Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

As with the Harry Potter films, I hadn’t read a word of the Lemony Snicket children’s book series before seeing its big-screen adaptation. So this review comes from a bloke who is not familiar with the literary world of Count Olaf and the Baudelaire children. The film starts off with a warning that the movie is extremely unpleasant, and those looking for a happy story might wish to visit another theater. Word on the street is that the film isn’t nearly as unpleasant as the books. Some reviewers have trashed Jim Carrey’s portrayal of Olaf as typical manic Carrey showboating. From my viewpoint, this movie is substantially nasty for a children’s film, and Carrey’s comical clowning makes Olaf all the more evil, creepy and fun. It’s fair to say that those who haven’t read the books, such as me, might wind up having a better time. I sure did.