A Series of Unfortunate Events

First of all, let me go on record saying that I think this is a wonderfully entertaining film. The sets and costumes are perfect; even the little details like the odd instruments on the car dashboard were carefully thought through for their effect. Jim Carrey is perfect as Count Olaf and his disguises, partially because he has always been adept at creating convincing odd characters with his flexible face and voice. The kids were likable, even the cute baby. Thomas Newman's score is a quirky mix that's just right for the film. (I want to ask him if there's a reason why one of his themes sounds like "We Three Kings" gone awry.) I'm writing this comment primarily to respond to the wacky criticisms of LEMONY that I've been reading here on IMDb. Most fall into two categories: 1) people who don't "get" the movie and haven't read the books (and therefore are offended by its dark tone), or 2) adolescents who are obsessed with the books and are disappointed that their little dreams of how the movie should be haven't been perfectly realized (e.g., "the boy doesn't have glasses, so this movie stinks").

Let me address the second group. WAKE UP!! The Lemony Snicket books are a pre-packaged, heavily-marketed series that was deliberately created to appeal to your age group...the Harry Potterites. Unlike the history of J. Rowling and the Potter books, the Snicket books were the result of some money-mad marketing guru coming up with the idea and finding a writer to execute it.

The Snicket series is not "classic children's literature," although I must say that the actual author has done a fun job with the idea (yes, I have read several of the books, in case you're wondering). One Snicket book does NOT equal one Potter book in length or quality; therefore it's perfectly suitable that they put three Snickets together for this movie. The little gimmicks that made the early books amusing (the author's asides to define words, the translations of the baby's gurgles) become tediously annoying tics in the later books. And if you're going to have a tantrum because someone's hair isn't the color you imagined, or an actor is taller than you thought he should be, WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD of movie adaptations! Perhaps if someone took liberties with Jane Austen, Dickens, or Tolstoy, it would be worth getting upset...but this is LEMONY SNICKET, for crying out loud! Read some real books for a change; not just cynically contrived kiddie lit designed to make big bucks with marketing deals and product tie-ins.

And to the first group I say...lighten up and read a couple of the Snicket books before you lament about the "dark tone," or the abuse of children, etc., etc. It's part of the joke, and one of the aspects of the books that the producers did a good job conveying on screen. In fact, the movie even softened the tone a bit with the touching flashbacks about the missing parents, building a "sanctuary," etc.

And what's with the wonderful, yet thrown-away closing credits? Seems to me these were made for the opening, but they realized that they would conflict with the "faux" Elf movie that starts the film. As someone else said, this is one of the most delightful parts of the film, but my son and I were the only ones who stayed to watch! DON'T LEAVE THE THEATER 'TIL IT'S OVER!

If your childhood was anything like mine, at some point you whined to your parents or another adult, "That's not fair!"--at which point the adult blithely retorted, "Life's not fair." A hard lesson, sure, but one we all learn eventually--life isn't fair; people die, bad things happen to good people, and justice isn't always served. Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" books, in which siblings Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire start off being orphaned by a fire and then having things go downhill from there, embraces that philosophy with a dark, sly humor that is irresistible. Fortunately, Brad Silberling has kept the spirit of the series mostly intact with this film translation.

The movie encompasses Snicket's first three books, in which Violet (Emily Browing), Klaus (Liam Aiken), and Sunny are foisted off on several guardians by the dimwitted executor of their parents' estate (Timothy Spall). The first and worst of these is Count Olaf (Jim Carrey), a thorough scoundrel who's after the kids' immense inheritance. The children manage to escape, and over the course of the film encounter a kindly snake enthusiast (Billy Connolly) and an ultra-hypochondriac (Meryl Streep), each of whom try to look after the children in their own way. But mostly the Baudelaires look after themselves, each resourceful in their own way--Violet invents contraptions with whatever is at hand, Klaus is a reference desk unto himself, and baby Sunny practices her teething on whatever (or whoever) is convenient. The trio share the sort of unique bond that can only come from having survived a long string of misadventures. Olaf pursues them throughout, aided by disguises which he considers brilliant and which fool everyone except, of course, the ever-observant Baudelaires.

Most of the elements which make Snicket's books so appealing are present here: the entertaining characters, the cleverness of the children, Snicket's delightful black humor (given voice by Jude Law), and even the cunning reverse-psychology promotional scheme of the series (in which the reader/viewer is told, no really, you DON'T want to hear this story, go find something more cheerful, etc.). Carrey gleefully gnaws the scenery as Olaf, and indeed with such a character he can do no less. Browning and Aiken are quite appealing, but the real scene stealer is Sunny (played by twins Kara and Shelby Hoffman). Sunny does not actually speak, but her coos and gurgles are translated via subtitle in a dry and witty manner (another inspiration taken from the series). The production design (combining the best parts of Tim Burton and Edward Gory) creates a fanciful but accessible world which modern inventions like remote car-keys are wielded by characters who dress like they just stepped out of a Victorian melodrama.

