Hugo (2011)

I remember hearing that Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, The Departed) was directing a movie called Hugo, rated PG. To say I was skeptical was an understatement. Exiting the theater, however, I had the distinct feeling that I now understood the gangster director better than I ever did watching Gangs of New York. Among many other things, Hugo's magic is found in the apparent affection Scorsese had for this creation.

The story follows a boy named Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield). The 12-year-old orphan is depicted in tattered clothes, disheveled hair and a perpetually dirty nose. Following after his late father (Jude Law), he runs the clocks in the railway station - though to do so while avoiding the station's constable (Sacha Baren Cohen), intent on sending him to the orphanage, is not easy. He doesn't say much at first, but his eyes tell a story of their own. His passion lies in the old automaton that his father left him and he stresses and thieves to get it working again. With the help of his new friend Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz, straight outta Kickass), they fix the automaton just enough for it to draw them a picture - a picture that leads them back to the famed film director Georges Melies.

It's based off the novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. By itself, the story is lovely, but it's even more magical when seeing it connect to Scorsese on a personal level. In an interview, Scorsese has said that he identified with the young Hugo's lonely voyeuristic upbringing. As a young boy, Scorsese was very ill with asthma and spent much of his time indoors at the movie theater. In many a sense, it's semi-autobiographical. But Scorsese isn't just Hugo, he's also Melies. An inventor and filmmaker, Melies was instrumental in early film and in special effects. Small films like A Trip to the Moon and The Impossible Voyage are still remarkable and iconic. Scorsese filmed this film in 3D and it's beautiful. The opening shot zooming over Paris is striking, bright, and impressively detailed. 

This is largely a movie about movies. What film lover doesn't love that? Hugo's sad eyes light up when he goes to the pictures. The dawning of the cinematic world is unfolded before the children's eyes (and our own). It celebrates movies by reflecting back on where we've been and paying tribute to those we owe so much. It paints a beautiful picture of the power that film has on us. Because through movies, we can see our dreams. 

Beyond that, the story itself is deeply emotional. Sir Ben Kingsley plays Monsieur Melies himself. There are some incredibly touching scenes of him lamenting the loss of his work and the decline of his career. He cries at the thought of his films being melted and destroyed and his life's work unseen and unappreciated. These scenes are some of the best in the film.

All the elements blend together for a perfect love letter to the movies we all love and hold dear. Asa Butterfield and Chloe Grace Moretz model our own discovery and longing for adventure while we get to learn about the story played by the veteran actors. Beside Kingsley, Christopher Lee delivers an exemplary supporting performance.

Despite its PG rating, it appeals more to adults in a family friendly way. I can't say I would have appreciated it as much as a child than I do as an adult. Either way it's wonderful to see this other side of Martin Scorsese through this beautiful tale. 9/10

Hook (1991)

BANG-A-RANG.

I am on a nostalgia run. Perks of living at home and having all-day access to DVR. Man, this movie brings me back. It's as old as I am! #birthmovies. It definitely fell into the "most-quoted" category when I was eight. And the quotes aren't even that good... "I've just had an apostrophe." "I believe in fairies!" "Lookie lookie I've got Hookie!" "You need a mother very badly!"

Let's talk about Peter Pan for a sec. Well, to put it frankly, I don't really like it. Him. The book. The play. The story. Neverland. Wendy. I don't like those things. I like the IDEA of Peter Pan. Kind of. I mean, I listen to everything Dumbledore says, and he told Harry once, "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." But I guess if everyone listened to that advice, Disneyland would go bankrupt. And I suppose the moral of the story is that Neverland can't last for never. For ever. And that we have to grow up sometime. Just Peter Pan... doesn't. And Wendy is just annoying. Seriously, she's annoying.

But what if Peter Pan did grow up? Steven Spielberg's Hook does everything I could have ever wanted with the Peter Pan story. Because in Hook, Pan's grown up. Pan is Robin Williams. And Pan has completely forgotten his adventures in Neverland and turned into Mr. Darling all-work-no-play-no-time-for-kids as an acquisitions lawyer. He's married to Wendy's granddaughter Moira (Caroline Goodall) and has two kids Jack (Charlie Korsmo), and Maggie (Amber Scott). He's not, like, father of the year or anything and his boy Jack kinda hates him. But when Pan left Neverland, he REALLY left. He left it so hard, he doesn't even know how to connect with kids least of all his own, and money has now become more important to him than adventures.

