Based on the series of popular kids tragedies by Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler), A Series of Unfortunate Events cobbles together events from the first three in the series, The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room and The Wide Window. The basic premise of both books and film is that if a bad ... Read review
Dear Viewer, If you enjoy movies filled with singing rabbits, exploding spaceships, or ... more
cheerleaders, you are holding the wrong DVD entirely. This movie is extremely alarming, an expression which here means a thrilling misadventure involving three ingenious orphans and a villainous actor named Count Olaf (Jim Carrey) who wants their enormous fortune. It includes a suspicious fire, delicious pasta, Jim Carrey, poorly behaved leeches, Billy Connolly, an incredibly deadly viper, Meryl Streep, and the voice of an imposter named Jude Law. The only things that could make such a spectacle more upsetting are special features, such as commentary by me or outtakes involving nervous laughter. I am bound to continue my research into the lives of the Baudelaire orphans, but you are free to seek lighter fare, like bleu cheese fondue. With all due respect.Lemony Snicket.
Dear ViewerIf you enjoy movies filled with singing rabbits, exploding spaceships, or ... more
cheerleaders, you are holding the wrong DVD entirely.This movie is extremely alarming, an expression which here means a thrilling misadventure involving three ingenious orphans and a villainous actor named Count Olaf (Jim Carrey) who wants their enormous fortune. It includes a suspicious fire, delicious pasta, Jim Carrey, poorly behaved leeches, Billy Connolly, an incredibly deadly viper, Meryl Streep, and the voice of an imposter named Jude Law. The only things that could make such a spectacle more upsetting are special features, such as commentary by me or outtakes involving nervous laughter.I am bound to continue my research into the lives of the Baudelaire orphans, but you are free to seek lighter fare, like bleu cheese fondue.With all due respect.Lemony Snicket.
Advantages: beautiful and some witty performances Disadvantages: Jim Carrey and missing sparkle
...of popular kids tragedies by Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler), A Series of Unfortunate Events cobbles together events from the first three in the series, The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room and The Wide Window. The basic premise of both books and film is that if a bad thing can happen... it certainly will.
Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire (is anyone else thinking Von Bulow? No? Just me, then...) are happy as three siblings who ... ...investigator / author / narrator Lemony Snicket (whose voice sounds surprisingly like Jude Law's).
Let's get the book/film bit out of the way first. Being a condensation of three books that fit into a series currently spanning to at least ten, there's the problem of how to fit in a resolution where there is none. Credit where credit's due, Robert Gordon's screenplay is both as faithful as it can be, and as neat as it is possible to ... more
Based on the series of popular kids tragedies by Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler), A Series of Unfortunate Events cobbles together events from the first three in the series, The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room and The Wide Window. The basic premise of both books and film is that if a bad thing can happen... it certainly will.
Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire (is anyone else thinking Von Bulow? No? Just me, then...) are happy as three siblings who like, respectively, to invent, read and bite can be. That is until their parents are killed in a fire that destroys their mansion home, and the young children (14, 10 and infant) are left in the charge of snuffling banker Mr. Poe, who immediately escorts them to the tottering home of the wiry, wily and wicked Count Olaf, allegedly a distant relative. It soon becomes clear that Olaf is after the Baudelaire fortunes, and plans to secure his succession in the time-honoured murderous fashion. What follows is a sequence of tragedies and near misses, as the orphans are shunted from the wacky to the weird (relatively speaking) and Olaf, a self-proclaimed master of disguise, is in pursuit. The story is held together by shadowy investigator / author / narrator Lemony Snicket (whose voice sounds surprisingly like Jude Law's).
Let's get the book/film bit out of the way first. Being a condensation of three books that fit into a series currently spanning to at least ten, there's the problem of how to fit in a resolution where there is none. Credit where credit's due, Robert Gordon's screenplay is both as faithful as it can be, and as neat as it is possible to be; his ending doesn't feel particularly pat (although it is a little sentimental) and his attempt to create more of a resolution by adding in a new subplot concerning some spyglasses is admirable. It's let down in a few places, such as in the translation of Sunny's squeaks and burps (they're much more creative and much less, if you'll forgive the generalisation, American, in the books) which is done by subtitle. However, for the most part, the script stands fairly firm as a best-of pick and mix from the books, and as a result neither readers of the Snickets (I think I got to 8 before I gave up!) nor newcomers to the franchise feel particularly hard-done-by in those terms.
