
The Count is an outrageously bad actor who makes it clear that he wants the Baudelaire fortune and is willing to kill to get it. Poe, the executor of their estate, places them with their nearest relative, Count Olaf. The story opens with the three Baudelaire children learning that their parents have died in a massive fire destroying their home. Therefore, in a way, the movie resembles hazing, an intense confrontation with the unfortunate aspects of life.

The high concept of the books and the movie is that life is difficult and children need to be prepared to deal with it. It also doesn’t have enough light humor to completely carry off its sardonic tone.

The movie is very dark, however, much too scary for little children. It has a lot to recommend it, including a moral coda at the end which says that children who work together to overcome adversity and love each other are “very fortunate indeed.” LEMONY SNICKET’S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS is a stylish, funny movie aimed at pre-teens and young teenagers. Furthermore, a few scenes are flat, despite the movie’s many visual delights. It also doesn’t have enough light humor to completely carry off its sardonic, episodic tone. It has a lot to recommend it, including a moral coda at the end which says that children who can work together and love each other are "very fortunate indeed." The movie is very dark, however, much too scary for little children. LEMONY SNICKET’S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS is a stylish, funny movie for pre-teens and young teenagers. The three children use their own personal talents to escape Count Olaf’s clutches, but he pursues them as they are placed with other distant relatives. Poe, the executor, first places them with their nearest relative, Count Olaf, played by Jim Carrey. The story opens with the three Baudelaire children learning that their parents have died in a massive fire, which destroyed their home.

LEMONY SNICKET’S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS is based on the first three books in a series of popular children's books.
