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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2017 17:53:43 GMT
I remember thinking the books were shit as a kid and so I never bothered to watch the movie or the show.
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Post by sdrew13163 on Mar 29, 2017 20:30:28 GMT
I thought I was the only one who liked the movie! Carrey as Count Olaf was great for me and the movie itself was just good family fun. I haven't seen the Netflix series, but that's just because I'm too busy with other stuff. The movie, though, is a forgotten children's movie gem if you ask me.
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Post by pennypacker on Mar 29, 2017 20:46:45 GMT
I loved the movie when I was a kid! Now, it's hard for me to look beyond my nostalgia.
I'm enjoying the series so far, but I almost want them to pull what they did with the movie and just end it now. It's going to get much, much, more cruel.
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Post by Nalkarj on Mar 30, 2017 17:12:34 GMT
sdrew13163 I quite agree. The movie is able to stand on its own and tell an effective story for children without sugarcoating "the real world," much as a Grimms' fairy tale does. Yet it's not too cynical that it becomes depressing. It's also great fun, as you say. Thanks for responding! pennypacker Well, Dr. Van Nostrand--I mean, Penny!--as I wrote above to sdrew13163 , I think the movie is able to be cynical without being cruel, which I think is what you and I may appreciate about it. I also enjoyed the series up to a certain point, but, somewhere around Part 2 of Episode 3, it starts to go off the cliff along with Aunt Josephine's house, a feeling which only worsens during the 4th episode. I think the problem is primarily the series' tone: it is not merely cynical, as in the movie, but truly acrimonious, bitter, misanthropic. That is an unusual attitude to have in a children's program; it is almost as if Handler and the series writers have a Gnostic hatred of the world and, more than that, of their own characters, as if the children are not only caught in "unfortunate events" but being prodded, laughed at, mocked by cruel gods. The movie, on the other hand, truly cares about its characters, which renders it, in my opinion, both the more realistic and the better. Thanks for responding!
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Post by Nalkarj on Apr 3, 2017 16:48:54 GMT
I loved the movie when I was a kid! Now, it's hard for me to look beyond my nostalgia. I'm enjoying the series so far, but I almost want them to pull what they did with the movie and just end it now. It's going to get much, much, more cruel. By the way, what point are you at re: the series right now, if I may ask? |
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Post by hi224 on Apr 3, 2017 18:25:37 GMT
I like Carrey better then Neil as orlof as well.
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Post by pennypacker on Apr 3, 2017 20:32:21 GMT
I loved the movie when I was a kid! Now, it's hard for me to look beyond my nostalgia. I'm enjoying the series so far, but I almost want them to pull what they did with the movie and just end it now. It's going to get much, much, more cruel. By the way, what point are you at re: the series right now, if I may ask? When I wrote this I was at episode 4 - The Reptile Room: Part 2. I've only been able to get to episode 5 though, since then. |
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Post by CookiesNCream on Apr 4, 2017 0:51:26 GMT
I've never read the books, which is probably part of the reason why I quite liked the movie (as I had nothing to compare it to). I liked the fact that it was kind of 'depressing'/'dark', as kids movies I watched growing up had those elements in them. I also liked the 'look' of the film, the costumes, props, etc. I realise a lot of fans of the books weren't happy with Jim Carrey's portrayal of Count Olaf and thought him too "campy" or over-the-top, and while I do recognise this about his performance, I nevertheless couldn't help but kind of enjoy it. No, he wasn't particularly 'menacing' (which I hear was one of the main complaints about his portrayal of the character), but the movie had enough depressing moments/deaths to somewhat make up for that, I thought. This was also probably about the second film (after Ghost Ship) that I'd seen Emily Browning in. I've seen quite a few things she's appeared in, and enjoyed her as Violet in the film. I am eager to watch the show (whenever it'll eventually be released here) and judge it for myself, to see how it compares to the movie. I mostly seconded that thought. I loved the movie and still own the DVD of it. I don't think it ever got talked about much after it came out. What I liked most about it was the gothic elements for a kid's film, like some others I grew up with, and Jim Carey's performance. I've never read the book series based off of it or seen that new Netflix series, though I've heard the latter was good, but I could recognized where some fans of the books may be coming from about Jim Carey's portrayal too. I also wouldn't know where the new TV series compare to the movie, even though I've heard some good things about it. |
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Post by Nalkarj on Feb 22, 2018 1:07:57 GMT
Wow, it’s been a while since anyone posted on this thread. As you can tell from my early posts here, I wasn’t wild about the Netflix series (far fonder of the film adaptation), but naturally I’ll be dutifully watching when Season 2 becomes available on Mar. 30…
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Post by sdrew13163 on Feb 22, 2018 3:50:19 GMT
I still haven't gotten around to watching the Netflix series. Maybe I'll pick it up once Season 2 releases.
