dragonfire88's Full Review: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
I first read about the books in A Series of Unfortunate Events a few years ago. The books sounded interesting and I wanted to read them. I only recently read The Bad Beginning, the first book. I first saw previews for Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events a few months ago. I decided that I wanted to see the movie, though I did have to wait a little longer than I originally planned to see it.
The Baudelaire children were at the beach when Mr. Poe, a banker that knew their parents arrived. He told the children that their parents had died in a fire that burned down their house. He took Violet, Klaus, and Sunny to see the house and there were able to salvage a few small items. Then Mr. Poe took them to a distant relative that lived near by, Count Olaf. Violet and Klaus didn’t know who he was so they were worried. Mr. Poe said that Count Olaf was an actor. Count Olaf wasn’t overly welcoming to the children. He was only concerned with getting his hands on the money the children would inherit. He left the children long lists of chores to do every day. The oldest, Violet, enjoyed inventing things. Klaus read a lot and remembered everything he read. Sunny was a baby that liked to bite anything she could get into her mouth. The abilities of all three helped them in a few occasions. Once he was formally given custody of the children, Count Olaf started plotting how he could get rid of the children and get the money. His first attempt failed and Mr. Poe took the children to another relative, Uncle Monty.
Uncle Monty lived in a very nice large house. He studied snakes, and had several slithering around in what he called the reptile room. Uncle Monty was happy to have the children with him and already had plans for making sure they were safe and happy. Things didn’t go like he planned after a man arrived at the house. The children ended up going to their Aunt Josephine’s. She lived in a house that was built over the edge of a cliff. Aunt Josephine was kind to the children, though she did have some irrational fears. When she was younger, she had done many adventurous things with her husband. After he died, she was overcome with fears, like her fear of realtors. Count Olaf was still around, plotting how he could get the money the children were going to inherit.
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events was based on the first three books in A Series of Unfortunate Events. I wasn’t sure what to think when I first heard that the movie was based on three books, but I had forgotten just how short those three books are. By themselves, each book is too short to be a full length movie. As of the release of the movie, eleven books in the planned thirteen book series have been published. So far I have only read the first book, but I plan to read the rest of them. The books are a bit unique because they have a narrator, Lemony Snicket, that adds his thoughts into the story he is relating. More than once he told the reader to stop reading and find something that would be more pleasant. Lemony Snicket was present in this movie as well. He was shown in shadow typing away as he told the story of what happened to the children. Every so often, he spoke through a voice over to comment about something. He did suggest that the audience would find another movie more enjoyable a few times. The voice over was a little jarring in a few places, and it didn’t seem to flow as well as it did in the book when Snicket shared his thoughts. In the first book, Sunny didn’t actually speak but made some sounds. Snicket would provide meanings for her noises. In the movie, meanings for Sunny’s sounds were provided in a different way. Some of them were funny, which did help to lighten the mood in a few places. I did like that Snicket still had a presence in the movie.
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events isn’t a typical happy movie for kids, which I expected because I knew that the books were darker as well. People who haven’t read the books may not be sure what to think about some of the events that happened in the movie. It looked like it would be a happy movie when a cute little cartoon with an elf played during the opening credits. Then Snicket did his first voice over, saying that was not the movie we were going to see. Instead, we would be subjected to a most unpleasant movie. This was dark for a children’s movie. I do think it could be too dark for younger children. It should be all right for older children, especially ones who have read and enjoyed the books. The children did end up in a few dangerous situations. There was a little bit of action that kept things moving along. At one point fairly early in the movie, Count Olaf did slap Klaus. That could be upsetting to some viewers. That was really the only violent thing in the movie.
Since I have read the first book, I knew some of the things that would happen in the movie. There were still surprises for me though. I did know that the children ended up with a relative that studied reptiles in the second book, but I didn’t know anything else that happened. It had been long enough since I last read anything about the third book that I didn’t remember anything that was supposed to happen. There was one thing that happened in the movie that wasn’t in the book. An event from the end of the movie actually happened at the end of the first book, though it did seem to work in the movie. Klaus only wore glasses in a few scenes at the beginning of the movie. He had to wear them all the time in the book. I did notice a few other minor things that were left out or changed, but that didn’t bother me.
There was a hint of mystery added to the movie that wasn’t in the first book. A possible explanation for the cause of the fire that killed the Baudelaires was given. There was no such explanation in the book. After the fire, when the children were looking around what was left of their home, Klaus found an object that made him very curious. He started to wonder if his parents had some kind of secret. Later, Klaus noticed that Uncle Monty and Aunt Josephine both had the same object. Monty and Josephine both made comments about how long it had been since they had seen the children, so it seemed that they had a closer connection to the Baudelaires than Count Olaf had. Monty and Josephine were keeping some kind of secret related to their connection to the Baudelaires. There was some resolution to one or two things in the movie, but there were still many unanswered questions. Even with the unanswered questions, the ending of the movie did seem to be more up beat ending than the first book was. If another movie based on the books is made, I would go see it.
