LEMONY SNICKET'S
A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
The three Bauedelaires children, Violet (Emily
Browning), Klaus (Liam Akin) and Sunny (Kara and
Shelby Hoffman) are orphaned when their family
mansion burns to the ground, killing both their parents.
Suddenly the children who once thrived in the lap of
love and luxury, are thrust out into the cruel world of
greed and evil.
And the most evil of them all is their closest relative
Count Olaf (Jim Carrey). It is Olaf's burning desire to
relieve the three young Bauedelaires of their family
fortune. Just how he might accomplish this, makes for
a variety of dire circumstances which prove to be very
risky indeed, if not down right dangerous for the trio.
Paramount has a winner here and has left the door
wide open for more adventures with the Bauedelaires
kids. Their quirky personality traits and scary
adventures are taken right from the very popular
children's book series written by Daniel Handler. The
screen adaptation is by Robert Gordon, and it adapts
very well traveling from the library to the motion picture
theater.
Browning), Klaus (Liam Akin) and Sunny (Kara and
Shelby Hoffman) are orphaned when their family
mansion burns to the ground, killing both their parents.
Suddenly the children who once thrived in the lap of
love and luxury, are thrust out into the cruel world of
greed and evil.
And the most evil of them all is their closest relative
Count Olaf (Jim Carrey). It is Olaf's burning desire to
relieve the three young Bauedelaires of their family
fortune. Just how he might accomplish this, makes for
a variety of dire circumstances which prove to be very
risky indeed, if not down right dangerous for the trio.
Paramount has a winner here and has left the door
wide open for more adventures with the Bauedelaires
kids. Their quirky personality traits and scary
adventures are taken right from the very popular
children's book series written by Daniel Handler. The
screen adaptation is by Robert Gordon, and it adapts
very well traveling from the library to the motion picture
theater.
Mary's Comments:
Very enjoyable. A bit scary and troubling,
but very well made. The characters and
scenery captured the storybook quality of
the adventure. Costumes and props
cleverly defied time and were often blended
representations of modern innovations
taken back in time a notch or two.
Very enjoyable. A bit scary and troubling,
but very well made. The characters and
scenery captured the storybook quality of
the adventure. Costumes and props
cleverly defied time and were often blended
representations of modern innovations
taken back in time a notch or two.
Brenda’s comments
Hard to recognize with all of his make-up,
Jim Carrey is a perfectly horrendous villain.
Too bad he has to contend with the
Bauedelaires children. He might have had a
chance against a lesser brood. Meryl
Streep is charming as, the very
grammatical Aunt Josephine, another
distant relative the children must endure.
Hard to recognize with all of his make-up,
Jim Carrey is a perfectly horrendous villain.
Too bad he has to contend with the
Bauedelaires children. He might have had a
chance against a lesser brood. Meryl
Streep is charming as, the very
grammatical Aunt Josephine, another
distant relative the children must endure.
© 2003 St. Louis Movie Review Weekly. All rights reserved, except where indicated.
| ST. LOUIS MOVIE REVIEW WEEKLY Brenda S. Ladd & Mary K. Morgan |
Movie Details
Official Movie Website
Theatrical Release
2004
Home Video
4/26/05
MPAA Rating
Rated PG for thematic
elements, scary situations
and brief language.
Running Time
1 hour 47 minutes
Directed by
Brad Siberlin
Cast
Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep,
Jude Law, Billy Connolly,
Liam Aiken, Kara Hoffman,
Shelby Hoffman, Emily
Browning, Timothy Spall,
Catherine O'Hara, Jane
Adams, Jennifer Coolidge,
Luis Guzman, Jamie Harris,
Craig Ferguson, Cedric the
Entertainer, Dustin Hoffman
Studio
Paramount Pictures
Theatrical Release
2004
Home Video
4/26/05
MPAA Rating
Rated PG for thematic
elements, scary situations
and brief language.
Running Time
1 hour 47 minutes
Directed by
Brad Siberlin
Cast
Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep,
Jude Law, Billy Connolly,
Liam Aiken, Kara Hoffman,
Shelby Hoffman, Emily
Browning, Timothy Spall,
Catherine O'Hara, Jane
Adams, Jennifer Coolidge,
Luis Guzman, Jamie Harris,
Craig Ferguson, Cedric the
Entertainer, Dustin Hoffman
Studio
Paramount Pictures
DVD Details
Disc Specs
Languages: English, Spanish,
French
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 1 hr. 47 mins.
Number of Discs: 2
Features:
· A commentary by Brad
Silberling
· A commentary by Silberling
and the Real Lemony Snicket
· Bad Beginnings: "Building a
Bad Actor," "Making the
Baudelaire Children
Miserable," "Interactive Olaf"
· Orphaned Scenes: 11 "Dismal
Deletions" and 5 "Obnoxious
Outtakes"
· A Terrible Tragedy: Alarming
Evidence from the Making of
the Film: "A Woeful World,"
"Costumes and Other
Suspicious Disguises," "Violet’
s Functional Designs,"
"CAUTION! Incredibly Deadly
Vipers," "The Sad Score"
· Volume. Frequency. Decibels:
"The Unsound Sound
Designer," "You Probably
Shouldn’t Listen to These"
· Sinister Special Effects: "An
Alarming Conspiracy Involving
Sunny," "An Even More
Alarming Conspiracy Involving
Sunny" "The Terrible Fire,"
"Trains, Leeches and
Hurricanes"
· Gruesome Galleries:
"Shadowy Stills," "A Woeful
World"
Languages: English, Spanish,
French
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 1 hr. 47 mins.
Number of Discs: 2
Features:
· A commentary by Brad
Silberling
· A commentary by Silberling
and the Real Lemony Snicket
· Bad Beginnings: "Building a
Bad Actor," "Making the
Baudelaire Children
Miserable," "Interactive Olaf"
· Orphaned Scenes: 11 "Dismal
Deletions" and 5 "Obnoxious
Outtakes"
· A Terrible Tragedy: Alarming
Evidence from the Making of
the Film: "A Woeful World,"
"Costumes and Other
Suspicious Disguises," "Violet’
s Functional Designs,"
"CAUTION! Incredibly Deadly
Vipers," "The Sad Score"
· Volume. Frequency. Decibels:
"The Unsound Sound
Designer," "You Probably
Shouldn’t Listen to These"
· Sinister Special Effects: "An
Alarming Conspiracy Involving
Sunny," "An Even More
Alarming Conspiracy Involving
Sunny" "The Terrible Fire,"
"Trains, Leeches and
Hurricanes"
· Gruesome Galleries:
"Shadowy Stills," "A Woeful
World"