Genius

First Hit:  Strong acting and intense scenes made this film “Genius.”

I loved the intensity Jude Law put into defining Thomas Wolfe as a wildly imaginative and talkative man.

I’ve no idea how Wolfe actually was, but there was a believability in the constant flow of non-stop dialogue that really worked for me. His verbose and expressive nature supported the extremely large manuscripts he brought in to Max Perkins’ (Colin Firth) office.

Perkins who was editor for F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway was clearly the kind of person who could manage Wolfe. Imagine supporting this verbose author to edit down a five-thousand-page manuscript by cutting over 90,000 words into something both printable and readable.

Perkins, being very centered and with five daughters, found Wolfe both interesting and almost like his son. Wolfe was living with and being supported by Aline Bernstein (Nicole Kidman) who fed him and helped him in a muse type way all while she was producing plays. This film set in the late 1920s – mid 1930s, was well staged.

The sense and feel of Max’s office, the street scenes, and the view from Wolfe’s first apartment were spectacular and reflective of the times. The intense dinner with Perkins, his wife Louise (Laura Linney), Bernstein, and Wolfe was filled with forceful possessive dialogue and ended up defining all four characters.

Louise, a playwright on her own, being shunted aside while the jealous Bernstein and flamboyant self-serving Wolfe monopolizing the discussion and Max, as usual, being peacemaker. I fully bought into the script and thought the direction of the characters was superb.

Firth was fantastic. I loved that he wore a hat most of the time as it was very reflective of his style and the times. Law was intensely amazing. He had me believing the forceful and penetrating inner life Wolfe was leading. Kidman was perfect. I love how she can express so much in such a controlled way. Linney was sublime as Firth’s wife and keeper of their home while supportive of Max’s drama filled client’s lives. John Logan wrote an excellent screenplay. Michael Grandage did a wonderful job of keeping the film moving along and allowing the characters to breathe.

Overall:  I thoroughly enjoyed the interplay of all the characters in this film.

Spectre

First Hit:  Liked the opening scenes, absolutely cringed at the overblown banal opening credits and, while this film was generally more serious and less tongue-in-cheek as the original Bond films, it works well enough.

Bond (Daniel Craig) is working on his own. He’s working from a brief video clip clue from his now deceased boss “M” (Judi Dench). With this clue he’s off to find and eliminate the core of the problem that is haunting the MI-6 team while his current boss “M” (Ralph Fiennes) is not supporting him – officially.

The double “0” form of fighting crime is being phased out according to “C” (Andrew Scott) with new technology which is being created and financed by the guy Bond is after; the wickedly sarcastic and masochistic Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz). Supporting Bond in is mission are “Q” (Ben Whishaw), Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and a reluctant Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux).

The film is a travelogue, going to many different countries and climates with Bond nattily dress for each place and occasion. The beauty and intensity of the various venues were expertly caught and this really adds to the film. However, one of the hallmark behaviors of the early bond films was an underlying level of tongue-in-cheek comments by Bond and the other characters that kept the audience bemused while watching violent struggles, things being blown up, and people being shot; were few and far between.

Craig is great as Bond mainly because he carries intensity, physicality, and intelligence, all wrapped up in one package. Waltz is playing the same type of character he’s played in other films. He does this role well but it doesn’t bode well when the audience isn’t surprised by the villain. Whishaw is really wonderful in his smallish role as "Q" (Quartermaster). It is nice to see his role expanded even as the technology he presents becomes more interesting. Harris is very cool and centering as Moneypenny. Fiennes role grows as the film reaches its conclusion and it helps the film. Seydoux is very good as someone who reluctantly ends up being protected by Bond and as a love interest. Scott is strong as the arrogant young tech savvy guy that lacks experience. John Logan and Neil Purvis wrote this slightly over complicated script. Sam Mendes did a wonderful job of putting Bond in great scenes and venues and making the script work.

Overall:  This film, although good, seems to stray from past unconvincingly.

Hugo (3D)

First Hit: Although interesting from a historical perspective and good acting made it entertaining, it isn't a great film.

This film is a tribute and gives homage to George Melies a pioneer filmmaker who directed 531 films between 1896 and 1914.

He was extremely creative and made “magic” appear on film. He pioneered special effects, multiple exposures, and other editing effects.

Unfortunately WWI created a vacuum of people interested in seeing his films and then the French government took all his celluloid films and melted them down into shoe heels. He ended up being a toy vendor in Montparnasse Train Station.

To create this homage film Director Martin Scorsese creates the character of a recently orphaned boy named Hugo (played by Asa Butterfield) who lives “in the walls” of the Montparnasse Train Station in Paris. Hugo takes care of the station clocks and survives by stealing food from unsuspecting (or maybe willing) station food vendors. The boy, the son of a watchmaker, likes fixing things and he is working on an animatronic human his father found all rusty in an old museum. Hugo hopes that if he fixes this figure that a message will come to him from his deceased father.

To fix this figure, Hugo is always looking for parts and occasionally steals toys from a vendor in the station (Melies). Caught by Melies (played by Ben Kingsley) while trying to steal a small mechanical mouse (for parts); he takes the boy’s notebook which details his father’s drawings about gears and things.

A series of events creates trouble for the boy in the station which is lorded over by a Station Inspector (played by Sasha Cohen). Isabelle (played by Chloe Grace Moretz) who is being looked after by her uncle (Melies) and Aunt “mama” Jeanne (played by Helen McCrory), befriends Hugo and together they figure out that the Melies was the creator of the animatronic human figure Hugo is working on.

The film shifts direction here and focuses on the history of Melies. Here in lies one of three problems for me with this film. First, the shift of the film from Hugo to Melies was not very subtle but it worked and I accepted it.

Second, Scorsese’s use of 3D (the film can also be viewed in 2D) was sometimes excessive (the close up of the Station Agent's Doberman Pinscher is an example) and felt as though the shot with a 3D effect was more important than the content of the shot.

And third, all the main characters where speaking proper English while the scene is Paris, this seemed odd. However, aside of these issues, the cinematography, at times, was extraordinary.

The characters were interesting, especially Mama Jeanne and Melies and I really liked the inter-play between the main characters.

Lastly, knowing little about Melies before the film, this film has driven me to learn more about a man who created magic in a genre I love.

Butterfield is excellent as the driven orphan who is focused on living life on his terms and becomes friends with Melies. Kingsley does an excellent job of being a sad curmudgeon only to have his heart and spirit lifted by the young boy’s efforts. Cohen is funny and effective as the mean Station Inspector whose own physical limitations keep him small minded. Moretz is grand as the little girl who bridges the gap between Hugo and Melies. McCrory is effortless and charming in her role as Melies wife and former lead actress in his films. John Logan wrote effective dialogue. Scorsese did a good job of directing this film although it seemed to be two different films; one about the kid and the other about a tribute to Melies. His use of 3-D was over worked at some point. It almost seemed as though he was using it to excess to honor Melies. I was and am still struck that such a mood piece, taking place in Paris, would be in all proper English - not a French line in it. It just seemed out of sorts (or maybe done so that there is a US audience and a way to make money).

Overall: I really enjoyed learning about Melies and this was an effective way of doing it.