Lemony Snicket's The Series of Unfortunate Events

[Peter Ahlstrom]

The theater was FULL of moms and kids under age 10, but there were a few geeks like us there as well.

The little girl to our left got scared halfway through and had to leave with her mom. She looked at least 7 and lots of kids younger than her stayed the whole time and clapped at the end.

The books are definitely written for a younger audience than, say, Harry Potter, but the later books introduce all sorts of hidden stuff and secret messages (just within the normal text--for example, whenever a bell rings, there's a word interval you count off until another bell rings, and the words add up to some kind of message) that the kids don't care about but which make them interesting for older readers as well. Karen is one of the FAQ contributers who spends hours figuring things out and decrypting the codes.

[42]

I now want to see this movie, I just don't have much time during the holidays.

[stacer]

Well, 42, if you're up for a matinee sometime the week I'm there near New Year's, we could get a group together to go see it. I haven't seen any of the new movies that are out, for that matter.

[EUOL]

Just saw it with my family.  

I have to say, perhaps I'm in the minority on this, but I didn't really care for the movie.  It wasn't terrible--in fact, a lot of it was very well done.  Costuming, setting, and cinematography were quite well done.  I found myself just...well...not enjoying myself.  

I think it just suffered from the abbreviation.  I felt like they were cramming far too much into the movie, which made me have trouble getting into the characters.  I'm not certain this translated well to the screen, though I haven't read the books.  Perhaps I would think the same thing about the Harry Potter movies if I hadn't read the novels.

Perhaps another reason I might not have enjoyed the movie was mentioned before.  Perhaps these books--and movie--are just intended for a far younger audience.

[Peter Ahlstrom]

I'm not surprised at all by your reaction.

Seems to me that it would translate better to a television medium than film.  Each book is pretty short, with not really enough plot twists and turns to make a feature-length movie.

So far I've read the first four books, and they don't branch off from being formulaic until the 5th or 6th, I hear. Once I've read a lot more I'll see how much the later books cater to an older audience as subtext.

[fuzzyoctopus]

Finally saw this yesterday.  To our surprise, we met Brenna and Stacer and everyone else in the theater.  Provo towncenter has only been showing on one screen - in theater 13.  This delighted me to no end.

Was pretty good.

[GorgonlaVacaTremendo]

I was hoping somebody would have to see this is theatre thirteen.  Mwhahaha...

I enjoyed this film, though I haven't read the books.  It's not something I would buy, though, or even something I would go out of my way to see again.  I'm glad that I saw it, but it's not cinematic genius or anything.  From what I hear it didn't do the books justice (as usual).

[stacer]

It was great to see fuzzy in the theater--that rounded out getting to see everyone over the break that still lives in Utah. Wait, no--haven't seen Sprig this time around.  

I enjoyed the movie overall, but it didn't stand out to me. Jim Carrey was a little too Jim Carrey-esque at the beginning, though he grew into the role of Count Olaf by the end. It was a bit episodic, but so are the books. I agree with EUOL that it was made for a younger audience, but I think in general it was well done.

[Oldie Black Witch]

Drat it all! Sometimes it just doesn't pay to be late. The husband has punctuality problems that are passed on to me by default. Sometimes I'd like to put up a sign on his forehead that reads "A failure to plan on your part does NOT constitute and emergency on my part."
We arrived just in time to stand in the aisle for a few minutes while hubby got distracted by the commercials, until we found seats in the very front row.

I rather liked how the Beaudelaire children were portrayed, but the overall plot was too episodic. It would have been fun to sit next to Brenna, though. We could have had fun whispering comments about the movie.
Maybe next time stacer's in town, Brenna, I can meet her so I'll be able to put a face with the name.

[stacer]

Wait a minute! YOU were the friend we tried to save seats for? Man, if I'd known that, I would have waited with Brenna for you to come out.

Also--I'll be in town in Feb. for LTUE, so we should meet then.

[Oldie Black Witch]

Hooray for LTUE, then!

[fuzzyoctopus]

Oh, I'm sorry stacer, I figured you know it was Old One we were waiting for.  That whole pseudonym thing is so complicated sometimes.

[Oldie Black Witch]

No prob, fuzzy. I caught a glimpse of her at TLE tonight before she dashed out the door. Now I know that she's blonde, taller than I am, and wears sweaters.
Wait. That wasn't YOU masquerading as Stacer, was it?