So then there's Hook. I mean Captain James Hook. The one armed-pirate person. The nefarious villain. Well, he steals Jack and Maggie right outa their bedroom and takes them straight on 'till morning. What sparks this? What bring Peter Pan's arch-enemy to go all thief-in-the-night and kidnap two innocent kids? Because he's not over this relationship, obviously. He wants the immature, won't-mature 12-year-old who tortured Hook and his goons for years to suffer, to die even. But CATCH. Hook's under the assumption that he and Pan are going to go at it for old times sake, laugh over hand-eating crocodiles while drinking margaritas (Petey's of age now) and put on a sword-show for his drunk pirate-band. Yeah, Peter can't remember anything. He can't fight. He can't fly. And he can't crow. Hook won't fight Peter like this. But he also won't abandon his plans to send him to his doom. So he gives Peter 3 days to get himself ready and rekindle some of the old green-tights pizazz.

Everything that I don't like about Peter Pan is brought full circle in Hook. My favorite scene is the brief re-cap of Peter's transformation from the boy who never grew up to the boy who did. We watch him deal with his fear of death by postponing it in Neverland. We see the sadness that came over young Pan when he realizes his mother forgot about him. We see him get sad again as he watches Wendy get older and turned from Gwenyth Paltrow into Maggie Smith. We see him give a real kiss to Wendy's granddaughter, and ultimately abandon his life in Neverland for the opportunity to be a father.

COME ON, IT KIND OF GIVES ME THE FEELS.

Everything that Peter learned in Neverland about adventure and love was forgotten in his corporate life. His return to Neverland reminded him why he left in the first place and why that was more important than anything else in the whole world. Hook is a charming fantasy that focuses on the important things.

All of these feel-good things would be nothing without the star-power performances of Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell, Maggie Smith (classy with a side of phenomenal) Robin Williams, Charlie Korsmo (Minnesota REPRESENT), Bob Hoskins as Smee and especially Dustin Hoffman as the Hook himself. Seriously, this movie deserves a watch if only for the Hoff Man. Animated Hook is a coward. Hoff Man Hook is a BAMF. He's a conniving, twisted, manipulative, clever, EVIL villain and that dufus smile of his just doesn't leave. Also, Robin Williams is pretty cool.

Perhaps this isn't Spielberg's greatest blockbuster - but I don't think it was meant to be. It's a hook. We all want to know what would happen if Peter Pan grew up. Perhaps some of the fairy tale's original magic is lost, but we're checking out Never Never Land through the eyes of a blinded adult. Only when Peter starts to figure things out do the colors and magic come out. (That being said, what IS that food they eat supposed to be ANYWAY?) I saw this movie as a child. And nothing trumps nostalgia. PAN IS BACK. 8/10

The Princess Diaries (2001)

Does anyone else remember how awesome this movie is? I definitely forgot. I'm sure I haven't seen it for at least ten years. However, while I was serving my eighteen month mission for the LDS church, I swear I thought of this movie once a week.

1. I saw a lot of miracles while I was in Japan. Cue Myra's "Miracles Happen." We'd be riding on our bikes and suddenly I'm jammin'. And foot popping.

2. I had a lot of Canadian friends on the mish. The whole secret to The Princess Diaries is that it's actually about Canada. Don't try and tell me that "Genovia" and "O Canada" don't sound EXACTLY THE SAME. We all know what "between France and Spain" means...

Anyway.

The Princess Diaries, based off Meg Cabot's novel of the same title, is about 15-year-old Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) who is just trying her best to stay invisible and pass the tenth grade. It's clear after five minutes that Mia is the ugly duckling, the awkward nobody, the gawky unpopular girl who throws up public speaking. She lives with her mom, Helen (Caroline Goodall) and Fat Louie the cat, and hangs out with slightly less unpopular and a little less ugly eccentric Lilly Moscovitz (Heather Matarazzo). Mia's got the hots for the jock, Josh Bryant (Erik von Detten), and he's all sharing saliva with cheerleader Lana Thomas (Mandy Moore) and then Lilly's brother Michael (Robert Schwartzman) has got the hots for Mia. This is high school, guys. Nevermind the fact that Anne Hathaway is 21-years-old when this was filmed. This drama shiz is still totally real. Fantasy macking it with your crush and all.

Anyway, Mia the invisible nobody gets thrown a fast one when her never-before-met perfect poise & posture grandma Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews) shows up and drops the "you're-actually-a-princess" card of this made-up country called Genovia. At first Mia's like, "what??" then she's like, "shut up!" and then Queen Grandma's like, "I beg your pardon?" and the butler's like, "chill out majesty, in America it doesn't always mean be quiet it could be wow, gee whiz, or golly wolly!" and then there's panic and then we found out that the future of Canada lies in Mia's hands. I mean Genovia. (A little extreme plot device, but we'll roll with it).

However, if Ugly Betty's gonna be a princess, then something has got to be done with that beast she's got growing on her head. Not to mention... every other thing about her body. It's like Mia doesn't even know what a hair brush is. Or tweezers. Novel invention that's been around for centuries, it's cool. "I love your eyebrows! We'll call them Frida and Kahlo. If Brooke Shields married Groucho Marx, their child would have your eyebrows!" They bring in the big guns and it's no wonder that the famed hair dresser Paolo's (Larry Miller) hair brush broke on her head... But after her shot on Extreme Makeover, Mia has transformed into super hot Anne Hathaway! PRINCESSED. We all knew this was coming.

