A Series of Unfortunate Events Review Season 1
Review: A Series of Unfortunate Events — Season 1
Depending on your historic period, or reading habits, you lot may or may not fondly remember the 2004 feature pic adaptation of Lemony Snicket's extremely pop series of novels. I was totally invested in it, beingness both a fan of the books and a huge fan of Jim Carrey (and I still am), so this initial movie adaptation of "A Series of Unfortunate Events" was i that I thoroughly enjoyed. Looking back on information technology, information technology wasn't the ideal adaptation of the series, merely it captured enough of its amuse to earn my approval, and according to reviews and box-office booty everyone else's for that matter. Unfortunately, it seemed as though fans would have to exist content with their humble one-shot, as plans for adapting the entire series fell through for various reasons, and it was only the first of multiple planned movies.
Fast forward over x years later and Lemony Snicket is dorsum, and with considerable aplomb. Netflix has debuted a make new adaptation of the series, beginning with an eight episode first season that gives the first four books of the serial two episodes a piece. I am happy to study that this new series is an excellent i, though non without stumbling a picayune.
'Unfortunate Events' is a bear witness that is both easy on the eyes and extremely detailed. For better or worse though, mayhap to reduce the serial upkeep or simply give each episode some extra sheen, a considerable amount of CGI seems to have been implemented in most every scene and shot, to the point where you're frequently left wondering what parts of the set up and scenery are practical or green screened. Hawkeye-eyed viewers may notice that right off the bat the background and setting for many scenes are entirely falsified. The actors can be seen clearly continuing in the foreground while the rest of what's around them is non really there, merely unlike many modern films the CGI in 'Unfortunate Events' was only seldom distracting for me. Even though each shot and angle in the show is visually interesting and rarely slow, at that place are moments when the CGI peeks through, or the show doesn't take the plot seriously enough, and personally I found it to be slightly disillusioning. For example, the youngest of the orphans, Sunny, is said to excel at biting things; many times in the show, Sunny is shown to be bitter and gnawing like a rabid animal to comedic issue, and with the assist of CGI she does all that and beyond. Information technology should exist noted that this series is aimed at children, as the books were, but the series' entreatment is much broader than that. This conflict of entreatment is present in the show because the humor and writing quite often seem to be aimed at grown viewers, yet when the show resorts to more slapstick style humor these moments stick out like a sore thumb, almost all of them related to Sunny Baudelaire. The show goes to great lengths to create a sense of tangibility and design, such as in the great detail of the surroundings or when the older two of the three orphans create brilliant inventions and plans to thwart the antagonists, but it as well asks you lot to believe that the baby is somehow able to break the laws of physics and human ability. This is dangerously close to nitpicking, considering it's based on children's novels, just it doesn't work one-hundred percent in this adaptation. There are fifty-fifty moments when the CGI isn't that well done, which should exist a mortiferous sin of filmmaking in the year 2017.
Front end and heart in the series, also the Baudelaire orphans played by three new actors (more on them later on), is the fiendish Count Olaf played by Neil Patrick Harris. Harris shines in this office, showing off but how talented of an player he really is. From episode to episode, Count Olaf is a delight to spotter equally he fumbles menacingly through Lemony Snicket'south world. One downside to the new Count Olaf though is that it you can always tell Harris is acting. No matter how much I loved watching him, I couldn't shake the silly feeling in the back of my mind that I was watching Neil Patrick Harris wear obvious prosthetic makeup. It'south not that he fails, in fact he does a splendid chore, just Jim Carrey might take been too skillful at information technology. Information technology'south no thing, considering I loved it. Where Harris excels at it though is when we run across Count Olaf, an player, disguise himself and attempt to fool other characters. We have a bright actor, playing an evil histrion, who is actually a bad actor, badly disguised and acting poorly to fool others. Astonishing! To kicking, Harris also sings the show's theme song, which is and so tricky it should exist illegal. I think Harris' portrayal of Olaf just needs time to grow on you, Count Olaf is after all a hideous and baroque graphic symbol, and I never disliked watching him. It's merely a bit jarring to see Harris wait and act the way Count Olaf does.
As for the Baudelaires themselves, we could not have asked for a amend bandage. With a slight exception for the baby who plays Sunny, who obviously can't "act", per se, all iii of them practise their jobs and so well that yous can't imagine anyone else doing them. The adorable Malina Weissman, who plays the eldest, Violet, is sure to be a popular actress going forward; Weissman plays a confident young lady and obviously knows how to deed with her facial expressions every bit much as she does her voice. The same can be said for Louis Hynes who plays her slightly younger blood brother, Klaus. Hynes effortlessly pulls off his grapheme's pure-hearted volume worm nerdiness. Between the two of them, their line delivery and comedic timing are exactly on point, their interim is impressive for kid actors.
Rounding out the bandage is the collection of well-casted actors who play the colorful side characters. Patrick Warburton, the protagonist, is an obvious standout for his expert monotone line delivery and subtle body language. One thousand. Todd Freeman who plays Mr. Poe is absolutely hysterical with his constant coughing, a personality quirk that the character can't seem to milk shake, which Freeman uses his whole trunk to animate in his scenes. At that place isn't a single miscast in this series, really, every actor in each office is played so well that there isn't much to criticize. Without too many spoilers, it'due south likewise amusing to see the adult actors in the cast pretend to exist so clueless, every bit their characters are. There's also a surprise in this season which defenseless me off baby-sit, involving cast members I was non expecting.
'Unfortunate Events' has establish its true dwelling house on Netflix. The new show is intelligent, hilarious, and entertaining for all ages. I found the show'due south reliance on CGI to be distracting at times, but information technology didn't take away from my enjoyment of it. Going forward, the adjacent seasons should be just every bit good or better. Fans, don't throw away your copy of the 2004 flick, but have that Netflix's adaptation will likely be seen every bit the quintessential one.
Grade: A-
Bottom Line: The first season of 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' is a win for Netflix: well-written, faithful to the source material, genuinely funny, and remarkably entertaining despite a couple small missteps thematically and visually.
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Source: https://medium.com/applaudience/review-a-series-of-unfortunate-events-season-1-bb44cbc0d972