Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events starts as three young children, Violet (Emily Browning), her brother Klaus (Liam Aiken) & their sister Sunny Beaudelaire (Kara & Shelby Hoffman) are given the bad news that their parents have been killed in a fire which has burnt their house to the ground. They are adopted by a distant relative, the strange actor Count Olaf (Jim Carrey) who wants to kill them off to inherit their parents fortune. However the siblings quickly realise what Olaf is up to & must stay alert to outwit him & his attempts on their life as they search for the truth behind their parents death...
This American German co-production was directed by Brad Silberling & is an entertaining enough Tim Burton/Grim Brother's dark fairytale type fantasy but I must admit it left me a bit unsatisfied. The script by Robert Gordon was based on the series of popular children's books Daniel Handler, in particular the first three The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room & The Wide Window were used as the basis for the film, straight off the bat one has to say it's a children's film first & foremost although it's one of those children films which will probably appeal to adults as well. It's quite a grim film on occasion, it has some wonderfully spooky & dark production design & the narrator Lemony Snicket keeps telling us of horrible & terrible things that will happen but (disappointingly) it never goes too far. It certainly moves along at a nice pace, it's never boring but it never really excited me that much, it never really grabbed me, it never really got piqued my interest & it never really pulled me into the dark fantasy world that it creates. I didn't think it funny at all, again maybe because I'm an adult but I didn't laugh once. The character's are good enough, Count Olaf obviously stands out as the villain as he disguises himself as several different people to con his way to a fortune, Aunt Josephine is also memorable for her bizarre irrational fears although it's never quite explained who the narrator Lemony Snicket is.
Director Silberling does a fine job & shoots the film with lots of neat little visual touches & lots of style, he is obviously helped by some truly wonderful production design from the sets, costumes & props. The designers have gone to town & the film looks great, from foggy beach's with picket fences, Count Olaf's gloomy rundown mansion that looks like something from The Addams Family, Dr. Montgomery's huge reptile sanctuary, Aunt Josephine's impossible house suspended over the edge of a sheer cliff by beams of wood, the speeding train & Count Olaf's sinister hearse looking car to a darkly atmospheric cave & lake. Most of the CGI computer effects are good although the deadly viper snake looks terrible. The violence is minimal so don't worry about that.
With a supposed budget of about $140,000,000 this wasn't short of money was it? Most of the money seems to have been spent on a good cast & the sumptuous production design which is nothing short of amazing, unfortunately everything else is somewhat harder to find including a satisfying story. Shot entirely within studios the film also features a dummy start where a film called The Little Elf supposedly begins before Lemony interrupts & starts his own story. The acting is good, Carrey was born for roles like this, Meryl Streep is good & Scottish comedian Billy Connolly has a small role.
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is a good solid & entertaining children's darkly grim fantasy which serves it's purpose well enough, certainly no classic in my opinion but it's definitely worth a watch all the same & it should keep both young & old alike quiet for 100 odd minutes if nothing else.
This American German co-production was directed by Brad Silberling & is an entertaining enough Tim Burton/Grim Brother's dark fairytale type fantasy but I must admit it left me a bit unsatisfied. The script by Robert Gordon was based on the series of popular children's books Daniel Handler, in particular the first three The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room & The Wide Window were used as the basis for the film, straight off the bat one has to say it's a children's film first & foremost although it's one of those children films which will probably appeal to adults as well. It's quite a grim film on occasion, it has some wonderfully spooky & dark production design & the narrator Lemony Snicket keeps telling us of horrible & terrible things that will happen but (disappointingly) it never goes too far. It certainly moves along at a nice pace, it's never boring but it never really excited me that much, it never really grabbed me, it never really got piqued my interest & it never really pulled me into the dark fantasy world that it creates. I didn't think it funny at all, again maybe because I'm an adult but I didn't laugh once. The character's are good enough, Count Olaf obviously stands out as the villain as he disguises himself as several different people to con his way to a fortune, Aunt Josephine is also memorable for her bizarre irrational fears although it's never quite explained who the narrator Lemony Snicket is.
Director Silberling does a fine job & shoots the film with lots of neat little visual touches & lots of style, he is obviously helped by some truly wonderful production design from the sets, costumes & props. The designers have gone to town & the film looks great, from foggy beach's with picket fences, Count Olaf's gloomy rundown mansion that looks like something from The Addams Family, Dr. Montgomery's huge reptile sanctuary, Aunt Josephine's impossible house suspended over the edge of a sheer cliff by beams of wood, the speeding train & Count Olaf's sinister hearse looking car to a darkly atmospheric cave & lake. Most of the CGI computer effects are good although the deadly viper snake looks terrible. The violence is minimal so don't worry about that.
With a supposed budget of about $140,000,000 this wasn't short of money was it? Most of the money seems to have been spent on a good cast & the sumptuous production design which is nothing short of amazing, unfortunately everything else is somewhat harder to find including a satisfying story. Shot entirely within studios the film also features a dummy start where a film called The Little Elf supposedly begins before Lemony interrupts & starts his own story. The acting is good, Carrey was born for roles like this, Meryl Streep is good & Scottish comedian Billy Connolly has a small role.
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is a good solid & entertaining children's darkly grim fantasy which serves it's purpose well enough, certainly no classic in my opinion but it's definitely worth a watch all the same & it should keep both young & old alike quiet for 100 odd minutes if nothing else.