A film about a time when humans and demons mixed together freely that could only be made in a time when humans and CGI effects do the same, Onmyoji turns Japan's legendary swords-and-demons past into a sometimes-impressive, largely confounding swirl of myth, magic, and special effects. A hit in Japan, Onmyoji played to audiences likely to be familiar with the Baku Yumemakura novels it (and several previous TV and comic-book adaptations) draws from. Those not familiar with Yumemakura should probably bring a notebook. More than 150 years after the founding of Kyoto, intrigue and demons run rampant in the court of the Mikado. The spirits of heartbroken women haunt the halls, causing poisonous gourds to grow from pine trees. A high-ranking minister (Hiroyuki Sanada) conspires to seize power. Magic-infected babies turn monstrous in their cribs. In short, it's a mess, and one that only a noble young hero (Hideaki Ito) and a wily sorcerer (Mansai Nomura) have any hope of sorting out. The film de-emphasizes plot and action in favor of lyricism and outbursts of magic-doing, but the results are more dull than enchanting, no matter how many people fly across the room. The cast seems stuck in two dimensions, which doesn't help–only Nomura makes much of an impression, and even his performance suggests an effete talk-show host as readily as an ancient master of magic. Running into a problem familiar to the Harry Potter series, Onmyoji quickly establishes the boundless powers of magic, then tries to create suspense about whether magic can vanquish the problems scared up by the plot, then stretches the story to pained lengths. Any film with demon babies, butterflies who turn into beautiful women, and beautiful women who turn into paper dolls can't be dismissed outright, but Onmyoji throws in enough padding amid the spectacle to try the patience of even the most hardened demon lover.