My rating: Lush, wonderful movie goodness

I've never been one of those people who regret reading a book if the movie that it's made into is good. I've seen the Harry Potters, Lord of the Rings, even Steven King stuff... I talk to folks afterward who tell me all the good stuff that the movie left out, and feel like I have somehow experienced the book, having had both experiences. This movie, however, makes me hungry to read the book.

Of course, Tolkien, Rowling, and King are masterful writers. I'm not putting the work of Lemony Snicket above those people, by far. I will have to say, though, that the level of bizarre portrayal that I experienced with this movie makes me really want to delve into this guy's mind. (For some really interesting examples, make sure to read the bio page on his web site.) I'm the type of person who gets tired of predictable plots and canned stories, I hunt hard to find something original to watch... and this movie is that, all over the place.

The characters in this gem of a flick are by far the most intriguing thing about the movie. The children's parents have been killed in a freak fire disaster at their home, so they get passed around to different relatives, including freaky Uncle Olaf (Jim Carrey), who is also the film's villain, Jumanji-wannabe Uncle Monty (Billy Connolly), and my favorite character of all, Aunt Josephine (Meryl Streep). Each character is given such likable eccentricities, you're glued in to see what will happen next. (For instance, Aunt Josephine is afraid of, among many other things, realtors.)

To have incredible characters to make into an incredible movie, you also need a really nifty story... which this movie does. True it may be that these stories were written with children in mind, don't expect the plot to be childish. It's a lot of fun, that's true. The sets and backdrops will remind you of something that Tim Burton would do, topped off with a dash of extra fun. The children find themself in all manner of bizarre situations, living with snakes, dangling over the edge of a cliff, and trapped on the railroad tracks in front of a speeding train, among others. What fun. I was sitting there in the theater thinking, "This is like all the stuff I used to pretend I did when I was a kid."

If you're one of those people like the knuckleheads we watched Sky Captain with, who need to find some basis in reality for the movies you watch, you're gonna want to run away from this one. As with many of the movies I heartily recommend, this one is a pure departure from reality and logic. What it is, though, is a very enjoyable ride of imagination and wonder that will surely wake up the child in all of us, who hopefully won't wake up cranky.