“Throughout his extraordinary career, Academy Award-wining director Martin Scorsese has brought his unique vision and dazzling gifts to life in a series of unforgettable films. This holiday season the legendary storyteller invites you to join him on a thrilling journey to a magical world with his first-ever 3-D film, based on Brian Selznick’s award-winning, imaginative New York Times best-seller, “The Invention of Hugo Cabret.” Hugo is the astonishing adventure of a wily and resourceful boy whose quest to unlock a secret left to him by his father will transform Hugo and all those around him, and reveal a safe and loving place he can call home.”

I have liked watching Martin Scorsese’s movies. I think he is one of the best directors around. Most of his movies are not family friendly. I was excited to see a Scorsese family film.

Hugo was a gorgeous film to watch. It looked amazing. A major theme in this movie are machines and how they move and work. Many of the scenes take place inside a clock and it is visually stunning.

During the film, there is a mystery to solve. I have not read the book (it is now on my reading list) and I wanted to see what the answer was. This movie also talks a lot about old cinema. I felt that Scorsese used this film to pay homage to old cinema and filmmaking. As a movie buff, this was one of the things that I loved most about this movie.

The acting in this movie was top notch. The child actors Asa Butterfield and Chloe Grace Moretz were fabulous as the main two characters, Hugo and Isabelle. I was excited to also see Ben Kingsley and Christopher Lee in this film as well. I was worried about Sacha Baron Cohen. I will say that I am not his biggest fan. He was good in this film and did not go over the top.

I will say that sometimes I did think that the movie moved slowly. I think that really young children will struggle with sitting through this movie. It is slightly over 2 hours long. I do think that middle elementary age students and older will enjoy this movie. It is a great family film.

Hugo was a fantastic movie. I expect it to receive some award nominations in the next couple of months!