Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (Full Screen)

 

 

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Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, the movie, is an adaptation of the first 3 books in the Lemony Snicket's printed books. The movie plot is very much the same as the story of the first three books.

#1 - The Bad Beginning

#2 - The Reptile Room

#3 - The Wide Window

In the Series of Unfortunate Events isn't a happily ever after kind of story. There are three regular children:

Violet, who loves to invent

Klaus, who loves to read

and Sunny who loves to bite

Violet is the oldest, Claus the middle child, Sunny is the youngest.

The book "The Bad Beginning" is the basis for the first part of the movie. The story begins when the Baudelaire children are informed by Mr. Poe, a banking accountant, that their parents have just been killed by a mysterious fire, and thus begins a series of search for a suitable guardian and a safe place to live. The siblings closest member to their parents is supposedly Count Olaf, only he's not nice. He's exactly the opposite and he plans to steal the immense fortune left by the Baudelaire parents.

In The Bad Beginning, things, well, begin badly for the three Baudelaire orphans. And sadly, events only worsen in The Reptile Room. As the siblings move in with their new guardian Professor Montgomery, they find he is a reptile scientist. In a room with many different reptiles, there's a newly discovered reptile that he called a deadly, dangerous snake. But it's not really dangerous at all. Later Montes get a new assistant and it is Count Olaf in disguise. Of course something terrible happens to Uncle Morty after that and Count Olaf again tries to kidnap the children.

In the Wide Window, Mr. Poe places the children with a distant relative, Aunt Josephine. Aunt Josephiine lives in a house on the edge of a hill, a house that is very literally above Lake Lachrymose, a lake infested with Lachrymose Leeches who would eat a human if they smelled food on them.

Aunt Josephine is as eccentric as other relatives have been. She's a total grammar freak and so scared of every thing that the children have to live in a cold house and eat cold food because their aunt is afraid of accidents with fire. When Aunt Josephine meets Captain Sham who (who is Count Olaf in disguise), good fortune turns bad. Aunt Josephine dies and the apparent cause of death is jumping through the wide window in the living room, leaving the three children to Captain Sham (who is Count Olaf in disguise).

As the orphans try to figure out a way to escape from Count Olaf, they discover their aunt is still alive and in hiding. So they set out to find her and convince her to come back. This eventually leads them out onto the dreadful Lake Lachrymose where Count Olaf and the dreaded leaches catch up with them.

While the books leave much to the imagination, the visual effects and stunning backdrdops of the movie are well detailed, in contrast to the often sparse details in the books.

I loved the end of this movie. Specifically I loved the end credits as we see the small animated figures of the Baudelaire orphans fleeing from the figure of Count Olaf. I loved the look of the animation and the layouts, which seemed to owe something to the cartoons of Chas. Addams, the nightmare of H.P. Lovecraft, Tim Burton's creations in "The Nightmare Before Christmas," and those painting on velvet of kids and animals with large eyes. Benjamin Goldman and Todd Hemker were the layout artists and animators for both the main titles and the credit crawl. Goldman was the effects artist for the main titles on "Elf" and Hemker will have to spend the rest of his career trying to top this first movie credit. I also loved the music by Thomas Newman, which was another reason I had to keep playing the end credits over and over again. There are end credits where the music hooks you (e.g., "Moulin Rouge"), but finding one that is visually interesting that does not involve outtakes or crazy credits is hard to find. With "Lemony Snicker's A Series of Unfortunate Events" we have one of the all time greats.

I like the children playing the Baudelaire orphans as well because they had both the appearance and attitude I anticipated having read the novels that served as the foundation for this first movie (there are more novels, ergo, there should be more movies, and I take the spyglass at the end, that is the end before the credits, as a token of a return visit). Emily Browning is Violet, Liam Aiken is Klaus, with Kara and Shelby Hoffman playing Sunny. All of them are trying to survive in a world that refuses to acknowledge either their intelligence or their plight. As everyone who has been delighted by these stories is well aware, the lives of the Baudelaire orphans go from bad to worse.

Unlike the adaptation of the Harry Potter novels, the only other reasonable point of comparison for the Lemony Snickert books, "A Series of Unfortunate Events" is hampered somewhat by key literary aspects of the original narratives. One of my favorite parts is when the definition of key terms are called into play, because Lemony Snickert is well aware that what a word means often has a lot to do with how it is said. Then there is the way that Sunny's various and sundry sounds can also be translated into meaningful conversation. That latter can be accomplished by subtitles, which do wear a bit thin after a while, but the former is greatly reduced to the point that when it returns you realize how much you have missed it. The great look of the film extends beyond the Baudelaire orphans to all of the sets, which provide an unsettling mixture of wonders and horror for the children to explore courtesy of production designer Rick Heinrichs ("Sleepy Hollow") and art directors John Dexter ("Planet of the Apes") and Martin Whist, with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki making everything look creepy, even in direct sunlight.

