Hugo

I read the book Hugo in the 5th grade I think but it is only a vague memory. The film adaption is is a different type of kids movie. It is a masterpiece film that does everything the right way and works on every level.

The main setting is in a train station in the middle of Paris in 1931. The plot follows the book storyline of how an orphan named Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) finds a key and a secret that dates back to his dead parents. The key and secret will change his life and history forever.

The film is directed by Martin Scorsese. He brings the film into the light by making it more of a family film than you might think. He makes Paris of the 1930's really stand out. CGI works in the backgrounds even though it's does not really seem like a heavy CGI film.

The film has some good performances. Asa Butterfield is a rather new actor who hasn't been in many movies and delivers a fine performance that should help his career. Chloe Grace Mortez is another lead who's really in her prime now and is also good. The supporting cast of well known actors from Jude Law, Ben Kingsley and Sacha Baron Cohen all do their usual solid work.

This film kind of got overlooked because I don't think this movie had a big target audience nor do I think many people remembered the book that well. I also think many people will regard it as only a kids film which it's not. Obviously, Martin Scorsese has done wonderful work in his career but to me, this is one of his most magical and powerful films. Hugo is a film that I wished more people cared about.

5/5

Iron Man 3

After 2010 and with two Iron Man movies in the books, you could really say that this series was rolling. The series was making it's actors even more popular than they were before and it had momentum. The movies also had villains that were quite memorable and they also worked as a comedies a little with Robert Downey Jr's witty and hilarious quips. The Iron Man movies also were one of the first series of superhero films that didn't have a geek feel to it. With Iron Man 3, we certainly expected more of the same; something good to add to the series. Well even though Iron Man 3 is certainly above average, in the end it is really not the Iron Man movie I wanted it to be.

Iron Man 3 has pretty much the same cast as the first two movies but there is a different director, Shane Black. The film follows Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) after the series previous events in Manhattan. He is stressed, has anxiety problems and and is not his usual cool self. To add to this, a terrorist by the name of the Mandarin begins to terrorize the country with a string of bombings. The Mandarin is really mysterious but turns into something kind of cool once his identity is revealed. Anyway, with Tony's stress, girlfriend problems and the Mandarin lurking around, things are not looking good for Tony Stark at the start of the movie.

I think this is the first film in this series where you can really question the plot. It has a good idea of Tony travelling to Tennessee after his California home is destroyed and it also introduces a new character, a young boy by the name of Harley (Ty Simpkins) who bonds with Stark.  James Rhodes (Don Chedle) is back again in War Machine armor as the Iron Patriot and his character is given a little more to do this time. As mentioned before, the villain is a good character and acted well by Ben Kingsley. The story is given a good and interesting background set from 1999 but some parts are hard to believe and do not fit realistically into the story. The ending is of course filled with action, explosives and visuals but it is stuff we have seen  before and long, drawn out and uneven.

Just as with the plot, the characters and actors don't seem to bring much new in this installment. Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts is not given much to do and does not carry any scenes. John Faverau as Happy Hogan is kind of funny in a limited role. As for Robert Downey Jr, in the first two movies, he was really given a chance to bring out the wise-cracking character of Tony Stark. In this movie, the Tony Stark character lacks personalty and is not funny and there does not seem to be very much that is special about him here. In short, I think Iron Man 3 has a very talented cast but I don't think Black really knew how to use them properly.

The film does rely on some little things especially with the settings that add to the movie. There is a beautiful house used and set right by water and also interesting uses of technology and different sets in Tennessee with snow and a country feel.

So how does this film fit into the rest of the series? Like Hangover 3 which opens next weekend, Iron Man is kind of like Las Vegas. A film that we probably won't remember because most of what happened doesn't really make a lot of sense if you know what I mean.

3/5