Fan Reviews:
Thanks to all of you that submitted reviews! Keep them coming!
Damon:
I saw the movie on the 17th and was completely impressed. I t opens on a happy elf which was a hilarious touch and went into the Briny beach scene. The beach scene was cut too short and Mr. Poe takes them to Count Olaf's right after visiting the house. Klaus finds a spyglass in his dad's drawer and finds all his guardians have one. Olaf shows them the house and then their chores come in. Olaf's house was very intricate and then went into the puttenesca sauce. They never go into Justice's house or read for a recipe. Then they spend a few hours with Uncle Monty and right before bed they find him dead. The Incredibly Deadly was so freaky and it played with Sunny after he dies. Olaf's eye tattoo is not found on him in Monty's scene. Then to Aunt Josephine's. The effects were brilliant. They do not get peppermints or go to eat at the Sad Clown. Then they come to Josephine’s where they find the note. They find her and Olaf kills her. The Marvelous Marriage was the best part. Olaf never flies away like in the commercials and Violet is caught trying to sign the marriage certificate with her left hand. Klaus finds the large magnifying glass in Olaf's tower sends out heat waves capable of catching things to fire. The glass is pointed at his house so you find Olaf started it with that instead of trough Esme's tunnel. Olaf escapes after being caught by police and the Baudelaire’s go to their house once more. A letter comes to the house from their parents and it has the spyglass in it. Their parents’ faces are never shown indicating they will have to get more actors to play them because they are not dead as the books say. and it ends in a sweet drive away scene. Overall a 10/10 Awesome!
Brian:
Dear Reader,
It is my sad duty to tell you about the awful film entitled: 'Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events'. This film was not only sad, but quite funny at the same time. Jim Carrey did an excellent job playing Count Olaf. Actually, everyone did great! I wish it would have given more details from the books, because you saw about 5-10 minutes of each book. One part I do not understand is (if you saw it): Why does a postman give mail to a house that is burnt down? This movie was done exceptionally well. Everything was well thought out, organized, and I liked how they put the three books together. I loved it, and I will go back again.
With All Due Respect,
Brian
Steve:
It was so holy. I can only tell my critic's review, for reasons of time, but here ya go.
okay... it was actually really good. they never made Sunny's teeth like fangs, though. quite disappointed about that. and OH MY GOSH. the movie starts off as the Littlest Elf. no joke, they've got the happy music, the singing animals and flowers, the whole enchilada. and then it stops, and Jude Law is like, "I wish this was the movie you were watching, but unfortunately, this movie is sad" and all that. mind you, that was a paraphrase. but it's so funny.
Kay... Olaf was not as sinister as I'd have liked, but they got the point across. he was incredibly funny, however. Curse him. *shaking of fist*. They took the whole marriage scene and stuck it on the end of the movie, for some reason. must've thought it made a good ending. and they messed it up a little. like Violet was all crappy and giving up and stuff, and she didn't even come close to the tower, so Klaus did all the work.
Um, and they added a few stuff here and there. a few clues... um, that's as much as I can remember. ^^
Jules:
It was so good! They were right, the changes weren't so bad. I'll admit that I wasn't completely blown away cuz... well I'm weird, I guess I have issues. But I mean, duh of course I ADORED it! I think some of the best scenes were the really emotinal ones, like in the TBB part just before they create the sanctuary, where he's saying how their parents are not coming back this time. Surprisingly, I never cried. But I don't usually cry until the second time I see something. I think the way Poe told them about their parents was too abrupt for me to get very emotional. And as for the slap, I wasn't expecting it at that exact moment. But I am so glad they kept it in the movie. The integrity of the story was not diminished. Not by a long shot.
Disappointed that Violet never made an invention on the boat, but forgot all about it quickly. Sunny was adorable, and (please excuse how shallow I am) Klaus was so hot, and Violet is so pretty and I want to look like her so bad. The parts where Olaf was touching Violet's hands during the play were perfect. Creepy, yes that's the point, it was supposed to be. Klaus making the grappling hook worked somewhat, considering that all he did was unfold an umbrella. When they got the letter from their parents, it was brilliant.
Now, for the additions. The spyglass idea was excellent, I look forward to that being in the books (if it already has been in books 5-7, I haven't read those). The early introduction of VFD actually worked really well for the story. They never actually said VFD, and if they had I wouldn't approve so much. It was good when they saw the picture of Josephine with Monty and their parents, and Ike's secret room was a pretty good addition, really. The hurricane scene was more dramatic than in the book, making up for the boat scene being not as dramatic.
I anxiously await my second time seeing it.
And you know what I really loved? The way the sky during the boat scenes actually looked like it was on fire, it was so orange and the clouds so black like smoke.
