Hugo

I got Hugo as part of Apple's 12 Days of Christmas promotion and had a few hours to kill on a flight from Boston to San Diego. It was a pretty great deal since the alternative films I had already seen. My flight left supposed to leave Boston at an ungodly hour, so I am sleep deprived. The flight left the gate more than two hours late, so I am a little peeved. Taken all that in consideration, I found Hugo to be a pleasant movie. It was somewhere between good and great.
I watched it on an iPad which does the film a disservice. It begs for a bigger screen. Even on the iPad's 10" screen the cinematography felt expansive. I can imagine that in the theater, Hugo was breathtaking. The digital and the real blend perfectly. The interspersion of old film clips felt organic.
The story itself was interesting if a little predictable. For film buffs it was probably more engaging. The plot moves along nicely and never bogs down. The time shifting fits organically into the telling.
The movie's other great strength is the relationship between the two children. Butterfield and Moranz draw you into their touching relationship and their characters. Even as I could tell where the plot was going and saw the danger spots a mile away, I was rooting for them and concerned that they were safe.
So, good movie that is better to watch on a bug screen. 42" inches is probably the smallest size to get the full effect. Although, Hugo was still gorgeous compressed into a tiny 10" display.