Hugo

Hugo is currently streaming in Australia on Stan, and in the US on Kanopy and Hoopla, and it uses the format for more than just a visual hook. The runtime earns every minute, with nothing here that feels like padding. A 7/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Watch it in order — the character development is cumulative. Start it on Stan whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

Hugo is not trying to be everything to everyone, and that focus is exactly what makes it work. Hugo has the visual identity that makes it immediately recognisable, and the writing to back it up. Orphaned and alone except for an uncle, Hugo Cabret lives in the walls of a train station in 1930s Paris. Hugo's job is to oil and maintain the station's clocks, but to him, his more important task is to protect a broken automaton and notebook left to him by his late father. Accompanied by the goddaughter of an embittered toy merchant, Hugo embarks on a quest to solve the mystery of the automaton and find a place he can call home. The voice work from Asa Butterfield and Ben Kingsley adds real texture, not just recognisable names. It hit screens in 2011. What makes Hugo more than a curiosity is writing that would hold up in any format. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

If you have been sleeping on Hugo because of the format, the format is not the issue here. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. Best experienced as a single, sustained watch from start to finish. Visually distinctive and narratively ambitious in ways that hold up regardless of format. Worth watching in order from the beginning.