Sandra and Iris:
Dear Webmaster,
We have been Lemony Snicket fans for quite some time now, and we
stumbled across your excellent fan site and would like to share our
feedback on the movie that we just saw.
The movie was a bit lacking and left much to be desired. While we
thought that the real problem would be the famous actor, Jim Carrey
making Olaf seem more comical then he is evil, we saw that the real
problem was the deletion of many important scenes. For example:
In the bad beginning, as you know, the reason that the Baudelaires
finaly left Qlaf was because people in the audince found out that the
Marvelous Marriage was real. In this movie, the reason was that Olaf
put them on the train tracks to get them run over by a train, while
Violet invents a way to switch the track, saving them. There was no
Marvelous Marriage until AFTER the Reptile room, which leads to our
next example.
In the Reptile Room, there was no mention of the Prospero, and they
were to leave the next day to Peru, completley devoid of the detail of
the movies that they saw, uncle Monty's jeep, and the whole conflict
about who should go with who and the car crash. Also, they bareley
explained Uncle Monty's death, and if you did not read the book, you
would not understand what was going on. Also, Sunny never distracted
the adults, and Violet never made the lockpick to get evidence proving
that Stefano was really Olaf.
In the Wide Window, They completley skipped the pepppermints and the
Anxious Clown Restaurant, leaving the audience no clue of "The world is
quiet here." Also, Klaus did research about Aunt Josephine's note, but
In the movie, he figured it out in a matter of seconds of what the
hidden mesage was, which is so unlike him. Another part which really
got me going was that they never included the associate that looked
neither like a man nor a woman, and the Baudelaires never snuck into
the boat rental shack, a boat just suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Also, Aunt Josephine mentioned alot about VFD and how some people were
on the good side (putting out fires) and others were on the bad side
(starting them). This, I'm guessing refers to the schism. She also said
that the Baudelaire parents, Uncle Monty and Aunt Josephine, and her
husband were the leaders of the people putting out fires. (VFD)
Here is where they made their biggest mistake. The Marvelous Marriage
happened after they left Uncle Monty. Klaus was the one who saved
Sunnny from the tower, and invented the grappling hook, telling himself
to "Think what Violet would do" Also, Violet did not get out of the
marriage by signing with her left hand. Klaus found a mysterious eye
magnifyer in the tower where Sunny was being held prisoner and burned
the marriage licence. You can also infer from the scene in the movie
that the Baudelaire mansion was burned down by the very same magnifyer,
much like you would burn ants with a magnifying glass and the sun.
The worst part of all was that at the end, LEMONY SNICKET HIMSELF said
that the Baudelaires were fortunate after all. I can't wait to see how
many mistakes they make in the next movie, if they even decide to make
one. They will probaly distort something about the Quagmires or the
Snicket File.
With all due respect,
Sandra & Iris.
Celeste:
I did see the movie on December 17, and despite the two children sitting behind me kicking my seat, I definitely enjoyed it. Though I have heard lots of complaints about the movie 'not being true to the book' I actually think it followed the plot and characters quite nicely. It actually developed the characters more then in the first book. It started with the 'Happiest Elf' which I thought added a nice amusing touch. Jude Law was great with the narrating of course, leading immediatly in to Briny Beach. Mr. Poe was quiet abrupt with stating their parents death, Emily Browning did a great job with the reaction on that if I do say so myself, she's definitely a wonderful actress. Liam Aiken was fantastic as well, plus he's just plain nice to look at. They go to their house in ruins, it looks very realistic. They look through the rubble for anything left, finding a spy glass, the hat light, and what appears to be a locket. This led in to taking them to Count Olaf's house. They then immediately go to Count Olaf's house. They are forced to do the chores and so on, with a scene making pasta which was nice because all of the siblings working together. Count Olaf is apalled because he wanted 'roast beef'. This is when he slaps Klaus *collective gasp throughout the audience* and grabbing Sunny as she cries in pain. For some reason I never really imagined Sunny crying, despite the fact that she was a baby, she always seemed quiet capable and mature for her age. After that they are locked in their room with a short scene on when their parents went to Europe and didn't write. They then make their own sanctuary, which was actually a touching moment. After almost getting run over by a train (I'm sure many of you have seen the clip) they are transferred to Uncle Monty. A wonderful guardian of course, he plans on taking them to Peru. The 'incredibly deadly viper' was quite shocking when he jumped out like that. Then Monty plays a song that Violet remembers, I'm sure it is much like 'The World is Quiet Here' which she remembers in the tenth book. Then Olaf enters again, and though the Baudelaires signal him via snake, he doesn't get the message and is killed that night. Olaf covers up his eye with make up, but is captured when Sunny begins playing with the 'incredibly deadly viper'. They are then shipped off to Aunt Josephine who tells them all of her ridiculous fears. They go down to the market where they meet Olaf again. Olaf goes back home with Josephine alone while the Baudelaires' finish shopping. By the time they return Aunt Josephine has left out the window and Klaus quickly deciphers the code. The hurricane begins after the children go into Ike's room and find pictures of fires linking Aunt Josephine, Uncle Monty, and their parents. Then everything that Aunt Josephine feared, door knobs exploding, refrigerators falling, and stoves bursting into flames, happen with the Baudelaires barely escaping. They get on the boat to find Aunt Josephine and convince her to return because of the realtors as in the books. Then, Aunt Josephine reveals more about VFD then in the books, stating that 'one side starts fires, and the other puts them out'. It never directly mentions VFD. Count Olaf kills Aunt Josephine, and ends with the Marvelous Marriage. Klaus rescues Sunny on his own, having to battle the hook handed man but saving Sunny. He finds a large magnifying glass shaped like an eye that we find was the cause of the Baudelaire fire. Violet is caught signing with her left hand, and Klaus saves the day burning the marriage doument, because 'There's always something'. The Baudelaires have found their sanctuary, but their story has not ended. I can scarcely wait for the next movie, and would have to say this is one of my personal favorites.
