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Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: A Family's Perspective
By The Conders
[/noprocess][var: 'thisCategory' = 'Sci-Fi / Fantasy'][if: $thisCategory != 'Author Bio']Kendall Conder (age 8)
I thought the movie was great. It had two mysteries in it and I love mysteries. These mysteries were also in the first three books.
I liked the movie as much as the third Harry Potter movie. Both movies had mysteries and orphans. Harry Potter is an orphan just like the Beaudelaires (Sunny, Violet and Klaus). Both movies include adventures to find out about their parents, and they both fight evil.
Don’t watch this movie at dark, because it could give you nightmares if you’re afraid of snakes.
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Keenan Conder (age 10)
The Series of Unfortunate Events is about three orphans whose mother and father die in a fire and the evil Count Olaf who tries to take their fortune. The hilarity of the movie makes a sad story into a good and amusing tale.
I was disappointed that the movie was not even close to the books, but the movie WAS funny. It took out events and rearranged events. For example, the ending of the first book became the ending of the movie. The story makes a lot more sense the way it is in the books and it’s very educational.
The author teaches you new words , like “austere” which means horrible and “ersatz” which means a substitute. It also includes sayings and poems. I recommend that people read the books first because the author gives good descriptions, especially of the characters.
In the movie, they couldn’t have done a better job with Count Olaf. Jim Carey was so hilarious – how he moved, how he talked, and how he acted. He really seemed like an actor from a theater troupe, which was Count Olaf’s career. Violet was also done pretty well. I did NOT like the way the movie did Sunny and Klaus.
Overall, I give an A+ to the Series of Unfortunate Events movie because it’s a good story and very funny, but I give it an F- for the way the movie differs from the books.
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Mimi Conder (mother of Keenan and Kendall)
I asked Keenan, “Why do I want to watch a movie about a series of unfortunate events that happens to children? I’m a mother. What’s entertaining about the heartaches of children whose parents are killed in a fire?” Besides, I hadn’t read the books yet, despite our family goal of reading the books before we watch the movies they’ve inspired.
But for the purpose of this review and with everyone’s consent, we indulged Keenan and Kendall’s pleas to watch the movie together.
On the surface the movie appears to be a creatively directed story about 3 orphans running from an evil man who wants their inheritance. But it’s more than another story about empowered children fighting evil. It’s also a story with characterizations of uniquely, smart children with vivid descriptions of home, sanctuary and family that provide fodder for interesting family discussions.
--“Home is where your parents put you to bed at night, teach you to ride a bike, or get choked up on your first day of school.”
--A sanctuary is “a small safe place in a troubling world like an oasis in a vast desert or an island in a stormy sea.”
--Home is a safe place and the feeling one gets when you’re with “people who understand you and are like you and appreciate you.”
--“As long as you have each other, you have your family and you are home.”
So really, the unfortunate events do not define the narrative of the Beaudelaire children’s lives. In fact, they are a vehicle to show the children just how fortunate they are to have each other. And even though the parents have perished in a fire, they seem to live on in the hearts of the children throughout their unfolding adventures. So, I found the movie surprisingly entertaining and valuable to watch with my family.
Posted by The Conders at May 12, 2005 11:23 PM
Comments
Well put, Gayle.
Jim Carey somehow put aside his dreadful overacting and did a very good job with this role... understated, not a term you usually use to describe a Carey role. A tribute to the director, I suspect.
Posted by: Bill Stevenson at June 13, 2005 6:41 PM
I watched Eternal Sunshine this past weekend and was struck at how well everything fits together if you just experience the film rather than trying to make sense of every detail along the way (although I suspect that one could make a case that every detail does fit together ... it is a very well produced film).
In terms of the points that Gayle makes regarding marriage, it strikes me that a successful marriage (and family) requires a constant act of deliberate forgetfulness. Without the luxury of a one-time procedure, this is something we must choose to do on a regular (even daily) basis. To some degree I think our relationships are stronger if we can forget the "befores" ... before marriage, before kids, before mortgage, etc. ... and embrace the "nows".
Unintentional forgetfullness is another matter, however. One should not forget birthdays, anniversaries or promises (or mortgage payments). But a "creative forgetfullness" may cleanse the emotional plaque that builds up in every relationship.
Posted by: Ben Thole at September 13, 2005 1:52 PM
I love this movie, with all of its twists of the mind and such. Really, I just love the fact that it realistically represents a relationship, and how there will always be some pain in love, instead of the "everything is perfect" world movies usually represent.
Posted by: Margaux Lopez at November 27, 2006 12:51 PM
Im 13 now and I hope everyone likes it. Thanks Keenan
Posted by: Keenan Conder at January 20, 2008 1:31 PM
keenan i liked your book report!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: lucas villanueva at February 26, 2008 2:36 PM