Paprika

The first five seconds of this anime movie set a half creepy tone that was fitting for a movie about dreams and nightmares gone amok. The next five minutes introduced the first bit of doubt and confusion about the onscreen reality; this bit of confusion would continue to ebb and flow, never disappearing, throughout the length of movie (escalating exponentially at the end). With that said, I have to say I really liked it and I like it the more I think about it. It was visually stunning and crazy and the amazing soundtrack added another six layers of interest and complexity to an already complex (bewildering?) movie. Briefly, a bit of technology was stolen by bad guys, good guys try to get it back and fix the mess caused by the loss, and then all hell breaks loose. Sounds like a pretty standard plot except in this movie, 2+2 = 5. Rate *****