It was never said exactly what year the movie was taking place in. That wasn’t mentioned in the first book either. The characters dressed like it was set sometime in the late 1800's or early 1900's. I didn’t see any televisions in any of the houses shown in the movie. There were cars, though they didn’t look like modern cars. There were some interesting looking things on the dashboards of the cars shown in the movie. At one point, Count Olaf pushed a button on his key chain to lock the doors of his car, which is a very modern gadget. Mr. Poe mentioned that the children could send him a fax if they needed him for something. Fax machines are also very modern. When Snicket was shown typing the story, he was using an old manual typewriter. The mix of older looking items with more modern things was interesting. The sets for the movie looked amazing. They really did remind me of something Tim Burton might have created. Aunt Josephine’s house looked very impressive perched over the edge of the cliff. There were unique looking locations for the movie, but they worked well with the story. I think some elements in the movie were created with special effects, but I don’t know for sure. If there were effects, they blended in well. Jim Carrey had to wear some make up to look like Count Olaf and a few character Olaf played during the movie. Carrey did look like how I imagine Olaf when I read the book. He didn’t look like himself at all. The make up was very well done.
I really only had one problem with the movie. It wasn’t that something was done badly or anything like that. I have a phobia of snakes. I have no idea where it came from since I’ve never been near one, but I am terrified of them. I know it is irrational, but I don’t think it is as irrational as Aunt Josephine’s fear of realtors. I usually freak out at least a little if a snake turns up in a movie. I knew before going to see this movie that at least one snake would be around. In a preview, Uncle Monty was shown holding a snake. I also knew that the second book was called The Reptile Room. I was hoping that there would be more lizards or frogs than snakes, but that didn’t work out that way. There were several snakes slithering around in Uncle Monty’s reptile room. That did make me a bit uncomfortable, but I wasn’t freaking too much at that point. Then something else happened. ** MINOR SPOILER WARNING ** Uncle Monty was trying to show the children a rare snake he recently discovered. They couldn’t see the snake and then it just lunged out of nowhere, mouth open wide like it was going to swallow one of the children whole. I had a bad feeling, and was sort of covering my eyes, but I chose the wrong moment to peek and saw that and was scared to death. There were several children in the theater too, and none of them seemed to be bothered by that. If I had read the second book, I might have known what was coming, and wouldn’t have peeked at the wrong moment. I know that not many people share my phobia, so this might not be a problem for anyone else. ** END MINOR SPOILER **
The acting in Lemony Snicket’s a Series of Unfortunate Events was very good. I thought Jim Carrey did a good job as Count Olaf. He did go a bit over board once or twice, but that worked with the character. Emily Browning and Liam Aiken were both good as Violent and Klaus. Aiken didn’t look like he was younger than Browning though. Klaus was supposed to be younger than Violet, and shorter. Aiken was the same height, if not a bit taller. That was a minor thing and didn’t bother me too much. If more movies are made based on the books, Aiken might end up looking like the oldest child instead of the middle child. Kara and Shelby Hoffman looked cute as Sunny. Billy Connolly was very good as Uncle Monty. I was disappointed that he didn’t have more screen time. Meryl Streep was wonderful as Aunt Josephine. She was perfect for the part. Timothy Spall didn’t have as much to do as Mr. Poe, but he was good in the part. He had a small part in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Catherine O’Hara played Justice Strauss, Count Olaf’s neighbor, in a few short scenes. She had very little to do. Jennifer Coolidge was one of the female actors that Count Olaf worked with. I don’t remember her saying anything. She did sing a few lines at one point. She was very under used. Cedric the Entertainer had a few scenes as a constable. He was fine in the part, but didn’t have much to do. Dustin Hoffman showed up briefly at the end of the movie in a cameo. I’m not sure why he was even in the movie. Jude Law played Lemony Snicket. He was only shown a few times, though he did have several voice overs. He was fine for the part.
CHARACTERS
Violet - She was the oldest child. She was intelligent and good at inventing things. She was close to her younger siblings.
Klaus - He was the middle child. He remembered everything he read. He was also intelligent. He and Violet worked together to figure out some problems they were faced with.
Sunny - She was the youngest. She was still a baby. She liked to bite anything she could.
Count Olaf - He was a distant relative of the children’s that lived near by. He was only interested in getting his hands on the money the children were to inherit. He treated them horribly and plotted ways to get rid of them so he could get the money. He was an actor.
Uncle Monty - He studied reptiles. He knew the Baudelaires, though he hadn’t seen Violet since she was very young. He was kind to the children.
Aunt Josephine - She had been adventurous before her husband died in a strange way. She let her irrational fear over take her life. She was kind to the children, though she was keeping something from them.
Mr. Poe - He was a banker that told the children about what happened to their parents. He showed concern for the children at times, but he didn’t believe them a few times.
Justice Strauss - Count Olaf’s neighbor. She was a judge. She was kind to the children when she saw them.
CAST
Liam Aiken - Klaus Baudelaire
Emily Browning - Violet Baudelaire
Jim Carrey - Count Olaf
Billy Connolly - Uncle Monty
Jennifer Coolidge - White Faced Woman # 1
Cedric the Entertainer - Constable
Dustin Hoffman - Critic (Uncredited)
Kara and Shelby Hoffman - Sunny Baudelaire
Jude Law - Lemony Snicket
Catherine O’Hara - Justice Strauss
Timothy Spall - Mr. Poe
Meryl Streep - Aunt Josephine
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events was released on December 17, 2004. The movie was rated PG and one hour and forty seven minutes long. Younger children might be bothered by some things that happen in the movie, but older children will probably like it more. Count Olaf did say one swear word.
Even though I did have a problem with one thing that happened in the movie, I still really enjoyed Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. The problem was from an issue I have, not anything that was wrong with the movie. I will probably get this movie on DVD once it is out, though I will skip past the one short scene that I had the problem with in the future. People who have read and enjoyed the books in A Series of Unfortunate Events may also enjoy this movie.
After Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire s parents perish in a terrible fire, they are placed in the care of Count Olaf (Jim Carrey), an actor, evil ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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