Garry Marshall was also the director of Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, and those weird Valentines Day/New Years Day whatever they're called movies. Anyway, this is Pretty Woman G-rated. But what could be just another lame movie to sit through with your 7-year-old, instead Princess Diaries is a delight. It's a clean and witty comedy - not only can your kid AND you enjoy this Disney flick, but you can enjoy it for the same reasons. Marshall doesn't try to make it something it's not with unnecessary innuendos that fly over kids' heads. It's a straight up fairy tale with straight up morals and straight up charm. It's a great movie for our daughters! Two great take home messages:

-There is responsibility in princess-dom! You little girls may dream big, but let's knock some sense into you - no one wants that kind of work and pressure! No one wants a media posse 24/7! Okay, maybe that's just the message that I took out of it. Food for thought, little girl. Grow up and be a lawyer.

-For reals, though. No matter what you look like, it's just important who you are and living that way with integrity. Be yo'self. Maturity comes when you stop thinking about "I" and "me" and what others think. You need to look outside of yourself and use your talents to help other people. Pretty good take home message, eh Canada? Genovia?

A terribly predictable and unoriginal story is brought to life by these skilled actors particularly newcomer (now Academy Award winner) little Anne Hathaway, the ever lovely Julie Andrews, and Hector Elizondo - the butler "you-can-call-me-Joe." (Let's talk about the alluded romance there, huh?) What the plot lacks in originality it makes up for in good acting, a clever script, and character chemistry. Throughout the film, Mia & her Queen-bee grandmother's relationship strengthens and they both learn lessons about family and responsibility. They take a day out on the town where Mia shows her the ropes and the rush that comes from arm wrestling arcade. Just a suggestion, Queen Elizabeth, if you're looking to get out...

Princess Diaries is pure early 2000s gold. Doc Martins, Mandy Moore and her backup singers, balloon art gold. Though without the nostalgia, I can't speak for you. 8/10

Happy Father’s Day!

Yeah, yeah.  I know Father’s Day was yesterday.  But in honor of the holiday (and my own wonderful father) I thought I’d post the top eleven (yes, eleven. don't worry about it, okay?) movies that remind me of my pops!

11. What About Bob? (1991) You want to get to know my dad real quick? Just watch What About Bob? with him. It's funny to watch the movie and even funnier to watch him watch it. Honestly, my dad is all over any Bill Murray comedy. 

10) It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) Every Christmas my mom and I have a Christmas movie/TV marathon with all of the Christmas movies and TV eps we can muster.  My dad is selective, he only tunes in for the good stuff.  We always save the best for last, and Dad has gotta be present for this classic. He loves this movie.

9) You’ve Got Mail (1998) This is a funny selection, but I chose this because my dad will always join us to watch (it’s one of my favorites) but will always, always complain.  He hates it, but he can't leave it alone. Key phrase: “It needs some editing.”

8) Galaxy Quest (1999) My dad introduced our family to this movie.  One day he randomly brought it home from the video rental store and I’ve watched it over a thousand times since.

7) Hoosiers (1986) My love of basketball comes from my brother’s and father’s love of basketball.  My dad has always loved this movie.

6) Freedom Writers (2007) I saw this in the theater with my dad.  I was fifteen, and my dad said, “Hey, let’s go on a daddy-daughter-date and see a movie.  I’ve heard of this one…”  I hadn’t even heard of the movie at the time, but we had a good time together.

5) Chariots of Fire (1981) This is another film that my Dad introduced me to.  My mom was out for the evening so he suggested we watch a movie together (if I do recall… I think I had other plans and I wasn't too excited about it. But I’m not one to argue).  I remember making a few snide remarks about the over-use of the theme song and how cheesy it had become only to be shot down with, “There’s nothing cheesy about this movie.”   Anyway, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t too into it that first time, but a few viewings later and I was sold.

4) Pride & Prejudice (2005) Yeah.  My dad watches Pride and Prejudice.  Does YOUR dad watch Pride and Prejudice?

3) The Guns of Navarone (1961) Generally if I ask my dad what his favorite movie is he’ll say, “Oh… maybeThe Guns of Navarone…”  I’m not sure if this is true or not.  But nevertheless, we own this movie because he likes it.  Jk, it’s a pretty awesome movie too.  Love Gregory Peck.

2) The Inlaws (1979) See, my dad can be kind of a serious guy.  And few of my friends know the “real him.”  This movie brings out the “Real Dad” and most importantly his “real laugh.”  Man, is this movie funny.  Alan Arkin is one of my favorite actors too, btw.

1) The Freshman (1990) This movie takes the cake.  My dad laughs and laughs and laughs and laughs.

Happy Father's Day!