_You may be scratching your head and wondering, “a family movie from Martin Scorsese? WTF? The dude who brought me Goodfellas and Taxi Driver? No way!” Well, Hugo isn’t necessarily a children’s movie in the same vein as The Muppets, which is also opening this weekend. It’s slower, more methodical, and definitely more beautifully-crafted. Sure, it’s about a boy in his quest to uncover a secret, but, more importantly, Hugo is a film that’s meant to be a work of art for those who love movies.

At one point, Hugo (Asa Butterfield) takes his new friend Isabelle (Chloe Moretz) to her first movie, and she turns to him and says, “Thank you for the movie. It was a gift.’’ Hugo is Martin Scorsese’s gift to cinephiles in that he lovingly recreates many of the very first films ever shown but gives them a 3D makeover. This is one instance where the latest technology really does add to the overall package of a film. Hugo is a film for dreamers, but more about that after the jump!

_The very first song in The Muppets, Gary (Jason Segel) and his puppet brother Walter sing the lyric, “I can’t seem to wipe this smile off of my face.” If that’s not an allusion to how you’ll feel the whole movie, then I don’t know what is. I loooooooved the Muppets growing up, and it wasn’t until that opening number that I realized how much I really missed a great Muppet movie. (Yes, I’m discounted Muppets from Space.) Lifelong Muppet-lover Segel and his cohort, which includes Bret McKenzie from Flight of the Conchords, have created a truly magical and fun Muppet movie that will hopefully relaunch the franchise. And it’s one of the best movies in a loooong time that’s perfect for the whole family.

The Muppets follows Walter, his brother Gary, and Gary’s gal-pal Mary (Amy Adams) on vacation in Los Angeles as they decide to visit the whole Muppets Studio. There, Walter discovers that evil oil tycoon Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) is going to buy the studio and bulldoze it to drill for oil unless the Muppets can scrounge together $10 million to buy it back. Walter persuades Kermit the Frog to rally the whole Muppet gang back together in order to hold a good ol’ fashioned telethon to raise the money. Trouble is everyone has gone their separate ways: Miss Piggy is in France working for Vogue, Animal is in anger management therapy, and Gonzo is a huge plumbing magnate. Plus, a TV exec (Rashida Jones) thinks that the Muppets are obsolete and not famous anymore. (How very meta.) So, can Kermit and Walter get the whole gang back together, and can they prove to the world how much everyone needs a little Muppets in their lives?

While this could very well sound like the sappiest, lamest movie ever, The Muppets is the perfect mix of sincerity, happiness, and humor. The movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, and even offers up classic Muppets meta humor (“this is going to be the shortest movie ever”). Everything is lighthearted and tongue-in-cheek, but nothing feels too grownup or cynical. Sure there are moments of weight, like when Kermit sings a song about how long it’s been since he’s seen his friends, and it’s downright sad and tear-inducing. But then there are absurd Flight of the Conchords-esque songs like “Am I a Man or a Muppet?” that are so pitch-perfect and ridiculous that they’re an amazing fit with the Muppets world.

By the time Kermit sings “Rainbow Connection” you’ll be downright giddy and delirious from smiling so damn much, whether you are a boy or a girl, a kid or an adult, a man or a Muppet. The Muppets might just be one of the best family movies I’ve seen in a long time because it made me feel all gooey and fuzzy in my heart. And this is coming from a cynic like me. Do yourself and your family a favor this Thanksgiving and head out to see The Muppets. 

--Darcie Duttweiler

_Watching the opening wedding scene in Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 is like being a guest at your friend’s friends’ wedding. You don’t belong there, and you frankly don’t give a shit about the copious amounts of toasts occurring. You just want to get to the free booze and maybe make out with a cute groomsmen on the dance floor. Is that too much to ask for? Yes, yes it is. Because instead of a beautiful film with nuance and complexities and fun, Breaking Dawn is a boring, slow film that is laughably awful at several parts. When will Hollywood understand that splitting a film into two parts is quite possibly the worst idea. It makes for the first half to feel completely unfinished and lacking, not the gripping cliffhanger they (or rather, their pockets) anticipate.

Read more after the jump!