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Post by Nalkarj on Feb 24, 2018 2:09:42 GMT
I’d love to read your take on it when you do get a chance, sdrew13163. I recently re-watched the last three episodes in preparation for this new season coming out (I really do enjoy this universe), and—while I think I enjoyed it a bit more—I still found it inferior to the movie. I think it’s mostly a tonal problem: the show tries so hard to be funny and whimsical that when the very serious moments come, they seem cheap and out-of-place—almost cynical, misanthropic. “Hah! You were looking for a happy ending, but you’re a chump.” The first part—“you will find no happy endings here”—came across in the movie as well, but never the second. And, ironically, as I said, I think that’s because the TV show is trying to be more humorous. It’s funny, because I do love that movie… The best part about the show, by the way, is Patrick Warburton, who plays Rod Serling more than Lemony Snicket. His hilarious, deadpan performance is excellent, but it may be one of the contributing factors, in the end, to why the show feels so empty (because of what I wrote before)… I found a decent video comparing the two: |
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Post by Nalkarj on Mar 31, 2018 3:18:41 GMT
So Season 2 came out today, and I’ve seen two episodes, and…
I’m not sure what I think, except that I’m still vaguely disappointed in this show. I wrote before that Season 1 leaned too much towards the comedy; Season 2 seems to be all comedy, to the extent that you can’t get at all emotionally invested in the Baudelaires’ misfortunes. The Prufrock sets (and CGI “sets”) are so impressive that one would expect something more, almost a parody of Gothic horror; instead, it’s pure comedy, some of it very good (most of the first part) and some of it rather dull (most of the second part). The same pattern continues for “The Ersatz Elevator,” though at least we get some fun performances from Nathan Fillion and Lucy Punch. There are so many good things in this series, but it’s ultimately such a disappointment.
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Post by Nalkarj on Apr 3, 2018 0:56:20 GMT
Watching Part 1 of “The Vile Village” right now. If it continues along this vein, it’ll be the best episode thus far of Season 2; it’s pure comedy, as I wrote above about Season 2, but it’s very funny, very smart comedy—a completely different mood from the series so far, but likeable. Funny simultaneous parody of fascism, Hitchcock’s The Birds, legal dramas (Mr. Poe as Perry Mason is hilarious), mysteries, and westerns.
Neat reference to “The Lottery,” too. Best episode I’ve seen since “The Bad Beginning.” Hoping and praying that Part 2 will continue this way.
And, wow, did new screenwriter Sigrid Gilmer make some recommendations to producer-director Barry Sonnenfield or something? The kids are the best they’ve ever been, and Harris, Punch, and Fillion are delightful.
EDIT: Well, I finished Part 2, and it’s not as good as Part 1, but it’s still decent; “The Vile Village” is indeed the best episode since “The Bad Beginning.” Recommended.
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Post by darkreviewer2013 on Apr 3, 2018 3:42:25 GMT
Didn't even know there was a series out. Not a fan of the 2004 movie AT ALL, however. T'was one of those films I just couldn't get into.
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Post by Nalkarj on Apr 7, 2018 4:18:13 GMT
OK, so I’ve now finished Season 2 and…wow.
Everything about the show changes with “The Vile Village,” and it’s all for the better. I’m very happy that I stuck it out; “The Hostile Hospital” manages funny and scary equally well, and “The Carnivorous Carnival”… What can I say? Both episodes are surprisingly well directed for a TV [Netflix] series, but “The Carnivorous Carnival” offers a magnificent opening sequence and a nearly-as-impressive musical number (far superior to the slog by which “The Ersatz Elevator” padded out it run-time) in which it seems that Neil Patrick Harris channels Jim Carrey!
Interestingly, though, for all three of these episodes Part I is better and more inventive than Part II. Not sure about why.
I still think the movie is superior to the show, but perhaps that’s not fair, as they’re aiming for different tones: the movie believes there is still hope in the darkness, while the show—modern, post-sick joke and cynical—only wants to make light out of everything. I believe the first worldview is more honest than the second (just as romanticism can be more real than cynicism, to paraphrase Sarris), but these episodes of the show do a good job at presenting what they want to present. I’m impressed.
Episodes from Best to Worse:
1. “The Vile Village: Part I.”
2. “The Bad Beginning: Part II.”
3. “The Carnivorous Carnival: Part I.”
4. “The Hostile Hospital: Part I.”
5. “The Hostile Hospital: Part II.”
6. “The Bad Beginning: Part I.”
7. “The Carnivorous Carnival: Part II.”
8. “The Vile Village: Part II.”
9. “The Reptile Room: Part II.”
10. “The Wide Window: Part II.”
11. “The Austere Academy: Part I.”
12. “The Reptile Room: Part I.”
13. “The Wide Window: Part I.”
14. “The Miserable Mill: Part I.”
15. “The Miserable Mill: Part II.”
16. “The Austere Academy: Part II.”
17. “The Ersatz Elevator: Part I.”
18. “The Ersatz Elevator: Part II.”
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Post by Nalkarj on Jan 21, 2019 6:05:07 GMT
I’ve finished the TV show. Has anyone else watched it? On the whole I find Season 2 the best: it does the best job of showing its themes without delving only into gloom and dolor (as Season 1 did). Season 3, ironically, is mostly humorous despite the high body count! The last episode, “The End,” borrows a great deal from the movie version this thread was originally meant to discuss. I’m not sure what to think, on the whole, just as I wasn’t sure what to make of the books when I first read them as a kid. There’s so much in here that goes nowhere, especially the first three books (which are, also ironically, the most memorable!): Handler seems to have no idea where he wanted to go when he started them, unfortunately, and it always seems like he was just making it up as he went along. Here we get some answers, but the real solution feels tantalizingly out-of-reach—as is probably intentional. The end feels like an inevitable anticlimax after the entire show, as it did in the books. As an AV Club reviewer perceptively noted, “The original novels were more a success of design than anything particularly substantial; the grade school style writing combined with the grim subject matter, occasional adult literary nods, and beautiful artwork, made them feel special in a way that the actual content never quite lived up to.” Exactly—and this TV show seems the same way. Ah well. We’ll always have the movie. |
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Post by Popeye Doyle on Jan 21, 2019 16:21:26 GMT
Never seen the movie. Recently, as of last week, my kid got me into the Netflix series. Love the aesthetic, production values, and its storytelling style. Plus, Neil Patrick Harris is excellent.
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