It's just a shame the film's a bit dull, really.
On paper, all the right elements, bar one, are in place. The casting of the Baudelaire orphans is spot on, with Emily Browning and Liam Aiken convincingly portraying highly intelligent and likable children. Meryl Streep and Billy Connolly turn in solid supporting performances as Aunt Josephine and Uncle Monty (Connolly particularly spot-on) and Timothy Spall is a great Mr. Poe. So no prizes for guessing where the weak link comes. Jim Carrey's irksome portrayal of Count Olaf is all the more irritating for containing some really excellent moments... but just as Carrey manages to create a moment of intense menace, he ruins it by some unnecessarily lumpen clowning. No, it wasn't necessary for the Olaf of the book to be recreated exactly (he's a fairly two dimensional embodiment of all evil anyway) but the buffoonery is irritating rather than eerie, and really spoils the tone of many of the scenes.
In addition, the film felt drastically overlong, despite clocking in at a mere 108 minutes. Perhaps it was the episodic nature, going through each book, but it felt a tad monotonous by the third round. However, there is a huge saving grace to this film, and one that ought to let any adults dragged by their infant brood to the cinema (well, not THAT infant... this is extremely tragic certificate PG rambling) survive it with brain cells intact, and even admiring.
It's simply that this film is really rather wonderful to look at. From the wry opening sequence to the stunningly creepy, Burton-eque beauty of the closing credits, from the marvellously gothic structures to the towering burnt out shell of the Baudelaire mansion, this is a visual triumph. Aside from the stunning make-up job on Jim Carrey, the costumes are notably marvellous, particularly Violet's gothic dress and boots (although Klaus's preppie gear seems oddly incongruous in the midst of the voluminous Victorian petticoats surrounding him). Hats off in particular to the creation of Josephine's spindly house, clinging tenaciously to a menacing clifftop, its almost arachnid struts and supports creaking alarmingly. And so hats off to director Brad Siberling (Casper, City of Angels) for creating a world that engulfs and attracts, and in which the characters seem perfectly natural, if wonderfully abnormal.
The score was pretty standard stuff... and fairly, I'm afraid, unmemorable.
It's particularly hard to pinpoint exactly what it is that sucks the life out of this film. Possibly because the Snicket books DO, despite their author's claim, have something positive in their conclusion each time, the end of the film delivers an unexpected wallop of saccharine, and that certainly doesn't help. And it's not the fact that it's pitched at kids; I like children's movies. Having said that, they would probably have a lot more patience with Jim Carrey than I did. I think it's simply that whatever magical link takes a film from good to great, whatever indefinable sparkle of genius glimmers aloft over better films, is missing here. So yes, see it, by all means, it's not that bad. Just be prepared to be absently yawning before the end.
Three stars on the basis that the visuals are really rather brilliant. Even the bizarre Dustin Hoffman cameo.
ruth_cole 05.01.2005 (05.01.2005)
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Review of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
Advantages: Imaginative, another bizare Carrey performance Disadvantages: pasted three books together to make one film with no real development
...little elf’, our humble narrator, Lemony Snicket (played by Jude Law – “Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow”) removes us and places us into a dark and twisted tale about the Baudelaire children. There is Violet (Emily Browing), her younger brother Klaus (Liam Aiken) and their baby sister Sonny (Kara and Shelby Hoffman). Violet is a young and brilliant inventor, who ties her hair in bow whenever she has an idea for an invention. Klaus is an avid ... ...events take place. With one Lemony Snicket book not being able to equal that of say Harry Potter length and arguably quality wise, Silberling and screenwriter Robert Gordon (the man who penned “Galaxy Quest” and “Men In Black 2”) used material from the first three Snicket books as the basis for the film’s script. Starting with ‘The Bad Beginning’ and working through to ‘The Reptile House’ and to ‘The Wide Window’ Silberling and co create an entertaining ...
