LEMONY SNICKET'S
A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

"I am your beloved Count Olaf"

Now this could have been a nice story about three children and their adventures in the world but life just isn't like that, especially for the Violet (Browning), Klaus (Aiken) and Sunny Baudelaire. After losing their parents is a tragic fire, the Baudelaire children became the Baudelaire orphans and they where now in the hands of the executer of their parent's estate Mr. Poe (Spall). He made the momentous decision of placing them with their nearest relative, Count Olaf (Carrey) who wasn't actually their closest actual blood relation but he was the one who lived nearest. The Count seems ecstatic to them but the Baudelaire orphans quickly discover that he has no interest in their well been but just the enormous fortune their parents left behind.

With the success of the Harry Potter adaptations, filmmakers are returning to the bookshelf for their inspiration and this time they have found a Series of Unfortunate Events.

Based on the first three novels in the series, 'The Bad Beginnings', 'The Reptile Room' and 'The Wide Window', the much loved books by Daniel Handler or Lemony Snicket, as he likes to be known, make ideal content for a new movie franchise. These are dark, gothic tales of murder, greed and tragedy, subjects that you don't commonly associate with children's novels but Lemony Snicket's stories don't set out to shield the reader from the cruelties of the world but show them that life can be a series of unfortunate events. Mix in a dash comedy, mild peril and a real sense of family and you have an intriguing world for the viewer to visit.

Director Brad Silberling and his creative team have brought the Lemon Snicket world to life. This is a strange place that combines a gothic, period look with a 1950s style that feels like an old east coast America or Western Europe and it works extremely well, lending itself to the dark feel of the film. Huge, exotic sets with grandiose architecture are melded with Dickensian fashions and 50s technology to realise a world that is both familiar and strange at the same time, creating a visual feast for the eye.

Inhabiting this world is a set of kooky characters that will instantly become family favourites. Chief amongst these is the dastardly Count Olaf, played exquisitely by Jim Carrey. There is no question that Jim Carrey is a talented actor but there are two sides to this acting forte. For every 'Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind' or 'The Truman Show' there is a 'Liar, Lair' or 'Bruce Almighty', meaning you never know if you are going to see the real talent or the annoying big show, stupid faces and look at me Jim Carrey that gets on your nerves. Thankfully Count Olaf is an excellently realised character that gives Carrey the chance to showboat his comedic ability to the full. This is a devious, manipulative character that has only one goal, to steal the inheritance from the Baudelaire orphans. To do this, Count Olaf disguises himself, calling on his own 'unique' acting skills, and works his way back into the lives of the Orphans and gets rid of their new Guardian in the process. Creating another character within a character, Carrey really shows his skill at it is so obvious that this is Olaf pretending to someone else.

The two main child leads are played by two talented young actors. Emily Browning continues to impress, as she did in 'Ghost Ship', 'Ned Kelly' and 'The Man who Sued God', with another fine performance as inventor Violet. This is a very strong female character for young girls to get behind. She is intelligent, strong and is never the damsel in distress making her an excellent role model. Liam Aiken also impresses as Klaus, the reader with a photographic memory. Like a walking encyclopaedia, Klaus know the answer to everything and his intellect will come in handy when dealing with the dastardly Count. Both of these characters are instantly likeable and easy to get behind, as they are never annoying as child actors can so easily be. When you add in the extremely cute and very funny baby Sunny, who's gurgles interpreted with subtitles, you have three characters that really start to care about.

Their support is also extremely good. The always-brilliant Meryl Streep doesn't disappoint as Aunt Josephine. A woman ruled by the fear of everything, Streep shows a real gift for comedy as the paranoia really starts to take over. British actor Timothy Spall continues to make roads into Hollywood as Mr. Poe. This is another good supporting role in a high profile film for the acclaimed character actor. Billy Connelly is also good as the reptile obsessed Uncle Monty. There are also smaller roles for Luis Guzmán, Jennifer Coolidge and Jane Adams as members of Count Olaf's acting troop. All of these characters are brought together by the voice of Lemony Snicket, Jude Law.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is a great piece of family entertainment. By treating its young audience as intelligent, the story and situations the characters find themselves in, can be scary and intriguing at the same time. With a message that adults should listen to what children have to say, this is a movie that all the family can enjoy and will hopefully be the start of a long running series.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is extremely good. The weird and surreal world of Lemony Snicket is vividly brought to life via a crystal clear picture. The sound quality is also first rate, highlighting the wonderful Thomas Newman score.

BONUS FEATURES (SINGLE DISC VERSION)

Bad Beginnings

Building a Bad Actor (12.47 mins)
Director Brad Silberling takes you behind the scenes of Jim Carrey's preparation for his many roles in the movie. We watch Carrey getting into character as he tries to create Count Olaf, Stephano and Captain Sham during the costume and makeup tests for the movie. This is a fascinating look at the process an actor goes through to find a character.

Making the Baudelaire Children miserable (3.04 mins)
Director Brad Silberling takes you behind the scenes of the costume and makeup tests for Emily Browning and Liam Aiken as Violet and Klaus, which where later added to the teaser trailer.

Interactive Olaf (9.15 mins)
Highlights from Jim Carrey's makeup/wardrobe tests where you can watch him get into the characters Count Olaf, Stephano and Captain Sham via four picture split screen, with you choosing which character you would like to listen to. This shows the genius of Jim Carrey's brilliant improvisations.

Alarming AudioCommentaries

Director Brad Silberling Commentary
The man at the helm of the project reveals how he became involved in the piece and his experience with the disturbingly awful novels. He talks extensively about the adaptation, the changes made and what was introduced. He also discusses the actors involved, revealing how long it took to find the children and how Jim Carrey became involved. Production design and the sheer magnitude of the project are also discussed. This is an interesting and informative commentary from a director who feels very passionate about the project.

Brad Silberling and the Real Lemony Snicket Commentary
The director and the man behind the hugely successful books sit down to watch the movie together for the first time and Lemony can't believe how much of the novel he has left in. In this chatty and fun commentary you hear Lemony berate the director for been cruel to the viewer by making them sit through just a miserable tale as this.

Orphaned Scenes

Dismal Deletions (13.51 mins)
Entitled 'Violet's Rock Retriever', 'The Count kills Shakespeare', 'Alone in the world', 'Casting the marvellous carriage (extended), 'Extended puttenesca', 'Monty's montage', 'Sham goes a courting', 'Aunt Jo's demise', 'Life in the theatre', 'The marvellous marriage' and 'Olaf's escape', these deleted or extended scenes would have really benefited from an introduction or commentary track to explain why these good scenes were cut.

Obnoxious Outtakes (12.18 mins)
Called 'Working with Sunny', 'Olaf's workshop', 'Odious Count Olaf' and the 'Critic and the Cop', these outtakes highlight the improvisational skill of Jim Carrey, Dustin Hoffman and Cedric the Entertainer.

OVERALL

The single disc version of 'Lemon Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events' is very good and offers good value for those of you how are not into knowing everything about the film. The commentary tracks are very good but it is the behind the scene look at how Jim Carrey prepares for the role that is the real highlight, as it showcases what a great comedic character actor he is. Big fans of the film should go for the 2 Disc set however.

DVD

A Nightmare Before Christmas

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2004