Every one’s a winner, baby. Between Scorsese, the Muppets and Santa Claus as re-imagined by the team that brought us Wallace & Gromit, there’s no way to lose at the movies this weekend. Tuck in!
Hugo
Based on the award-winning illustrative novel by Brian Selznic, “The Invention of Hugo Cabret”, Hugo is director Martin Scorsese’s first foray into 3D and his first attempt at a children’s tale. Set in Paris in the 1930s, it mostly takes place in a Parisian train station. Hugo, an orphaned boy has taken over the care of the antique clocks and machinery of the station, living underground after his father passes away so as not to be found and sent to the orphanage by Sasha Baron Cohen’s character, a villainous train conductor. The young boy becomes friendly with a fictionalized version of one of cinema’s early filmmakers, Georges Melies, played by Ben Kingsley. It’s a fantastical, visual tale, and may well be considered, in time, to be one of Scorsese’s best.
Perfect For: Parents and children alike.
What The Critics Say: The Rotten Tomato score is quite high: 96% overall. NPR lavishes high praise on Scorsese’s eye: “Hugo (the film) is a marvel of spectacle, a sensory feast steeped in cinematic lore that proves pure joy is attainable in three dimensions.” New York magazine finds some faults but ends with a hearty recommendation: “This is one of those wonders of the world you need to see.”
Our Take: A perfectly good way to wind down after Turkey Day.
The Muppets
Martin Scorsese and the 3D adventure might be a great highbrow cinematic experience, but can they beat a good, old-fashioned Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy smack down? HI-YA! We say no. Kermit and the gang have been reunited by Jason Segal, who plays Gary, an obsessed Muppet fan visiting Hollywood, determined to make the Muppets famous again, and his wife, played by Amy Adams. In real life, Segal is a huge Muppet fan and co-wrote the script with Nicholas Stoller, his director from Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The duo are part of the hip, young Hollywood comedy circuit, so they’ve netted appearances from Sarah Silverman, Dr. Ken Jeong, Neil Patrick Harris, and Zach Galifianakis. Chris Cooper plays the scenery-chewing villain. Love it.
Perfect For: People of a certain age, and of course, the new generation, though today’s ironic and cynical children may not get the pure joy of Miss Piggy kicking ass.
What the Critics Say: They praise Segal for keeping it real. Writes the New York Times: “The happy news is that it has been done just about right, which means conceptually and technologically left alone. These are the same old, adorable Muppets, as sweetly innocent and likable as ever. Winking at itself, the movie is casually, amusingly self-reflexive.” And they love the update, too. Writes Entertainment Weekly, “For adults, the movie's gentle, clever, unironic humor feels freshly, trendily retro now, enhanced by laughs provided in cameos from a very up-to-date roster of stars.”
Our Take: Race you to the front of the line!
Arthur Christmas
The makers of Arthur Christmas are going to have a rough go this weekend. Up against the Muppets and Hugo, they are likely to be the last choice on the list—but this 3D animated tale has been getting good Rotten Tomatoes buzz (93%). The film aims to answer one of the world’s great mysteries: “How does Santa deliver all those presents in one night?”—and reveals, that in fact, Christmas is a high-tech military operation, and that even the elves undergo boot camp. The UK-based creation by Aardman Animations features the voices of James McAvoy and Hugh Laurie, and has a keen Brit wit.
Perfect For: Families and their small ones, though we’re not sure if the adults would go without accompaniment.
What the Critics Say: Finally something original and new for the holiday season. Newsday praised the film, saying: “The results are not only funny and fresh, but represent a new way of tackling the whole yuletide paradigm: Santa as a high-tech hereditary monarchy.”
Our Take: It looks cute, but we’d only go if The Muppets is sold out.
