MOVIE REVIEW: Hugo

The Other Half really wanted to see Hugo and I was amenable, so we saw it in 3-D at the Arclight Cinemas in Pasadena. All I knew about the movie going in was that it was directed by Martin Scorsese. 


Last week Hugo became the most Oscar-nominated film of 2011 with 11 nominations (Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design, Original Score, Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Visual Effects). It joins 21 other films which have received exactly 11 nominations (there are 25 films which have received more than 11 nominations). Only The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won all 11 Oscars for which it is nominated and Hugo is unlikely to win that many since it received exactly zero nominations in the acting categories (but it is one of only 3 films to ever get nominations in all 7 of the technical categories).

The film stars Oscar winner Ben Kingsley as Georges Méliès, Asa Butterfield as Hugo Cabret and Chloë Grace Moretz as Isabelle. Hugo is a young boy who lives in a Paris train station, maintaining the clocks. Sacha Baron Cohen plays the Station Inspector, who patrols the station with his large, vicious-looking dog, looking for rule-breakers. The screenplay was adapted by John Logan from the best-selling children's novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, written by Brian Selznick.

The audience is first introduced to Hugo living alone in the station, surviving by stealing food and living on his own in the roof of the station. Hugo and his father (played by Jude Law) had an amazing automaton (mechanical man) which is now broken. Hugo is desperately trying to find a heart-shaped key which will possibly allow the automaton to run again. He runs into Isabelle, who is the niece of Kingsley's character. A bitter old man who runs a toy store in the station who catches Hugo trying to steal something and punishes him by confiscating a notebook containing Hugo's father's sketches. Hugo entreats Isabelle to help him get the notebook back and they become partners in crime and go on adventures together.

The movie is in 3-D and Scorsese provides a captivating look and feel to the film which makes excellent use of the technology. The acting and impact of the story are not as effective. I don't want to reveal too much of the plot but although the movie is a feast for the eyes there were several moments where the interactions and motivations of the characters just rang strangely false.

That being said, the movie is worth seeing, but despite all its acclaim from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, I don't think Hugo is one of the Top 9 achievements in film for 2011.

Title: Hugo.
Director: Martin Scorsese.
Running Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some violent images and brief nudity.
Release Date: November 23, 2011.
Viewing Date: January 14, 2012.

 Plot: B.
Acting: B+.
Visuals: A-.
Impact: B.

Overall Grade: B/B+ (3.25/4.0).

Federer Wins Paris Masters Title Over Tsonga

PHOTO CREDIT: MIGUEL MEDINA

Roger Federer won his 69th ATP tour title in the Bercy suburbs of Paris (one week after winning his 68th in Basel) by defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1 7-6(3). Tsonga may have been slightly tired due to his thrilling three-set win against John Isner in the semifinals, while Federer has looked extremely sharp all week, becoming only the fourth player to win the tournament without dropping a set and the second, after Andre Agassi, to win both important tournaments played in Paris (Roland Garros and the Paris Masters).

It was Federer's 3rd title of the year and 69th of his career, playing in his 99th career final. It was the Swiss Great's 18th career ATP Masters title, one behind Rafael Nadal's 19 (which is the all-time record). In 2011, Novak Djokovic won 5 Masters events (the most anyone has ever won in a single season), followed by Andy Murray with two (Shanghai and Cincinnati) and Federer and Nadal with one each (Paris and Monte Carlo, respectively). It was Federer's first title in Bercy, and he has now reached the finals of all 9 Masters series tournament (but has never won in Monte Carlo).

The most prestigious tournament of the year starts Sunday November 20th with the top 8 players (Djokovic, Nadal, Murray, Federer, David Ferrer, Tsonga, Tomas Berdych and Mardy Fish) who qualified for the year-end Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. Federer is the defending champion (defeating Nadal last year) and enters the round-robin tournament on a 12-match winning streak.

Tsonga Saves 3 MPs Against Isner To Reach Paris Final

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France reached the final of the Paris Masters by saving three match points against 6'9" American John Isner and winning the match 3-6 7-6(1) 7-6(3). Tsonga had 7 break points on Isner's serve but was never able to convert, while Isner was able to break Tsonga in the 8th game of the first set and easily hold his serve again to take the first set.

As the match progressed, Isner's groundstrokes, which were hit with surprising authority on both wings, started to lose their bite and Tsonga began to win more of the baseline rallies. Still,with his booming serve, the American was able to keep the match close, and it took the rabidly partisan Parisian crowd to provide the last push to get their countryman into the victor's circle.

