The self-reflexive practices of the meta-film take various forms. On the one hand, there’s the legacy of cinephilic directors from Brian De Palma to P. T. Anderson to Robert Rodriguez who shout out to specific films through their in-crowd referencing, or even go so far as to structure entire narratives through tributes to cinema’s past. Then there’s “the wink,” those film’s, like this weekend’s The Muppets, who exercise cheeky humor by breaking the fourth wall and by constant reference to the fact that they are in a heavily constructed film reality. The third category is less common, but perhaps the most interesting. There has been a recent influx of films that don’t use past films to construct present narratives or engage in Brecht-light humor, but have as their central narrative concern the broad developmental history of the medium itself, from practices of filmgoing to particularities of projection, and anything in between. Bertolucci’s The Dreamers is a good example of this mode of meta-filmmaking, but more high-profile films have begin to make this turn, specifically by directors who formerly operated in the first (and perhaps most common) category, like Tarantino with Inglourious Basterds two years ago. Now Martin Scorsese has followed suit with the 3D love letter to early cinema and film preservation that is Hugo.

It’s hard to overstate just how amazing it is to consider a big-budget, major studio-produced 3D family adventure centered on Georges Méliès. Before now, the work of the early cinematic innovator, whose movies (most famously 1903’s A Trip to the Moon) revolutionized and advanced special effects, has been relegated to film history texts and brief snippets of televised specials. If there’s one filmmaker to make Méliès matter again, to introduce him to a mass audience, it’s Martin Scorsese. After all, the Oscar-winning legend is not just one of the foremost cinematic masters, as a noted film preservationist, he’s among the chief protectors of the long, glorious and frequently threatened legacy of the motion picture. In Hugo, Scorsese transforms the trappings of a 3D holiday picture into a loving tribute to Méliès and the earliest masters of the cinematic dream factory. From the structure of its narrative, to the details of its plot, and the industrialized nature of its majestic visuals, this is a film infused with the joy and wonder of movies. Set amid the glittering magic of Paris in the early 1930s, the film follows 12-year-old orphan Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield), who secretly lives in a train station. Hugo, who winds the station’s clocks, dwells inside a labyrinthine interior comprised of enormous grinding gears, rising steam currents, and other elaborate metallic concoctions. Among the latter is a non-functioning automaton brought home by Hugo’s late father (Jude Law), which the young man works on incessantly in the hope that he can bring [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

The next movie from progressive, freak-people -the-hell-out filmmaker Sacha Baron Cohen will see him playing the deposed dictator of a Middle Eastern country who gets repeatedly horrified with his experiences during a trip to the United States. Larry Charles, the director of both Borat and Bruno, is returning to direct this Cohen joint as well, so you have to imagine that it will retain elements of that attacking an unsuspecting public with a controversial character gimmick that Cohen has relied on for laughs so far. But interacting with Midwestern intellectuals and coercing them into saying ridiculously racist and homophobic things doesn’t seem to be all that this one has to offer, if it goes in that direction at all. Charles and Cohen are looking to fill some key roles with seasoned, recognizable actors, so this may prove to be a much more tightly scripted story than anything we’ve yet seen from the duo. While the hunt for the female lead is still ongoing (with Kristen Wiig, Anna Ferris, and Gillian Jacobs’s names being thrown around as front-runners), one of the other big roles of the film has been filled; and filled by an Oscar winner. Ben Kingsley has signed on to join Cohen and whoever the heck else in this satirical look at power-mad rulers. The details of the story are still unclear, but it is said that Kingsley will be playing one of two Middle Eastern characters. Even though he does some real crap every once in a while, [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr heads to the desert to grade Sex and the City 2 and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

When I thought more and more about it, I realized that Scorsese is one director that doesn’t need 3D to add depth to his visuals.

Kevin Carr sits his chubbiness down weighs in on Shutter Island and the slate of Oscar-nominated short films, in theaters this week.

Expecting a quality film from Martin Scorsese is like expecting to get wet in the rain. It’s the anticipation of the inevitable with the director who has given us so many excellent cinematic experience, and you wouldn’t be foolish to expect quality here again with Shutter Island.

First, the Prince of Persia trailer was leaked. We didn’t move on it. Then, the Prince of Persia trailer dropped in HD, right after FSR’s Editor-in-Chief woke up from a nap. Perfect timing.

While there’s a lot to admire about Kari Skogland’s ‘Fifty Dead Men Walking,’ one can’t help but wish it had found a more original way to approach its subject, the Irish Troubles.

Not much to say here, but you can see Leo Di Caprio!

Don’t let the twinkle in his eye fool you, Ben Kingsley’s promotional shot for Prince of Persia is hypnotizing. And he’ll command you to kill for him once you’re under his power.

The first trailer for Martin Scorsese’s upcoming thriller Shutter Island, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Kingsley, has arrived online today. And I’ll be damned if it doesn’t bring some intense creepiness.

And Gandhi may be joining the fun too!

The Machinist director Brad Anderson spins a web of deception in this intense drama about traveling abroad.

Oh the relief that it brings to finally see a well-cut, red band trailer for the upcoming release The Wackness.

Alfred Molina and Ben Kingsley have officially filled the old guy quota for Disney’s upcoming Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

I’ve got a feeling that you don’t know much about The Wackness. But I also have a feeling that if you did, you might just want to see it.

And a dream of mine has finally come true. While at the Tribeca Film Festival today covering the red carpet premiere of Tennessee I got to see stars like Mariah Carey and Ben Kingsley but nothing compared to seeing the great Bobby D, my favorite actor ever.

Allow me to preface this: I could not be happier to hear that director Jonathan Levine’s dark teen drug comedy The Wackness is about to be purchased by a studio for distribution. After waiting all week and talking to Levine on Thursday about the tedious waiting game, it was becoming very frustrating to see that this film had not been picked up by a visionary studio like Fox Searchlight or Focus Features — two companies that could very easily find a way to market this film and put people in the seats. With great marketing, this could just as well have ended up being this year’s Juno. So I am sad to hear from our friends at indieWIRE that Sony Pictures Classics is in the process of closing a deal for The Wackness. This is probably one of the worst things that could have happened for the film, especially considering the way SPC has handled their films over the last 12 months. Take this into consideration: Academy Award nominated animated film Persepolis has made a total of $913k since its release on December 21. So far, it has played on no more that 30 screens. We are not talking about a crappy animated hack-job either — the movie got nominated for a fucking Oscar. But wait, that’s not all. Sony Pictures Classics also buried the return of Francis Ford Coppola, Youth Without Youth. I know the film got critically panned, but you mean to tell me that you can’t make [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

I’ve got my grimy hands on a video clip from one early Sundance gem…