You know what I thought worked against the film? You might not believe this, but I thought they were wrong to cast Jim Carrey in the part of Count Olaf and that Meryl Streep was pretty much wasted as Aunt Josephine. For that matter I was not sure if Billy Connolly clicked as Uncle Monty, and all of this was surprising because I was certainly originally impressed by the casting when I first heard of who had been signed. For me Count Olaf was pretty much the least funny character in the book, so every time Carrey starts going over the top (which is basically from the moment he appears on screen), it worked against the character for me. Basically he was becoming too silly to really be dangerous and I think that affects the dynamic that made the novels work, which was black comedy rather than slapstick. Just because the story is now being told in a more visual medium does not mean you monkey with the dynamic, especially when what Lemony Snickert offers is rather unique in terms of what is being sold in the children's literature section of your local bookstore.

The DVD extras are quite impressive for a one-disc set. Goldman and Hemker animation is used to good effect for the menus (be sure to press on the object in the middle of the special features menus and press on it several times). There is audio commentary by director Brad Silberling, once by himself and once in the company of the "real" and extremely disappointed Lemony Snickert, who has serious doubts and grave concerns regarding pretty much everything from start to finish in the film (one constant lament is that the actors are all throwing their careers away). The featurettes have to do with "Bad Beginnings," "Building a Bad Actor" (to wit, Carrey), "Making the Baudelaire Children Miserable," and "Interactive Olaf" for those who can never get enough of Jim Carrey. In terms of "Orphaned Scenes" you will find eleven "Dismal Deletions" and five "Obnoxious Outtakes" (See for yourself as Oscar winning actress Meryl Streep puts a baby into a sleep so deep the infant cannot be aroused!). These extras, plus the fact that I absolutely love the credit crawl, amply justify my rounding up on this DVD.

I'm not very familiar with the books of Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket) but, even by judging this film alone, I'm going to say that his work appeals to me a lot more than Harry Potter. The kids enjoyed it a lot and after watching it they wanted a second round.

The story centers on three adorable and gifted children who're abruptly orphaned when their parents die in a mysterious fire. Their search for a new home and well-meaning new guardians is constantly interfered by the malicious Count Orlaf (Jim Carrey) who hunts after the Bauedelaires' family fortune. The main reason why this film is so genuinely unsettling is because the story relentlessly uncovers the deepest fear of every child, namely the death of parents and the large risk of ending up with ill-natured new guardians. Most fairy-tale don't even dare to bring up this nightmarish idea, but "Lemony Snicket..." entirely revolves around it. Equally effective are, of course, the ghoulish landscapes, the dark scenery and the amazingly eccentric characters. Most of the time, it feels like you're watching a typical Tim Burton film and that's a giant compliment, since his style is practically unique (sinister, witty and heart-warming all at once!).

There's a lot of CGI here but not to the point to annoy you, since all these exaggeratedly fake special effects (the leeches, Aunt Josephine's seaside-house) contribute to the morbid atmosphere. The cast is terrific as well, with Jim Carrey as Count Orlaf in one most memorable performance to date. I have to admit I initially feared that Carrey's performance would be far over-the-top, but he's surprisingly mature and convincing. The Bauedelaire-children are very well cast as well and so are Billy Connolly and Meryl Streep in the most important supportive roles. The great cast is completed with respectable names (Luiz Guzmán, Catherine O'Hara, Jennifer Coolidge, Cedric the Entertainer...) in small roles. Sublime film.

It's funny, it's interesting, it's creative! I recommend taking a chance on this one- if you like art, if you like Jim Carrey, and if you like unique plots, highly recommended for all type of audiences!

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1.0 out of 5 stars Overpriced
After I bought the product, I saw it at HMV for 1/3 of the price. NOT happy!

Published on Jan 11 2010 by Leanne Tobert

1.0 out of 5 stars Unpleasant
Based on a series of fantasy books by Daniel Handler, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events tries to emulate Harry Potter, but has none of the charm, wonder or... Read more

Published on Dec 12 2008 by Greg Curtis

4.0 out of 5 stars my dad slept through it
I didn't like it half as much as the books. I went and saw it in theatres and my dad slept through it. I had to keep waking him up when the good parts came.

Published on May 30 2007 by Bob

5.0 out of 5 stars A darkly surreal, disarmingly serious adventure
I've been curious about this wildly popular Lemony Snicket business for some time now, and I'm glad I finally got a chance to see the film. Read more

Published on July 12 2006 by Daniel Jolley

2.0 out of 5 stars Great narration - over the top acting
The Baudelaire children lead a cushy life of reading books, inventing, and biting. One day at the beach Mr. Read more

Published on Oct 10 2005 by bernie

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