Why so much hype?

Let's be realistic.

Boring

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

For Book Month, we look at the popular books series "A Series Of Unfortunate Events" with this one which is said to have elements from the first three books. Anyway, this movie features Jim Carrey as the villain Count Olaf. Olaf is what makes this movie. Jim Carrey steals every scene he's in. He was the absolute perfect choice for Olaf and he can move his face and body so much he gets into character wonderfully. Honestly, the events weren't that unfortunate.They even have an amusing intro with the littlest elf. This actually becomes relevant later in the story. The baby is another great edition, especially with her giggles are subtitled. Dang, that Olaf was evil. The child actors are good too. I think the credits were twelve minutes long! ***

An enjoyable movie that worked well. It had good actors and it was a good representation of the books. However I think it didn't really work to try and cram three books into one ninety minute movie. It would have been better to maybe just base the movie on just two of the books. The plot moves very quickly throughout the movie. The lack of restrain of Jim Carrey is a bit ridiculous and annoying. They tried to make Count Olaf more funny and less cruel instead of evil, like he was in the books. The sets were perfect and the children were really well cast. Liam and Emily were really good and natural actors. It annoys me how in movies they always move some of the main parts from the girl character to the boy. In the books it was violet who looked after her siblings but in the movie it was Klaus who climbed the tower, Klaus who saves Sunny, Klaus who destroys the marriage document, Klaus who decoded the message in the note, Klaus who sees the connection of the spy glasses. In the books Violet did some of those things instead. I also think it was better left a mystery to who burnt down the Baudelaire Mansion like the books, in the movie they revealed that it was Count Olaf. It would have worked better if they had stuck to the books abut more. Overall a good movie with good child actors and sets that represented the books fairly well.

Visually, the movie is very beautiful. Gothic yes, and beautiful. 9/10 for that.I remember watching this when I was a teenager, then I look it up again now and hey, it's really good.The Baudelaires children are cute, the villains are funny, and the sets is adorable.The best part was how the children made me feel about them. I sympathized with them, and yet, I am also satisfyingly fulfilled by them.The story, like all grim comedic movie (another story with a nearly similar theme like this is Into the Woods), is somehow somewhat a mess. But it worked. It worked fine.I loved it then, and I still love it now.Sadly, they don't give it a sequel.This is a kind of movie that will always have a place in my heart and my movie collection.P.S. The credit also has an eye-candy animation.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004): Dir: Brad Silberling / Cast: Jim Carrey, Liam Aiken, Meryl Streep, Jude Law, Emily Browning: The title sounds like the recent career decisions of Jennifer Lopez. Based on the kids book about trauma and tragedy where two children are sent to live with their scheming uncle Count Olaf when their parents pass away. He is really after their inheritance. The narration indicates that the content is dark but for a film aimed at families this is perhaps too dark. Count Olaf even arranges for the children to be hit by a train, which is disturbing for a film aimed at children. Lame plot becomes one constant pursuit until he tries to marry the eldest daughter in hints of paedophilia. Directed by Brad Silberling who previously made the dreadful Casper. Jim Carrey is a fine comedic talent but Olaf is an idiot that he even he cannot bring grace too. Supporting roles by Liam Aiken and Meryl Streep are too brief and repetitious. Jude Law voices Snicket who is never involving as a personality. The children are presented with as little personality as humanly possible although Emily Browning has potential to go further. The visual effects and art direction are the one area of major compliment but the screenplay is warped beyond repair. It contains a strong theme that exposes greed but in the long run the film itself is one big series of unfortunate events on its own. Score: 4 / 10