"Hugo" would only have ever worked if the magic of life, so artfully distilled into cinema by Georges Melies, was palpably visible in every frame. This is why the most important character of the film is not the acclaimed director, nor Hugo Cabret, but instead the train station in which he lives. Computerized special effects have the ability to transform an ordinary setting into a dream, to set the wheels of imagination turning, and Scorsese leverages that to magical effect here. There are two facets to the station: the public facade of shops and platforms, and the hidden world of secret passages, great clockwork mechanisms, ladders, slides, and long-forgotten rooms that Hugo occupies. They exist in stark contrast to each other, though neither suffers for the juxtaposition. The citizens of Paris amble through a wonderland in the train station lobby, where artisan shops pour their hearts into the goods they sell, whether they be toys or flowers, croissants or books, and people bare their humanity without shame nor guilt. They dance, sing, profess love, entertain, exist in the most vulnerable fashion, and it is wonderful to see. Hugo, isolated from this vital display of community, bears witness to it through peepholes in clock faces, confined to roam the walls and passageways unbeknownst to the outside world. He lives in darkness, and that darkness is a representation of his loneliness, but his lair is no dingy cave: there is palpable wonder here too. The great turning gears and ticking clocks sing with opportunity, the opportunity of a technological age that did not yet consider its ramifications. The entire place is wreathed in steam, a dreamlike aura that lends mystery to anything it settles over. It is here that Hugo Cabret discovers the magic of film, uncovers an old mystery, and fixes a thoroughly broken old man, and it simply could not occur in a more fitting place: a place bursting with life and humanity that conceals a hidden world of mystery and opportunity.
This story is such a beautiful, compelling story of the life of a famous film actress throughout the 50’s through to the 00’s.
There are so many aspects to the story that made me not only gain a larger insight into the pain/love/sorrow/joy of the many complexities of life, but Jenkins Reid narrates it in such a way that you feel as though you’re there, experiencing all the emotions and thought processes Evelyn goes through.
It taught me so much more about homosexuality during that time period, the experience of being in an abusive relationship, the different forms of love that one can have. I think that is was stuck with me the most when finishing this book, is that love comes in many many different forms, and although to the outside world it can seem very black and white, but every loving relationship is so unique and does not need to fit within a certain label.
Highly highly recommend this book.
Re-watched The Matrix and decided to focus on Hugo Weaving's performance as Mr. Smith and it was masterclass (I know I know, The Matrix isn't exactly a masterpiece due to it's acting).
Are there any examples where you can feel the vibe of the room and the emotions (absolute hatred) through the screen like I felt when Mr. Smith monologued to Morpheus about how humans were a virus? He just fully understood how to play a 'program' who's only intentions were to keep humanity as livestock.
https://collider.com/the-matrix-4-why-hugo-weaving-agent-smith-gone-explained/
>Lana was very keen for me to be a part of [The Matrix 4]. I really wanted to because I’m very, very fond of all of them. I had some initial reticence about the idea of going back to revisit The Matrix, after having already done three films, but then I read the script and got an offer to my agent. I immediately responded yes to that, and then we went into negotiation. I was doing a play, at the time, but we were working out dates and things so that I could do both. And then, Lana decided that she didn’t wanna change her dates, so I couldn’t do it. In a nutshell, that’s what happened.
So, in this interview he says his hesitation was with re-visiting the film universe in general, along the lines of "is there a good reason to?", I think. He didn't say it was with the script he received. In fact, the moment he received the script he said yes.
On the trilogy:
>“I’m sitting here now at Fox Studios in Sydney, which is where we first all started working. Every time I come here, there are a million things. It was a very happy, exciting time, which went over a long period of time, so we were very much like a family. We traveled the world together, many times, and worked in San Francisco and L.A., but mostly in Sydney. The three films were mostly shot at Fox Studios in Sydney. I’m very, very fond of all of them.”
On the Wachowskis:
>Out of The Matrix came V for Vendetta, which was an absolute joy to make in Berlin. And then, from that, we did Cloud Atlas, again in Berlin. And they’re presently in Berlin with the next Matrix installation. Lilly is not there, so it’s just Lana, but Keanu [Reeves] and Carrie-Anne Moss, and some of the original Australian art department went over to Berlin with them, as well. So, there are a lot of people on that set that I would love to see again. It’s such a shame that I’m not doing it, but I’m not, and that’s fine.
Hopefully he gets to work with those people again in the future - even if not necessarily in Matrix.
Personally, I'm leaning towards "Arrival," which was based on the Ted Chiang short story "The Story of your Life," which was shortlisted for the Hugo Award in 1999.
For reference, here's a list of adaptations: http://hugoclub.blogspot.com/2021/03/film-adaptations-of-hugo-shortlisted.html
Hi guys, after last nights escapade in /r/movies/ I was convinced to create a dedicated AMA. I answered a few questions last night, but ask anything, films, computer games, life in general or anything else you can think of. You can follow me on twitter @asabfb, and be sure to check out the latest trailer for Enders Game. Don't worry about getting me in trouble, I'm not gunna answer anything I'm not supposed to ;) Proof: http://twitter.com/asabfb/status/331884661389271040/photo/1 well the AMA is officially over, thanks again for all the great questions! for people who want to join the steam group I've created where we can organise games go here http://steamcommunity.com/groups/EndersDOTA/
I overall liked the film, but I HATED the Agent Smith modal.
I get the reasoning behind the Morpheus change. Plot wise that makes sense.
But I just found the Smith character to be distracting. I mean, Smith would never call Neo “Thomas”.
There is my rant
https://preview.redd.it/5606v9zxzc881.jpg?width=1366&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2ee211749491a58a81c5dbfa55373ba457ffcae9
As maybe some of you have, this week I checked out The Matrix trilogy for the first time since the early '00s, in anticipation of Resurrections. I watched the first Matrix a bunch when I was a kid, but so much of it went over my head—and I'd never seen Reloaded or Revolutions.
As maybe some of you have, I've watched the LotR trilogy about 1000 times. Hugo Weaving is synonymous with Elrond to me. It's wild to watch these other movies that he filmed nearly back-to-back with LotR, where he's not only a polar opposite character from Elrond, but he's the main antagonist of the entire trilogy. His performance as Agent Smith is by far the best acting in the whole thing to me; that creeeepy cadence... "Miiister Andersonnnn." It's about as stark a contrast from the stoic Lord of Rivendell as you can get.
The 2nd and 3rd Matrix movies are still not great, but the first film is fantastic, and as a fellow LotR nerd, I highly recommend revisiting these for Weaving's performance alone. Anyone else here thinking about Elrond Half-elven in relation to Agent Smith lately?
Spoiler: >!the new agent smith was finely written (one of the few not shitty aspects of the movie) BUT the establishment of Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith made the lack of Hugo as agent smith very jarring and distracting. If the young tech bro turned into Hugo weaving would that have marginally improved the film !<
Edit: Does double pipe no longer work or am I doing double pipes wrong? I had to do ‘>’ + ‘!’ and ‘!’ + ‘<;’ instead of double pipes
)