Hugo

I have finally seen Hugo, and it was great. Perhaps not the best film of the year, but certainly one of the best.
In Hugo, the title character (portrayed by the young but budding talent Asa Butterfield) is an orphan, running the clocks at a train station, and, in his spare time, he also works on an old automaton given to him by his father (Jude Law) before the dad's death. But some parts of the automaton are missing and Hugo is determined to find them, believing, perhaps wrongly, that the automaton will reveal a message from his late father.
However, two men stand in his way. One is the dim station inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen) while the other is the toy shop owner whose true identity is revealed later in the film to be the famous, revolutionary early fantasy film director, Georges Melies, played brilliantly by Ben Kingsley. Georges has been reduced to nothing of the man that was, and he refuses to even think about the past, not letting his goddaughter and charge, Isabelle (a good Chloe Grace Moretz) go to the cinema at all.
Isabelle is terribly well read and makes several literary references in the film, but longs for her own adventure. Hugo provides one for her, in his quest for finding the missing piece of his automaton. It is found in the form of a heart-shaped key around Isabelle's neck. And the automaton begins to write, and the finished project is really amazing, a picture from the famous movie A Trip to the Moon, and then signed it with Georges Melies's name, causing Isabelle to wonder what her godfather had done in his past.
Eventually, with the help of a local college professor, who adored the film of Georges Melies, Isabelle, Hugo and Mama Jeanne (Helen McCrory) watch the only surviving film of his and then Georges walks in and tells everyone the whole story. Mama Jeanne even used to be an actress in the vast majority of his films. The story is a sad one, after World War I, no one wanted to watch his fantasy films, and thus he had to sell his studio and everything that he loved and held near and dear. Hugo, then, hurries back to fetch the automaton for Georges, and after some near missteps, the precious object arrives back in its master's hands, and Hugo gets a family again. The world discovers the great genius of Melies again, all in right in the world.
There are a few subplots, including the romance of the nasty station inspector and the lovely flower saleswoman, and two other locals.
The film was an absolute delight, with great cinematography (which was awarded a well-deserved Oscar), and special effects. Despite seeing the film in simple 2-D, everything was still fantastic, the opening sequence is marvelous, with its extended camera shots. Everything was simply wonderful. A must see for film fans of all ages, and the film is definitely family friendly, and one that can be watched again and again. Grade: A