Manages to evoke the down-to-earth surrealism of the story's world, but it ultimately suffers too much at the hands of a bungled misinterpretation of its central villain.
Comment
12/21/04
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
71
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:151
Fresh:107
Rotten:44
Average Rating:6.6/10
Consensus: The film adaptation of the popular books is winning raves for its set design and a wry comic charm that mitigates some morbid images. However, some have panned the film as smug and overcooked.
Theatrical Release:17-12-2004
Synopsis: Directed by Brad Siberling, LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS follows the Baudelaire orphans--Violet (Emily Browning), Klaus (Liam Aiken), and baby Sunny (played by twins Kara and... [More]
Starring: Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep, Jude Law, Billy Connolly
Director: Brad Siberling
Reviews for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
The end result still looks good and offers a decent number of laughs, but is not the work of dark comedy many people were anticipating.
12/21/04
Imagination and creativity pop from every single frame. The visual style is so vivid that we can easily become lost in this dark world of mystery and misery.
12/21/04
This proudly grave kid-lit adaptation seems destined to disappoint at the box office but be remembered as a lifetime favorite by a few million Goths in training.
12/21/04
Heinrichs helps take your mind off the slack direction and the letdown of a climax, which ought to make the kiddies hurl Gummi Bears at the screen.
12/21/04
Imperfect, but as beautiful as the grays in an overcast day.
12/21/04
A lavishly mounted blockbuster that has little personality of its own except on a purely visual level.
12/20/04
The film feels episodic and overlong, and yet, you want to get lost in its world, exploring everything from the cobwebbed corners of Count Olaf's mansion to the far shores of Lake Lachrymose.
12/20/04
More than adequate, a phrase which here means "a delight to existing fans that will not win them new ones after emasculating Count Olaf."
12/20/04
It just kind of spins its wheels.
12/20/04
As in the first two Harry Potter films, the sets and costumes are beautiful to look at, but the direction is static.
12/19/04
Less Ace Ventura and more Sideshow Bob, please.
12/19/04
I suspect it will disappoint the books' older fanbase, who'd been hoping for a screen villain that didn�t mellow the macabreness of the book version.
12/19/04
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12/19/04
You can't make entertainment lemonade out of this lemon of a movie.
12/19/04
Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events continues 2004's Hollywood Series of Unfortunate Holiday Films.
12/19/04
Carrey has a field day getting to play not only the cruel uncle, but also donning various disguises...
12/19/04
Wickedly delightful and humorously sinister, it reinforces the concept of family and that adults don't listen to children as often as they should.
12/19/04
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12/18/04
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12/18/04
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