Lemony Snicket's is a series of laughs

Historically, film adaptations have disappointed devoted fans. Then came Lord of the Rings, and Tolkien fans saw that successful adaptation was, indeed, possible. Now, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, the adaptation of the first three books by a popular series of the same name, breaks the old rule into smithereens. This adaptation is not only true to the first three books but combines fantastic set design, brilliant costumes, makeup and amazing acting to make a movie worthy of the series and its many fans.

The film, based on the books The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room and The Wide Window, all by Lemony Snicket, centers on the travails of the Baudelaire children: Violet (Emily Browning, Darkness Falls) Klaus (Liam Aiken, Road to Perdition) and Sunny (Twins Kara and Shelby Hoffman). The wealthy siblings become orphaned after a mysterious fire and are forced to live with their distant relative, Count Olaf (Jim Carrey, The Grinch, The Mask). Olaf is an eccentric, cruel and strange man who has his eyes set on the children's immense fortune.

The Baudelaires have to perform hundreds of chores for the Count, who keeps them locked inside his dark house. He eventually tries to kill them by abandoning them in a locked car parked on train tracks. The children cleverly save themselves, just as the bureaucrat who originally granted the count custody coincidently drives by. Seeing the Bauldelaires, he mistakenly believes that Olaf had let the baby drive and takes the children away from the Count, ignoring the attempted murder.

The children move in with their kind Uncle Montgomery, a snake-lover who has great plans for the children. Life with Uncle Monty promises to be full of happiness, but as any reader of the series knows, nothing is every happy for long with the Baudelaires. Olaf's disguised intervention leads to more unfortunate events, forcing the children to move to live with their Aunt Josephine (Meryl Streep, The Hours, The Manchurian Candidate). Aunt Jo turns out to be a paranoid woman who is afraid of the most ridiculous things, but still, life with her is assured to be better. As always, more unfortunate events ensue, each more riveting, unfortunate, and hilarious than the last.

Jim Carrey is excellent throughout the film as Count Olaf, who in the film is a member of a low-budget acting troupe. Olaf's peculiar behavior is hilarious, and Carrey's great skill at physical comedy makes him perfect for the role. Carrey's facial expressions and cheesy accents for Olaf's disguises is unbeatable. Carrey's makeup is also fantastic, and at times he's barely recognizable as Olaf.

In addition to great acting, the sets in A Series of Unfortunate Events are amazing. Each location is heavily detailed and breathtaking, making it difficult to believe that the places don't exist in real life. Aunt Jo's house is astounding, as it is a rickety, wooden building delicately perched upon the side of the cliffs. Olaf's dark towers are also incredible, and seem to just ooze of the dark sensation that accompanies Olaf and his cruelty.

The movie also stays true to the style of the books. Every so often, Lemony Snicket (voiced by Jude Law, Cold Mountain, The Talented Mr. Ripley) steps in to narrate and apologizes for the sadness of the story. This includes a warning, similar to that found at the start of the books, that the story is sad and viewers looking for a happy story should immediately leave the theater. Fans of the book will also recognize the letters "VFD," which are shown for a brief moment towards the start of the film. The books never tell the reader what the letters stand for, and neither does the film.

The movie, like the books, is implausible. However, this implausibility doesn't take away from the film. The only downside of the movie is the problem with all adaptations: the movie combined three books, and as a result, many scenes in the books were left out of the film. Don't be deterred by the PG rating – this film is a must-see.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is rated PG for thematic elements, scary situations and brief language.