Asa Butterfield plays Hugo’s orphaned protagonist Hugo Cabret as a classic Scorsese hero: He steals and shuns authority; he hides in the clockworks of a giant train station in 1930s Paris, watching the normals go to work; his hair is greasy and his eyes don’t quite match up. But Hugo is a kid’s movie, so don’t expect any shooting sprees. Instead, he befuddles a rent-a-cop (Sacha Baron Cohen, expanding a relatively minor bit part with a Peter Sellers-like intensity) and learns the secrets of a broken-down clockwork man left him by his dear departed dad. Scorsese is determined to drop your jaw here—this could be the most beautiful 3-D movie ever, with a gorgeous depth of field. And though Hugo is too long for a kid’s movie (and still several plot threads feel strangely incomplete) this high level of cinematic craftsmanship is always an unmitigated joy to witness. (PAUL CONSTANT)