One of the things I love about living in the Bay Area is the ready accessibility of many movies that are only afforded a "limited release" by the distributing studio. This weekend I went to see Paprika, one such movie, and was absolutely delighted.

My affinity for animated television and films was nurtured in my childhood by a measured diet of after school and Saturday morning cartoons, with the occasional Disney film thrown in. When, in college, I discovered Adult Swim, I found myself fascinated by the more mature fare on offer, specifically the lonesome beauty of Cowboy Bebop. I could crank out a few more paragraphs on my love for that show alone, but I'll save that another time. I continued to seek out movies and series of that ilk, works with some heart and soul behind them that looked at the human condition in a mature way. I really liked The Lion King when I was younger, but I loved and now own Spirited Away. Characters or elements that ring true to me + beautiful and enchanting animation = my bag.

So I really liked Paprika. The plot follows a couple of scientists as they struggle to deal with their dream monitoring device gone haywire. The animated dreams, animated reality, and their subsequent intermingling makes for some really stunning and imaginative visuals. I knew I was going to get that from the trailer, so my worry was whether or not these images would work together into a reasonably comprehensible plot, or if they would just run away with themselves. In that regard I was pleasantly surprised and emerged from the theater with just the right amount of bewilderment, something I have come to expect - and even enjoy - from this type of film.

Verdict: Recommended. The trailer features the following quote from a critic that I think hits the mark:

"Evidence that Japanese animators are reaching for the moon, while most of their American counterparts remain stuck in the kiddie sandbox." - Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

Any of you fellow moon-reachers have any recommendations of your own?