National Board of Review names Hugo best film of the year

NEW YORK - Hugo, Martin Scorsese's 3D drama about an orphan boy in 1930s Paris, was named best film of 2011 on Thursday by the National Board of Review (NBR), which also named Scorsese best director.

George Clooney won best actor for The Descendants, while Tilda Swinton took the best actress prize for We Need to Talk About Kevin, in which she plays a grieving mother struggling in the aftermath of her teenage son's school shooting spree.

"Hugo is such a personal film by Martin Scorsese," NBR President Annie Schulhof said in a statement. "It is a tribute to the early years of cinema that uses today's cutting edge technology to bring the audience into a completely unique and magical world," she said.