Lemony Snicket

So tonight I reveled in the opportunity to see a movie. The movie I chose: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. As excited as I was to see this film I knew in the back of my head that I should probably not be expecting much. I wasn't a big fan of the first novel. It wasn't clever enough for me and the story ran a little flat. There was a time in my life when everybody knew me as the "kid who loved Roald Dahl". I WAS the Dahl expert. So ever since I was a wee lad I've known a little about good story telling. I also know when it runs on fumes. Lemony Snicket runs on fumes. Sure, he throws in some clever little tricks. The word defining for instance. But overall, there's not a lot of imagination there. The film, however, redeems itself with stunning visuals and admirable performances. It took a minute for Jim Carrey to grow on me. But that always seems to be the case. At first he came across as something children would love to live with. Then you sorta realize that he's more crazy than he is quirky. It would have been interesting to see a dramatic actor take on the role. One thing I loved: the baby and her adorable unintelligible grunts that were translated into subtitles for us. There was also a rather startling moment where I about lost my shizzle. It was interesting to see Peter Pettigrew (from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) in the film. See if you can point him out. Thomas Newman(composer), eh, what can I say...same old, same old. Overall Assessment: Good film, weak story. Children will enjoy it. Nice visuals. Good Performances. LOVED THE WILLY WONKA TRAILER!! B-