~Celeste
Laura:
I saw the movie on the Saturday it came out and I must say it came along
very nicely. The graphics were incredible, and it definatly had that
gothic-creepy feeling to it. The actors they chose did an excellent job (I'm
glad they picked actors with experience or it would have ruined it) and
although many things were switched around to fit it into one whole movie
they did a great job with that. After all, you can't expect a movie based
off a book to contain every single detail. True Jim Carry could have been a
bit more evil, but at least he wasn't one of those lovable villians (I mean
when he slapped Klaus that was harsh!) Violet was amazing, Klaus was
perfect, and Sunny was adorable. The one thing they were missing was
spark... I kind of got bored during the beginning (but that quickly changed)
I'd give it a B+ or A-.
~Laura
Phil:
A Review of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Phil
SPOILERS!
-The Littlest Elf was a very cool introduction and really mocked those happy-go-lucky holiday movies that are released each year.
-The VFD spyglasses worked VERY well with the plot and obviously foreshadows events in future books.
-Olaf's House was perfect. It felt just the way it should.
-The Soundtrack-When I originally listened to the soundtrack samples on Amazon, I was disappointed, but the music was very good and wasn't happy, just gloomy and suspenseful. I liked the Loverly Spring song, it was very funny. However, I wish they would've included the Addams Family song from the trailers in it, that'd be very cool and would fit well.
-The Sets- one word...AWESOME. All the sets were incredible and the sets that appeared to be outdoors really felt outdoors. I can't believe Lake Lachrymose, Briny Beach, Justice Strauss' Street and the area where Uncle Monty's house is were built and filmed indoors and in a studio! They looked so real, especially Lachrymose! WOW! Props to the set designer.
-The Cast- I think everyone played there characters right on the dot, except for maybe Jim Carrey. Don't get me wrong he was very accurate in his performance, but I felt that Olaf should be a bit more sinister in the first books. If it was the Grim Grotto and Carrey was acting like that, it'd be absolutely perfect, because that's how Olaf acted. Meryl Streep did an awesome job as Aunt Josephine as did Billy Connolly as Uncle Monty and Timothy Spall as Mr. Poe. Sunny was a scene-stealer and whoever thought she was annoying should be ashamed. She was very cool and funny. Klaus was very good and I didnt mind that he had no glasses. But by far, Violet was portrayed the best out of all the characters. Emily Browning WAS Violet Bauldelaire, and I'm sure many of you will agree! Also Jim Carrey did Stephano and Captain Sham well too. However, the acting troupe was squandered. Jude Law also did well as Lemony Snicket. (at the end he does one of those trademark trade offs, like he attached his account of the Bauldelaire's life to a clock tower. It was just like Snicket)
-The Additions: The additions of the train scene, Ike's room, the VFD spyglasses and the eye magnifying glass in Olaf's Tower was VERY GOOD. They fit the plot very well and I'm sure Snicket put that in himself. Also the ending scene did not seem too mushy, it was very good.
-Cameos: Okay two of the three cameos were good. I liked Cedric the Entertainer and Dustin Hoffman's cameos. They were comical and worked well. The Aflac duck did not. Now I dont think that it screamed Aflac, just made noise, but whatever it did, it didnt work at all.
Well that's basically all I have to say and I'm going to see it again today. Out of 10, 10 of course. Highly recommended for fans and people who arent fans...yet.
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