Dec. 28, 2004 - 11:49 am

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Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)

so i guess that most everyone who is interested in seeing the Harry Potter movies is interested in this movie to some degree. that was the case with Jill and i anyway. we had been considering seeing it at the theater, but were offered the chance to, let's say, watch a "free preview" at home.

it's a lot like Harry Potter, but without any real magic. i guess it's ok for all of those kids whose parents won't let them read/see Harry Potter because of the "witchcraft." the three children in the movie are siblings whose parents are suddenly killed and who then require a guardian. they are somehow related to Jim Carrey's character, Count Olaf, and he ends up taking care of them. he makes them do a bunch of housework and treats them terribly. he then starts trying to kill them so that he will inherit the family fortune instead of the children. the authorities take the children away, but Olaf keeps coming after them and tricking people into giving him custody again. he even attempts to marry the oldest girl (age 14) so that he can kill her and take the money. yeah, he's not a nice guy.

it was slightly funny at parts, but mostly not. the look of the film is very pretty, as are the children. it's a little too childish though. there are tons of reaction shots with the baby and the baby talk gets translated into smart-mouth comments. example. baby says "goo ga," subtitles appear that say "You're a real jerk." stuff like that. it gets annoying. i'm not sure who that was catering to. i doubt even little kids would laugh at this. it's just dumb really.

i was also baffled by the numerous Christopher Guest ensemble actors that appeared in this film. why was that? you've got bit parts from Catherine O'Hara, Jennifer Coolidge, and i think i even saw the lesbian dog trainer from Best in Show (2000) playing as the realtor. was their appearance just ironic or does someone involved in this movie have some great interest in the Christopher Guest movies?