The Sheep Detectives (in theaters)

These sheep are serious detectives. 

Despite the talking animals, “The Sheep Detectives” isn’t meant for kids. Its real audience is anyone who loves cozy small-town mysteries, the kind where some small business owner who reads a lot of mysteries has to help the local cop deal with an unexpected dead body. The movie does a fantastic job of capturing exactly the right energy, and the fact that these locals are sheep only adds to the charm. There are moments of serious danger, genuinely surprising case reveals, and some real emotional depth. Add in some fantastic voice work, and you’ve got a deeply satisfying mystery for genre fans of all ages.

The movie features Hugh Jackman as a shepherd who reads murder mysteries to his flock every night. When he’s found dead one morning, his will highlights several possible suspects in the community. In order to bring the killer to justice and save their flock, the sheep will have to figure out who killed their shepherd and make sure the local officer sees the truth as well. 

The movie balances the sheeps’ inexperience – they’ve never walked on blacktop before – with what they’ve learned from the mystery novels. It’s also a great way to fold in the usual mystery tropes, sometimes revisiting them with a new interpretation later in the movie. 

It can also get quite emotional at times. The sheep really wrestle with the concept of death (they usually make themselves forget anything traumatizing) and it leads to some lovely moments. When we forget the pain, after all, we forget all the good stuff that came before. 

Mostly, though, there are all the mystery-related hijinks you could hope for. They may be sheep, but they know how to solve crimes. 

Grade: Three stars

Mortal Kombat 2 (in theaters)

A movie doesn’t have to be good to be entertaining.

I can’t argue that “Mortal Kombat 2” is a high-quality film, but it’s an awful lot of fun. That’s an improvement over the 2021 original, which seemingly tried to be a more serious movie and strayed too far from its source material as a result. The sequel does a good job course- correcting, focusing more on the fights and putting in plenty of references for fans. They also bring in more dynamic, watchable characters, particularly Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage and Adeline Rudolph’s Kitana. Add in just the right amount of cheesiness, and you’ve got a fight worth watching. 

For those not familiar with the series, it states that there’s a regular multidimensional fight for the fate of the universe. Various fighters are recruited for the different teams, including soldiers, criminals, and a Hollywood actor. The loser dies dramatically, with gory death moves based on the game. 

Urban is an absolute delight, nailing the washed-up Hollywood actor who accidentally grows as a human being. It’s Rudolph who serves as the movie’s real secret weapon, though, bringing an equal measure of coolness and heart. The duo fully deserve to be the movie’s main focus, and they keep your attention all the way to the end of the movie. 

Not that other beloved characters are ignored. The movie knows it was made for the fans, and though it moves quickly it never forgets that for a second. If you’re in that category, then “Mortal Kombat 2” is not to be missed. 

Grade: Two and a half stars

Jenniffer Wardell is an award-winning movie critic and member of the Denver Film Critics Society and the Utah Film Critics Association. Drop her a line at [email protected].