I lasted about 25 minutes into The Sheep Detectives before I ran away screaming. Everything about that type of film grates on me: the Disneyfied version of British rural life; the relentless forced jollity and twee-overload; the ugly, digital cinematography with its garish colour scheme (not a Netflix movie but it has that look); the twinkly, reassuring score; and the uncanny valley talking animals, which never convince. And where did these British sheep learn to speak with American accents?
Remember when Carroll Ballard made soulful, poetic children's films about animals?
The Films of 2026
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yoshimori
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 6:03 am
- Location: LA CA
Re: The Films of 2026
At least the sofa didn't resort to a pre-packaged ad hominem gif. Or was that somehow ironic?
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wattsup32
- Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 4:00 pm
Re: The Films of 2026
Amen to that! From now on, Jack, create ad hominem gifs from scratch.yoshimori wrote: Thu Jul 09, 2026 8:52 pm At least the sofa didn't resort to a pre-packaged ad hominem gif. Or was that somehow ironic?
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beamish14
- Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 7:07 pm
Re: The Films of 2026
I can’t conceive of any film being a greater or a more pleasant surprise than The Misconceived. Ostensibly about a failed filmmaker who takes a home renovation job at his wealthy college roommate’s house, it touches upon economic anxiety faced by millennials while also acerbically addressing how studios like A24 and Neon, along with their parallels in the art world, dictate what is “important” in culture.
Oh, and the whole movie is rendered in Unreal Engine and scored with stock music, which amplifies the absurdity and somehow draws us closer to the ideas it explores.
In a Q&A with director James N. Kienitz Wilkins, he explained that the film was essentially created 5 times, with the dialogue recorded first, then actors recording physical gestures in motion capture suits, and rendered with figures that were purchased online. He was adamant that no AI was used, which makes the aural and visual qualities decidedly more uncanny and easy for the viewer to rapidly acclimate to and accept. Wilkins doesn’t consider the film to be animated, although it essentially uses a modified type of rotoscoping, in part because none of the characters were designed from scratch.
As it is an extremely dialogue-heavy film, it really demands multiple viewings, but I’m unsure as to when it will get a Blu-Ray release. It is touring in both a DCP and 35mm print, having played at Anthology Film Archives in New York, Rotterdam, and now in Los Angeles
Oh, and the whole movie is rendered in Unreal Engine and scored with stock music, which amplifies the absurdity and somehow draws us closer to the ideas it explores.
In a Q&A with director James N. Kienitz Wilkins, he explained that the film was essentially created 5 times, with the dialogue recorded first, then actors recording physical gestures in motion capture suits, and rendered with figures that were purchased online. He was adamant that no AI was used, which makes the aural and visual qualities decidedly more uncanny and easy for the viewer to rapidly acclimate to and accept. Wilkins doesn’t consider the film to be animated, although it essentially uses a modified type of rotoscoping, in part because none of the characters were designed from scratch.
As it is an extremely dialogue-heavy film, it really demands multiple viewings, but I’m unsure as to when it will get a Blu-Ray release. It is touring in both a DCP and 35mm print, having played at Anthology Film Archives in New York, Rotterdam, and now in Los Angeles