Archive for February, 2012

Short Take: Perhaps the most pleasant surprise to have ever come from Martin Scorsese

Director: Martin Scorsese

Screenwriters: John Logan; Brian Selznick (novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret)

Cast: Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Chloë Moretz, Emily Mortimer, Christopher Lee, Jude Law

Length: 2h 6m

Synopsis: On an average day in the middle of 1930s Paris, orphan boy Hugo Cabret (Butterfield) can be found tending to the public clocks of a train station at the heart of the city. Climbing inside, between, and behind the walls means Hugo can travel about the station unbeknownst to most everyone, allowing him to snatch the occasional piece of bread or fruit and retreat with ease. His penchant for pinching also includes mechanical parts from Mr. Méliès (Kingsley) toy shop to repair a mysterious automaton that his late father (Law) left him. Hugo eventually comes to meet Méliès’ granddaughter Isabelle (Moretz), and the two bond over their shared exploratory habits. Such habits get them into trouble, however, as Hugo finally gets caught stealing from the toy shop and both children get caught prying into Méliès’ past. What they discover is that Mr. Méliès was actually at one point a very successful and important filmmaker, but hard times forced him to give up his dreams and, even worse, face obscurity. By the end, Hugo makes up for his thefts by helping Méliès recapture the sense of purpose he felt when he put his dreams up on the silver screen. And along the way, Hugo’s also able to recapture that same sense for himself.

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Short Take: A touching story about a family becoming a family

Director: Alexander Payne

Screenwriters: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash; Kaui Hart Hemmings (novel)

Cast: George Clooney, Shallene Woodley, Amara Miller, Matthew Lillard, Judy Greer

Length: 1h 55m

Synopsis: Matt King (Clooney) is a father of two girls, a teenager named Alex (Woodley) and a ten year old named Scottie (Miller), with whom he doesn’t have very strong connections. For years his wife had effectively been the sole parent, while he focused on work. The family lives in Hawaii because Matt’s lineage goes back to the early days of its history, and he’s the majority owner of much of the land because one of his wealthy ancestors married a Hawaiian princess. Sadly, Matt’s wife recently experienced a serious boating accident and became braindead, leaving Matt in charge of a family he doesn’t know how to interact with. On top of this, Matt must decide what to do with an expansive plot of land that his large extended family must sell, or else the trust fund that’s lasted for generations runs out. The islanders, meanwhile, are pressuring him not to sell. And if all of this weren’t bad enough, Matt discovers that before his wife’s accident she had been having an affair, and thinking strongly about divorce. With only days before she’s scheduled to be taken off life support, Matt and his daughters spend their time trying to find closure by tracking down her secret lover. Along the way, their revised family unit makes strides toward coming together in ways that didn’t previously seem possible.

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Short Take: Emotionally taxing and anxiety-inducing, but clearly one of this year's best films

Director: Jeff Nichols

Screenwriter: Jeff Nichols

Cast: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain

Length: 2h

Synopsis: Curtis (Shannon) is a husband, father, and construction worker whose main concern is providing for his family. Recently, however, he’s been experiencing vivid nightmares involving terrible storms that compel him to expensively modify the storm shelter behind his rural home. With his worries seemingly unfounded, his efforts cause his wife (Chastain), friends, and community to suspect that he’s succumbing to psychosis just like his mother did when he was young. The project takes a financial and emotional toll that threatens his marriage and way of life, but he just can’t shake the feeling that another kind of catastrophe lies just over the horizon. He tries desperately to seek help, but finds that the only way to ease his anxiety is to finish creating that which is meant to protect what he’s so close to losing. What happens after it’s finished, however, will end up challenging him the most.

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