It's Holiday Movie Time 1!

One of the best things about the Thanksgiving - Christmas season is the increase in the number of movies worth watching. After weeks of choosing among blockbusters like Real Steel, Three Musketeers, Johnny English Reborn, and, this week, Jack and Jill starring two Adam Sandlers, we finally get a flock of movies that don't make us throw up. We haven't looked forward to a list of movies like this since the start of superhero summer.    

It all starts the week of Thanksgiving with the arrival of two interesting movies (yes, I skipped right past Happy Feet 2 the week before) in Hugo and the new Muppet Movie. I've already shown some trailers of the Muppet Movie, so let me tell you about Hugo. It is based on a book by Brian Selznick called The Invention of Hugo Cabret that won the 2008 Caldecott Award. It is an interesting book; here is a description:     

This 526-page book is told in both words and pictures. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is not exactly a novel, and it’s not quite a picture book, and it’s not really a graphic novel, or a flip book, or a movie, but a combination of all these things. Each picture (there are nearly three hundred pages of pictures!) takes up an entire double page spread, and the story moves forward because you turn the pages to see the next moment unfold in front of you.      

Hugo is a 12-year old orphan who lives in secret in the walls of a 1930's Paris train station. The synopsis of the book at the author's website says:  

ORPHAN, CLOCK KEEPER, AND THIEF, twelve-year-old Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric girl and the owner of a small toy booth in the train station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message all come together...in The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

The movie is directed by Martin Scorsese of Goodfellas, Raging Bull, and Taxi Driver fame. Seems like a bit of a stretch for him, but I'm sure it will be interesting. I'm sorry to say, kids, but this one is at the top of my list (Muppet Movie will have to be a close second).  

I'll look at more movies in the next few days. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer from Hugo: