One of the great joys in watching as many films as I do is that rare moment when I’m truly surprised.

That is the case with the latest from director Martin Scorsese, “Hugo.” This film is much more than the kids’ movie that the ads suggest. This is an unexpected journey that proves that the great director can indeed do anything.

Set in Paris in the 1930s, “Hugo” tells the story of an orphaned boy named Hugo (Asa Butterfield) living in the walls of a train station and trying to bring to life an automaton that his late father (Jude Law) was working on before his death.

Hugo attempts to steal parts to repair the automaton from a toy shop owner (Ben Kingsley), which leads him to an unlikely friendship with the owner’s goddaughter, Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz).

Isabelle joins Hugo’s quest to repair the automaton, leading to a series of events that eventually reveal the shop owner’s true identity – the great French filmmaker Georges Melies.

“Hugo” is a magnificent-looking film with elaborate sets and Scorsese’s keen visionary eye, creating some beautiful angles and camera shots that are quite exquisite. I’ve not been a fan of 3-D films in general, but “Hugo” takes full advantage of the technology, creating a storybook-like world with rich layers and textures.

That alone is enough to make “Hugo” worth seeing, but the film is much more. Once Melies is introduced into the story, this evolves into a love letter to the origins of cinema. The final act is sheer cinematic poetry.

The performances are solid as well, especially Kingsley and Sacha Baron Cohen, who provides comic relief as the station’s inspector.

I can’t say enough how much fun I had watching “Hugo.” This was an unexpected treasure that will please audiences of all ages and is one of the better films I’ve seen in 2011.

DVD dandy of the week

This week’s dandy is “The Help” (B-) – the adaptation of the popular novel from Kathryn Stockett.

It’s a movie that has plenty going for it – namely two great performances from Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer – but ultimately plays it safe, somewhat lessening the dramatic weight the film could have had.

“The Help” tells the story of racial divide in Jackson, Miss., through the eyes of three women: Skeeter (Emma Stone), Aibileen (Davis) and Minny (Spencer). Aibileen and Minny are maids who have spent their lives taking care of prominent Southern families, while Skeeter is a wide-eyed recent University of Mississippi graduate who aspires to be a great writer.

Skeeter returns home from school to learn her childhood friends are now the pillars of society, including Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard). When Hilly announces a crusade to keep blacks from using the same restrooms as whites in the employers’ homes, Skeeter gets the idea to write a book in which the help share their stories.

Her idea is met with reluctance at first, until Aibileen and, eventually, Minny agree to share their experiences. As Skeeter gets deeper into the project, she starts to learn more about herself and her own family history with the help.

At 2 1/2 hours, this is a film that features a lot of characters and several plot threads that provide “The Help” with several distinct voices. When “The Help” focuses on Aibileen and Minny, the movie is at its best. Davis and Spencer really get the most out of their respective characters, even in moments when the material feels more like a Lifetime made-for-TV movie than a major feature film.

I usually like Stone, but her performance is rather flat here. I never bought her as the tomboyish wallflower the film tries to portray her as. It doesn’t help that Skeeter isn’t really that interesting, yet the film throws the character plenty of subplots, including a romance that never works.

Howard has some good moments as the film’s main heavy, while Jessica Chastain provides a nice balance as an ostracized housewife who develops a friendship with Minny.

If the story had used Chastain’s character as the moral centerpiece instead of Skeeter, “The Help” could have had a little more emotional impact. As it is, this is a film that wants to have a say about some serious subjects – ranging from racism to spousal abuse – while at the same time appealing to the masses.

To its credit, “The Help” succeeds more on the latter than it does the former, leaving a somewhat effective drama that could have been much more.

“The Help” is rated PG-13 for thematic material and will be available Tuesday on DVD.

— To get sportswriter/movie reviewer Micheal Compton’s up-to-the minute thoughts on all things movies, visit his blog at mcompton.wordpress.com or his Twitter page at twitter.com/mcompton428. You can also email him at mcompton@bgdailynews.com.