It is perhaps too much to ask that the film could have avoided a Hollywood-style attempt to soften its delightfully dreary outlook, or that Carrey could have gone the entire movie without having at least one sequence in which he's just required to be Jim Carrey. But this is kept to a minimum--as Violet herself says, there really is more good than bad here.

My Take: Jim Carrey at his outrageous self. An superb adaptation of the Snicket chronicles.

I honestly say that I have always liked Jim Carrey's comedy movies, and he's also one of my favorite comedians (though I'm not much of a comedy fan). "Liar Liar" and "Bruce Almighty" were amongst my favorites of Carrey's wild antics. But when I viewed this film, I was surprised to see Jim Carrey in a whole new look. His performance here was of the villainous Count Olaf, and he was more than just making me laugh, but also a villainous character. He's really a villain here, but yet, you can't help but actually laugh at some of his antics. This is really he's best performance that I've seen. Surely, there would be more, but this is by far the best that I've seen (Though I haven't seen "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind").

Do I need to say that this movie was great? For I already see that many agree with me on that. A very colorful production, with excellent costume design, make-up and special effects, and yet, also a wonderful story, well pressed from Lemony Snicket's "unfortunate" account on the Baudelaire siblings. I wouldn't mind a franchise myself. There are still a few other books still left, so why not?

Rating: **** out of 5.

LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS puts the spotlight on two kids who suffer an almost Dickensian fate complete with a villainous uncle, Count Olaf (JIM CARREY) and an eccentric Aunt Josephine (MERYL STREEP). The uncle wants to deprive them of their rightful inheritance and pulls all sorts of schemes to do exactly that, each time confronted by the clever children who are always able to escape his clutches.

As the children, LIAM AIKEN and EMILY BROWNING are excellent and believable as they confront their wicked and devious uncle with methods of their own.

Carrey is hilarious in his usual over-the-top sort of performance that suits the material and Meryl Streep is equally skillful in an amusing characterization as the aunt who is afraid of just about everything while supposedly taking charge of the three orphans that show up at her doorstep.

The humor is cleverly imposed on all of the characters, especially Carrey, Streep and Timothy Spall who has a fine time in another good character role. Costumes, make-up, settings are all way above average with the look of the film closely resembling something Tim Burton would devise.

A film that never got its due acclaim, it's well worth your time as a fascinating excursion into another world, both darkly grim and still intentionally humorous in conception. Thomas Newsman's score is a major asset, as is narration by Jude Law.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events was a silent hit of 2004, I remember I wasn't too sure if I wanted to see it or not because it just looked too dark for what I thought it was intended to be, a family film. But I was looking for a movie to watch yesterday and decided to go ahead and give the movie a chance. While I still think it was too dark for a family film, I thought that it was still a great film and the crew did a remarkable job of bringing the story to life. Normally while Jim Carrey can over do his roles that have this type of character, he actually portrayed Count Orlof extremely well and did a terrific job. I'm in some ways surprised that he didn't get more notice for this film. He, Meryl Streep, Billy O'Connelly really brought Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events to life. The sets and costumes were marvelous and the story was a frightening but imaginative one that I'm sure any film fan would enjoy to watch.

Three children: Klas, Violet, and Sunny have just lost their parents and home to a horrible fire. They are left in the hands of one of their "closest" friends, the scary looking and crazy Count Orlof. The count makes the kids do his chores and makes them cook dinner for him and his friends, but the one thing he does want is the children's inheritance from their parents. After attempting to kill them, they are taken to a safer guardian, but Orlof isn't going to give up so easily, he is going to go through as many guardians as it takes to get back these children.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is a terrific film, I was incredibly impressed, I'm glad I decided to give it a chance. It had good comic relief, but also had some thrilling moments, while I don't think it's a good idea to give this film completely to the kids, it's a family thriller type of film that I'm sure could be enjoyed. I know there are a lot of kids that wanna have a more grown up genre they could watch and this might be the film for them. I do recommend it for watch, this film is definitely worth the look. Not to mention, for once it was nice that they didn't over do it with the baby comedy, she was actually cute and funny. You'll see what I mean when you watch it, you'll be happy too, the kids are very likable and so are the rest of the characters.

8/10