DarkMark 13.01.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
Advantages: Fantastic performances, wonderful style, deliciously dark Disadvantages: Some plot strands have been excised
...years, you’ve probably heard of Lemony Snicket. For the uninitiated, “Lemony Snicket” has been one of the biggest children’s publishing phenomena of the new millennium. Writer Daniel Handler has so far produced thirteen books under the fruity pseudonym. The style of the books tends towards overblown gothic with an ink black sense of humour. If you loved the nastiness of Roald Dahl, Lemony Snicket could be just your cup of bitter coffee.
Television-turned-film ... ...Law is the voice of Lemony Snicket, managing to be serious yet sympathetic and never patronising as he explains new concepts. But that’s the joy of having a great script based on strong source material.
The child actors are engaging without being saccharine. They remain deadly serious throughout, acting as the perfect foil for Jim Carrey’s madness and convincing as bereaved children. Newcomer Emily Browning is the focus of the child action, showing ...
afy9mab 05.01.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
Advantages: Great story line and characters Disadvantages: the quesy feeling you get when they visit Aunt Josephine!
...Count Olaf Jude Law…as Lemony Snicket (voice) Kara and Shelby Hoffman…as Sunny Liam Aiken…as Klaus Baudelaire Luis Guzmán…as Bald Man Meryl Streep…as Aunt Josephine Rosemary Garris…as Wedding guest Timothy Spall…as Mr. Poe
~*Overview*~
The title character in this film is played by Jude Law, whose contribution to the movie is a voiceover narrative for Lemony Snicket. (He's also occasionally seen in silhouette.) The real star is Jim Carrey, who plays ... ...that he isn't quite human.
Carrey plays three characters in this film. In addition to Olaf, he's also a scientist and a seafarer, both of whom are actually Olaf in disguise. The story is about the Baudelaire orphans, who are 14-year old Violet (Emily Browning) who creates all types of inventions-tying her hair up in a ribbon, pre-teen Klaus (Liam Aiken) who is a bookworm and reads information on irrelevant subjects, and infant Sunny (Kara & Shelby ...
Nicelissa 05.01.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
Advantages: Enjoyable, refreshing to have an alternative to Harry Potter Disadvantages: Dodgy plot construction, poor mix of style elements
Quick summary of the plot - After their parents' mysterious death in a fire at home, Baudelaire children Violet, Klaus and Sunny are sent to live with their uncle Count Olaf, who turns out to have a more sinister agenda for the trio. This new film is one I had been anticipating for quite a while. I'm a huge 'kids-film' fan, and while I haven't actually read this series (which is in itself remarkable), the trailers and website really set it up to ... ...I've heard a lot of negative stuff and disatisfaction online and amongst my friends about the execution of the plot and the acting. Well, maybe it won't win any Oscars but it's still a decent enjoyable film. Jim Carrey is rediculously OTT as Count Olaf, but I got the impression that Olaf was meant to be incredible. The three children are played beautifully by Emily Browning, Liam Aiken, Kara and Shelby Hoffman, managing to be both amusing and tragic. ...
dreamkin 05.01.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
Advantages: Good performance, nice effects Disadvantages: Odd structure
This is a film based on a set of books for children. Although the books are aimed at a younger audience they are surprisingly dark though.
The story deals with the three Baudelaire children called Violet, Klaus and Sunny. They each have special skills Violet is an inventer, Klaus is a reader and Sunny is a biter(she is only a baby and so lacks other skills).
The childrens parents are killed in a fire and they are sent to live with their rather ... ...their inheritance than loving the children.
The film develops as they try to run away from the Count who seeks first to kill the children and then to marry Violet. The film is based on three books, each of which forms a segment of the film. This makes it seem like three stories welded into one, they weren't really well connected and it was obvious where the "join" was. This film has an all-star cast. The narrator is Jude Law, who seems to be pretty ...
Fantasyman 05.01.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
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