Kara no Kyoukai: The Garden of Sinners - Overlooking View (2007)

Overlooking View is the first in a series of seven films, and when I began to watch it I thought I may have started with the wrong one. You're dropped straight into the lives of these characters, and left to figure out what's going on on your own. The pacing is extremely slow, and it takes a long time to get a sense of the universe and its characters.

From a technical standpoint, the movie is fantastic. The backgrounds are beautifully detailed and the animation is top-notch, especially during the unfortunately brief fight scenes. The music is excellent, and the world is wonderfully atmospheric. But as a standalone film, it falls short. The story has a defined beginning, middle and end, but it's really pure build-up. Each scene is there to make scenes in later films feel more powerful. Unless you're really in the mood for nice animation, this isn't worth watching unless you plan to take on the whole series.

2 cartons of Haagen-Dazs Strawberry Ice Cream out of 5