Tsonga will face Roger Federer, who demolished Tomas Berdych 6-4 6-3 in just 80 minutes and is in his first Paris Masters final. Tsonga won the tournament back in 2008. Federer and Tsonga have met 5 times this year so far, in some rather important matches. Federer leads their 2011 series 3-2 but lost 2 consecutive matches against the Frenchman at Wimbledon and then in Montreal this summer. Surprisingly, the two have never met in a final, where Tsonga has an excellent 7-3 career record, while Federer has an incredible 68-30, with his last title coming last week in Basel. Tsonga has never lost a 3rd set in Bercy but I suspect that streak will end on Sunday when Federer wins his 69th title.

PREDICTION: Federer.

Djokovic Gives Tsonga Walk-Over in Paris Masters

Novak Djokovic withdrew from the Paris Masters tournament on Friday before his quarterfinal match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, handing the Frenchman a walk-over into the semifinals, where he will face John Isner (who beat World #5 David Ferrer 6-3 3-6 6-3). Djokovic published a statement on his official website, NovakDjokovic.rs, which said (in Serbo-Croatian): "Sadly I have to inform you that I have withdrawn from the tournament. I have pushed myself to the limit by playing, and after the match yesterday my shoulder got worse."

Djokovic has only lost 4 times all year, compared to 69 wins. His 69th win was a come-from-behind win against Viktor Troicki. By playing in Paris even though his shoulder injury is clearly not recovered from his shocking loss to Kei Nishikori last Saturday in Switzerland, the World #1 won a $1.6 million bonus from the ATP for playing in the Paris Masters as part of an incentive for the top players to play all 8 Masters tournaments in a year. Djokovic had already wthdrawn from the Shanghai Masters so if he withdrew from Paris his potential $2 million bonus for winning the most Masters series titles in 2011would have been reduced to nothing. Djokovic's 2011 winnings are well above $10 million because he has won 3 Major titles and 5 Masters series titles so far. His financial haul could increase even more if he does well at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals which start on Sunday November 20th in London.

Meanwhile back in Paris, World #4 Roger Federer is the highest remaining seed left in the only Masters tournament he has never won in his long storied career. He will face Tomas Berdych (who eliminated World #3 Andy Murray) in one semifinal while Isner and Tsonga face off in the other. A Federer-Tsonga final on Sunday in Paris would be an incredible moment.

Federer Wins 800th Tour Match

The Paris Masters tournament is heating up and Roger Federer made history by winning his 800th ATP tour match by defeating Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-3 7-5 to reach the semifinals. There he will face Tomas Berdych who ended World #3 Andy Murray 17-match, 3-title winning streak with a thrilling, nail-bitingly close 4-6 7-6(5) 6-4 win.

Federer's 800th win puts him at #7 on the all time list, which is headed by Jimmy Connors at 1,242.

1,242— Jimmy Connors
1,071— Ivan Lendl
923— Guillermo Vilas
875— John McEnroe
870— Andre Agassi
806— Stefan Edberg
800— Roger Federer

Anyone think Rafael Nadal will get to 800 wins? I'm sure one of Federer's goals is to get into the Top 5 on this list, but I think getting past Agassi and McEnroe will be difficult, especially if Federer retires at the end of 2012, which I suspect will happen.

MOVIE REVIEW: Midnight In Paris

I must admit that Woody Allen movies are not usually my thing although I have seen the classics (Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, Sleeper, Bullets over Broadway, Manhattan) and more recently viewed Match Point on Netflix but have never gotten around to seeing his latest triumph, Vicky Cristina Barcelona. However, lots of people recommended this summer's sleeper hit, Woody's Midnight in Paris,  which like most of his films has a stellar cast. This time that cast include Oscar-winners Marion Cotillard, Adrien Brody, Kathy Bates and Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams. Oscar-nominee Michael Sheen (The Queen, Frost vs. Nixon) has an amusing role. 

The movie is centered around an interesting question: Would you rather have been born in a different historical era? The question stems from a character who is unhappy with his life and thus wonders whether life was better in the past. The movie explores Paris in the 1930s when famous figures like Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Scott and Zelda Fitzegerald, Salvador Dali and many others were all contemporaries.

The film is somewhat diverting but suffers from the historical equivalent of a movie shot in numerous picturesque locations without a compelling plot to maintain the attention of the audience. In other words it seems like something of a "travelogue" with various famous historical figures breezing in and out of the frame without the audience becoming fully engaged in the characters' dilemmas.

That being said, Midnight in Paris is a film which you will think about more than very many of the other entertainments served up by Hollywood (Thor, Captain America, X-Men: First Class, Green Lantern, just to name a few) which have an evanescent presence in one's memory almost immediately after leaving the theater.

Title: Midnight in Paris.
Director: Woody Allen.
Running Time: 1 hour, 34 minutes.
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some sexual references and smoking.
Release Date: June 10, 2011.
Viewing Date: August 27, 2011.

Plot: B+.
Acting: B+.
Visuals: B+.
Impact: A-.


Overall Grade: (3.416/4.0).