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I\u2019m film critic Brett Arnold, back with another edition of Trust Me, I Watch Everything<\/strong><\/a>, a weekly guide to all the new movies released on Friday. This week\u2019s buzziest release is Mortal Kombat II, <\/em>the sequel to 2021’s arcade game adaptation, while Hugh Jackman stars in the charming, family-friendly mystery The Sheep Detectives. <\/em>(You can get an 11-year-old kid reporter\u2019s take here<\/a>.) Also in theaters: Billie Eilish\u2019s 3D concert film, codirected by none other than James Cameron.<\/p>\n If you\u2019d rather have a movie night at home, A24\u2019s dark comedy The Drama<\/em>, starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, is now available to rent or buy. And so is the horror sequel Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, <\/em>the latest \u201ceat the rich\u201d entry.<\/p>\n And on streaming services you’re likely already paying for, the wild Rachel McAdams-Dylan O’Brien thriller Send Help, <\/em>directed by Sam Raimi, hits Hulu. For a different vibe (and a grouchy octopus!), let Netflix\u2019s Remarkably Bright Creatures <\/em>pull your heartstrings.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s get into it!<\/p>\n Why you should skip it: <\/strong>Five years after Mortal Kombat <\/em>debuted in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the sequel is here. Despite playing like an apology and a course correction for that first movie, which nobody really liked, it somehow manages to be even worse. Maybe that\u2019s because the same creative team that made the last one is back, including amateur director Simon McQuoid.<\/p>\n The fan-favorite champions \u2014 now joined by Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), a Jean-Claude Van Damme-esque washed-up \u201890s action movie star \u2014 are pitted against one another in the ultimate, no-holds-barred, gory battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its\u00a0defenders. The movie is merely a vehicle to display the series\u2019s trademarked \u201cfatalities,\u201d which sounds fun on paper but is completely undone by ruinous filmmaking.<\/p>\n The problem with the first movie \u2014 if memory serves, there\u2019s no chance in any realm that I\u2019m revisiting that stinker \u2014 is that it\u2019s a movie called Mortal Kombat, <\/em>based on the iconic arcade fighting game, and the plot of that one revolved around somebody trying to prevent<\/em> the tournament in which people fight to the death from taking place. It was also quite boring, treating the material like a superhero movie origin story \u2014 learn how Kano got that scratch and how Jax\u00a0got his arms!<\/p>\n Mortal Kombat II <\/em>continues this inane \u201cour hero getting their weapon\u201d nonsense \u2014 Kitana gets her fan blades in the opening scenes, fan service made embarrassingly literal \u2014 while also doubling down on the self-serious tone that marred the 2021 film. This really puts it at odds with itself as it clunkily shifts between deadly serious, like the opening sequence in which Kitana\u2019s dad is murdered before her eyes, and extremely silly once the Johnny Cage plot kicks in.<\/p>\n Silly is the right idea, but director McQuoid\u2019s incompetence in the action arena makes it hard to get behind. It also doesn\u2019t help that it looks like an episode of Xena: Warrior Princess <\/em>with costumes from the nearest Spirit Halloween or that the screenplay throws out ideas like \u201cstrength is not a closed fist.\u201d This is a Mortal Kombat <\/em>movie \u2014 it can be, and arguably should be, about fighting and perhaps a bit less solemn.<\/p>\n Worst of all, it\u2019s actually insulting to the action movie genre how badly Mortal Kombat II<\/em> botches what should be an easy lay-up for featuring impressive fight choreography with jaw-dropping visual flourishes, given the fantastical nature of the games.<\/p>\n The fights are so choppily edited and poorly constructed that you can\u2019t see the skills of any of the performers and therefore never feel the impact of any of it. At the very least, a movie of this size and scale should get the fundamentals right, and it firmly does not, opting for terrible-looking, rubbery CGI instead of stuntmen and hideous digital backgrounds rather than exotic real locations. It looks cheap despite being insanely expensive!<\/p>\n Mortal Kombat II seemed<\/em> like a lot of fun from the trailers, like it learned from what went wrong the last time. Nope! Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Alas, this one\u2019s poised to be a hit, so prepare yourself for Simon McQuoid to strike again.<\/p>\n What other critics are saying: <\/strong>Reviews are mixed, but many are kinder than I am! The Hollywood Reporter\u2019s Frank Scheck<\/a> writes, \u201cThe film has its rewards, mostly of the unsophisticated kind, since the fight sequences come fast and furious and the cheesy dialogue has enough groan-worthy one-liners to inspire a thousand drinking games.\u201d Benjamin Lee at the Guardian<\/a> was more cutting: \u201cBeing treated like a premium format blockbuster does not do a film like Mortal Kombat II <\/em>any favors, its junkiness less charming and more distracting, a street fighter suddenly forced to go pay-per-view.\u201d<\/p>\n How to watch:<\/strong> Mortal Kombat II <\/em>is now playing in theaters nationwide<\/a>.<\/p>\n Get tickets<\/a><\/p>\n Why you should see it: <\/strong>The Sheep Detectives<\/em> is about as good a movie starring entirely computer-generated talking sheep could be, I reckon!<\/p>\n In this utterly charming and delightful film<\/a> based on the 2005 novel Three Bags Full, <\/em>Hugh Jackman stars as George Hardy, a shepherd who reads detective novels to his beloved sheep every night, assuming they can\u2019t possibly understand. But when a mysterious incident disrupts life on the farm, the sheep realize they must become the detectives, following clues, investigating human suspects and proving that even sheep can be brilliant crime solvers.<\/p>\n The mystery is fun and engaging, but what\u2019s most unexpected here is that the film explores very human ideas through its talking sheep characters; it\u2019s ultimately a movie about accepting the tough things in life, such as the inevitability of death.<\/p>\n It\u2019s quite moving watching these sheep unlearn the comforting lies they were told \u2014 like that sheep don\u2019t die but just become clouds \u2014 in their pursuit of the truth in the murder mystery they\u2019re caught up in, all to honor the human who died. The screenplay from Craig Mazin \u2014 yes, the same man who wrote the award-winning HBO series Chernobyl \u2014 <\/em>really elevates the material.<\/p>\n The Sheep Detectives <\/em>sits comfortably alongside classics like Babe <\/em>and its sequel,\u00a0Babe: Pig in the City,<\/em>\u00a0as a fun, accessible movie for both children and adults that isn\u2019t afraid to get at quietly devastating emotional truths in the process, all in a lighthearted, funny way. That\u2019s no small feat.<\/p>\n What other critics are saying: <\/strong>Everyone digs it! Guy Lodge at Variety<\/a> writes, \u201cThere\u2019s wisdom amid the silliness, as the story gently makes a case for the necessity of grief, mindfulness and mortal awareness. … That\u2019s more than you might expect from a film called The Sheep Detectives.<\/em>\u201d Mashable\u2019s Kristy Puchko<\/a> calls it \u201ca feel-good movie that’s sure to delight all ages.\u201d<\/p>\n How to watch:<\/strong> The Sheep Detectives <\/em>is now playing in theaters nationwide<\/a>.<\/p>\n Get tickets<\/a><\/p>\n But that’s not all …<\/strong><\/p>\n\ud83c\udfa5 What to watch in theaters<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The biggest release:<\/span> Mortal Kombat II<\/em><\/h3>\n
A great option: The Sheep Detectives<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n