Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events [2004] Movie Reviews on CinemaClock

I recently saw this film, and since then have picked up a few of the books, as well. As a film, it was quite well done, and the greatest part about it was that it was rather stunning, visually. The three (well, four) cast as the Baudelaire children were excellent. The adults, however, were not quite as believable. Strong performances came from Billy Connolly and Timothy Spall, but as for the other adults in the film, I wasn't incredibly impressed. Meryl Streep and Jim Carrey are, as I see it, both guilty of the same thing:overracting. While Carrey's role in the script likely written precisely for such acting, Streep just seemed very... silly, and unbelievable. I can understand how the film is not identical to the first three books, and certain changes and alterations are inevitable, but it seems as though Carrey has been made to lighten up his role quite a bit. The tone of the books is dark, and while he is a rather comic figure in the film (not unlike Carrey's role as "The Riddler" in Batman Forever), he's just downright nasty in the novels and much more frightening. While I thought this detracted from the film somewhat, I'm a believer in the notion that the books and the film should be considered as separate entities, and I enjoyed the film quite a bit. For those who have trouble dealing with the differences between the books and the film, just remember keep in mind that the books will always exist. Expect differences in the film, and just go with the flow.