Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events | |
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Genre: Adventure / Fantasy / Comedy / Family
Directed by: Brad Silberling
Writing: Daniel Handler (books), Robert Gordon (screenplay)
Cast: Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep, Jude Law, Emily Browning, Liam Aiken
Music: Thomas Newman
FilmEditing: Dylan Tichenor
Produced by: Albie Hecht, Laurie MacDonald, Walter F. Parkes, Julia Pistor
Country: USA
Language: English
Runtime: 1 hr. 53 mins.
Review:
Ever since the triumph of the famous Harry Potter movies, the motion picture of the up-and-coming novel series of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events has been in production, hoping for a common box office hit. It’s rather unfortunate for them, however, that even a spotlight-stealer like Jim Carey won’t be able to salvage this film from being a complete train wreck.
The story revolves around three children, Violet (Emily Browning), Klaus (Liam Aiken), and their infant sister Sunny. The movie immediately transforms the three rich Bauedelaire children into orphans as their parents perish in a house fire. They are immediately sent to their “uncle”, Count Olaf (Jim Carrey), and must escape his greed for the rest of the movie. Unlike the Harry Potter movies, this movie covers the first three of the series’ books, and barely in order, too.
I would not recommend this film to people who did not read the books. Not because it’s hard to follow, but because no one will feel any sympathy or feel strongly for any of the characters. I did not read the series, and I’m sure it’s very entertaining to children, but the movie was simply disappointing and only kids who wish to see the book come alive will love it.
I quickly noticed how well the characters looked like book portrayed them, but I also noticed that compromised their acting skills as well. The children were lifeless in what should’ve been the most moving scenes, they were only good at being what they were: kids. I felt a large amount of restraint when they spat out their lines, any child in their situation would’ve been much more hysterical. Even after Count Olaf slaps Klaus, powerful enough to send him to the floor, Browning (Violet) can only manage, “You monster,” and calmly asks if her brother is okay. Appropriately, Aiken angrily replies, “No!” The best actor of the bunch was undoubtedly the baby, which says a lot.
Jim Carrey did not add as much to this movie as viewers might have hoped he would. His usual act of dancing around the screen making facial puns only seemed to hinder the flow of the movie. But, just like the Bauedelaires, we were tired of seeing him appear. We were also tired of how the children were never effective in getting rid of him. Unfortunately, we were warned that it would happen by the explicit title.
Final Word:
We go through three books worth of repetitive failure from lifeless children, half an hour of credits, and we’re still left completely unsatisfied. Hopefully, we’ll remain as such because no one will be keen on sitting through the next three books.
Last edited by Orioli : 05-23-05 at 22:16.
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