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

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 6.7/10
Reviews Counted: 158
Fresh: 113 | Rotten: 45

The film adaptation of the popular books is winning raves for its set design and a wry comic charm that mitigates some morbid images. However, some have panned the film as smug and overcooked.

Average Rating: 6.6/10
Critic Reviews: 33
Fresh: 20 | Rotten: 13

The film adaptation of the popular books is winning raves for its set design and a wry comic charm that mitigates some morbid images. However, some have panned the film as smug and overcooked.

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Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 451,656

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Movie Info

The best-selling series of subversive children's books from author Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) come to the screen in this black comedy for the whole family (and how often do you get to see one of those?). The Baudelaire siblings -- gadget freak Violet (Emily Browning), bookworm Klaus (Liam Aiken), and baby Sunny (Kara Hoffman and Shelby Hoffman) -- were living a fairy-tale existence with their parents until they died in a fire that destroyed the family home. With few close relatives and

PG, 1 hr. 47 min.

Action & Adventure, Kids & Family, Comedy

Directed By: Brad Silberling

Written By: Robert Gordon

In Theaters: Dec 17, 2004 Wide

On DVD: Apr 26, 2005

Box Office:$118.5M

Paramount Pictures

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Trailer & Photos

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Cast

Jim Carrey
Llamando Conde 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 Guzman
Bald Man
Jamie Harris
Hook-Handed Man
Craig Ferguson
Person of Indeterminate...
Jennifer Coolidge
White Faced Woman No. 1
Jane Adams (II)
White Faced Woman No. 2
Cedric the Entertainer
Constable

Critic Reviews for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

All Critics (158) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (121) | Rotten (47) | DVD (42)

Episodic but entertaining.

November 15, 2011 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment

Hank Sartin

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

Heinrichs helps take your mind off the slack direction and the letdown of a climax, which ought to make the kiddies hurl Gummi Bears at the screen.

December 21, 2004 Full Review Source: Slate

| Comment

David Edelstein

Slate

Top Critic

A lavishly mounted blockbuster that has little personality of its own except on a purely visual level.

December 20, 2004 Comment

Lou Lumenick

New York Post

Top Critic

It just kind of spins its wheels.

December 20, 2004 Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper

| Comment

Richard Roeper

Ebert & Roeper

Top Critic

I think this one is a tune-up for the series, a trial run in which they figure out what works and what needs to be tweaked.

December 17, 2004 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comment

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

As it ticks by, laboriously, it leaves you feeling that you should be enjoying it more than you are.

December 17, 2004 Full Review Source: Salon.com

| Comment

Stephanie Zacharek

Salon.com

Top Critic

Book's fans will enjoy, but too creepy for some.

December 25, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Whilst the direction and script seem off, the rest of the production work is excellent.

July 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Dark Horizons

| Comment

Garth Franklin

Dark Horizons

Between Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Lemony Snicket 2004 is a banner year for dark and fun kid's films.

February 27, 2009 Full Review Source: CHUD

| Comment

Devin Faraci

CHUD

A dastardly unadulterated delight of a film.

November 20, 2008 Full Review Source: Hollywood.com

| Comment

Kit Bowen

Hollywood.com

full review in Greek

October 3, 2006 Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses

| Comment

Joseph Proimakis

Movies for the Masses

We can be grateful that the series has given Carrey one of his better vehicles in recent years, and that Carrey has risen to the occasion so well.

September 27, 2006 Comment

Peter T. Chattaway

Christianity Today Source: Christianity Today

It's all a bit superficial, but highly entertaining, wickedly funny, and alluring enough to make you want to start reading the books.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment (1)

Derek Adams

Time Out

If you sit back, relax and just accept it for what it is -- an enjoyable, escapist Gothic pantomime -- you will go home happy.

April 1, 2006 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine

| Comment

Caroline Westbrook

Empire Magazine

...Carrey delivers a broad performance that's more distracting than anything else.

December 31, 2005 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews

| Comment

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Successful in kicking off a largely amusing and visually engaging franchise.

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Threat

| Comment

Pete Vonder Haar

Film Threat

A sick joke of a film that realizes the best children's entertainment doesn't hide from the bleaker side of life, but plunges into the void and respects kids enough to assume they can handle it.

September 26, 2005 Full Review Source: AV Club

| Comment

Nathan Rabin

AV Club

Genius story for the kids...

August 28, 2005 Full Review Source: Wordmag.com

| Comment

Michael Szymanski

Wordmag.com

...recognizes that it's okay to present scariness, gloominess and sadness, as long as you present strong, pure hearted children whose inherent cleverness cuts through it all.

July 25, 2005 Full Review Source: www.kcactive.com

| Comment

Uri Lessing

www.kcactive.com Source: www.kcactive.com

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

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"Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events" is a movie based off of the book series of the same name. What can I say about this movie, it's great, for children or fully grown adults. It actually does follow the source material quite well, and is told from an interesting first person perspective by one of the

November 13, 2011

Frank Petrovich

Super Reviewer

Jim Carrey is my favorite actor and this feels a lot to me like something Tim Burton would do. Jim Carrey reminds me of Michael Keaton in Burton's Beetlejuice. A funny man playing a creepy man. A little to much CGI was used in the film but behind its far too dark overtones it has a real message that could be learned from at heart.

November 4, 2011

Michael Miller

Super Reviewer

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Quotes

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1. Llamando Conde Olaf: Hello hello hello! I Am Your Beloved Count Olaf.
– Submitted by Erik Z (2 months ago)
1. Llamando Conde Olaf: I had the kipper in my mouth, and I offered.
– Submitted by Austin P (2 months ago)
1. Constable: [pretending to save Klaus from drowning] I saved him! I saved the boy from the leeches! Back to the depths, you fingery devils! You will not devour this boy's head today!
– Submitted by Lucas M (5 months ago)
1. Llamando Conde Olaf: I will raise these orphans as if they were actually wanted!
– Submitted by Lucas M (5 months ago)
1. Llamando Conde Olaf: Hello, I'm looking for Dr. Montgomery Montgomery. My name is Stephano, I am an Italian man.
– Submitted by Lucas M (5 months ago)

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