winstone) in a tiny apartment in the terminal's rafters, Hugo (Asa Butterfield) is an orphan who oils and maintains the building's clocks. His prize possession is a broken-down automaton and a notebook—left by his father (Jude Law)—that contains instructions for repairing the intricate, wind-up robotic figure. Cleverly eluding the watchful Inspector (Sasha Baron Cohen), Hugo steals the tiny parts he needs from cranky toy-store proprietor Georges (Ben Kingsley), who eventually catches him. Afraid that his precious notes will be burned, Hugo follows Georges home, befriends the elderly gentleman's goddaughter, Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz), and discovers that the embittered Georges is actually Georges Méliès, the magician-turned-pioneer-filmmaker who created 500 incredible sci-fi fantasies, the most famous of which was A Trip to the Moon (1902). Artfully woven throughout is Scorsese's passionate plea for the preservation of film as the 20th century's most innovative art form. Opulent, dazzling, and enchanting, the Oscar-nominated Hugo is highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “Shoot the Moon” making-of featurette (20 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is “The Cinemagician, Georges Melies” featurette on the real-life illusionist and filmmaker (16 min.), the production featurettes “The Mechanical Man at the Heart of Hugo” (13 min.), “Big Effects, Small Scale” (6 min.), and “Sacha Baron Cohen: Role of a Lifetime” (4 min.), and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for one of 2011's best films.] (S. Granger)