Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Okay, I finally watched the movie. And it wasn't bad. Anytime you try to put three books into one movie, you know you're going to lose something. I've stopped having very high expectations of books-turned-movies anyway. You really have to just appreciate them for what they are, rather than criticize every little difference from the books. If you want to enjoy them, anyway.

So it was interesting to see what they did keep, what they rearranged, and what they added. I've read the first three books in the series, and part of the fourth. Plus I've talked a bit with students who have read them all. So I realize that there is some conspiracy going on deeper than just Count Olaf wanting the Beaudelaire fortune. At least I think there is. Anyway, there were strong hints of that conspiracy in the movie. The trick is that we probably don't learn the full story on that until the thirteenth book, whereas they had to give some kind of wrap-up in the movie to have it end in a satisfactory way.

I did like all the actors. The kids--Emily Browning (Violet), Liam Aiken (Klaus), and Kara and Shelby Hoffman (Sunny)--were really quite good. They seemed better than the Harry Potter trio, actually. More natural, less halting. And Jim Carrey wasn't too over the top; he actually came across as Count Olaf, not just Jim Carrey being wild again.

So now I'm wanting to read more of the series to see how the conspiracy unfolds. The books are short enough that I'm going to reread from the beginning. I want to be sure to catch all the clues I can. I wonder if there are fan sites in which they catalog and debate every clue like Harry Potter fans do...I bet there are. I already found some fan sites for individual actors, like Liam Aiken.

Here's a few links that might be of interest:
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events -- official movie site
Internet Movie Database-- Information about the movie
Lemony Snicket-- the official web site for the author and the series