Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
The Cast
Jim Carrey .... Count Olaf
Liam Aiken .... Klaus Baudelaire
Emily Browning .... Violet Baudelaire
Kara Hoffman .... Sunny Baudelaire
Shelby Hoffman .... Sunny Baudelaire
Jude Law .... Lemony Snicket
Timothy Spall .... Mr. Poe
Catherine O'Hara .... Justice Strauss
Billy Connolly .... Uncle Monty
Meryl Streep .... Aunt Josephine
Luis Guzmán .... Bald Man
Jamie Harris .... Hook-Handed Man
Craig Ferguson .... Person of Indeterminate Gender
Jennifer Coolidge .... White Faced Woman
Jane Adams .... White Faced Woman
Cedric the Entertainer .... Constable
Directed by Brad Silberling & based on the Lemony Snicket books, this is the tale of three orphaned children & the amazing conspiracy surrounding the deaths of their parents. The Baudelaire children are coming to terms with the fiery demise of their parents, & being shuffled off into the custody of their closest (37 blocks) living relative, one Count Olaf (Carrey). Unbeknownest to the children, Olaf has murderous intent for them.
Well, unbeknownest for a little while at least, because Olaf pretty much comes out & says exactly what his plans are, like some idiot Bond villain. Carrey is just a shade under his Grinch character for sheer over-the-top madcappery as Olaf. Which is alright, because Olaf has got to be some sort of delusional madman due to the way he treats the kids & well, his house.
Stylishly, the movie is excellent, with perfect gloomy mood-inducing sets, & dark skies filled with dread. The score is phenomenal as well, brilliantly executed to achieve a perfect degree of tension. It's truly a gorgeous movie to look at, though if you don't appreciate some of Carrey's comic subtleties cough, you probably won't want to go near it.
The performances of the rest of the cast are pretty good, from the youngest Baudelaire child (twins Kara & Shelby Hoffman) to the middle child, Klaus (Aiken), & his quietly impressive performance, to the eldest & soon-to-be superhot Emily Browning. Once again, I feel kinda creepy watching someone in a movie, knowing that one day, they'll be like, WOW hot! & she seems to have some talent in herself too. KUDOS!
The one thing that I didn't really like about the movie was that it was hard to place what time period it took place in. Everything looks so run-down & ancient, yet they're driving cars with keyless entry remotes & mentioning faxes. It's a bit disconcerting when you can't really relate to Anytown, Canada. If you dig the wacky Jim Carrey acting creepy (trying to marry a 14 year old!!) then hey, this is a good movie for you. I'm not really sure how it's a family movie, since it's decidely off-putting, but it's still a good time. As long as you embrace the manic, & not the gloom. 4 outta 5.
Roger Ebert's review