In wide release, you can still catch Adam Cooper's classic noir 'Sleeping Dogs.' About why this simple but stylish film is hopelessly outdated cinema—in our review.

In the academic town, local professor Joseph Videll (Marton Csokas), who taught psychology and self-analysis, is murdered. The murder was committed with extreme cruelty. The only suspect in this case, Isaac Samuel (Pacharo Mzembe), gave a confession at the time and is awaiting execution on death row. Suddenly, 10 years later, new circumstances emerge in the case, after which the condemned Isaac recants his confession and asks to be connected with a detective named Roy Freeman (Russell Crowe), who once handled the case and retired due to health reasons. Freeman has progressive Alzheimer's disease, remembers little of his past life, but on his doctor's advice, he undertakes to reconstruct the course of the investigation. If only to stimulate his brain and increase positive treatment dynamics.

Ellina Chernikova

The Good, the Bad, the Other: 9 of Our Favorite Ridley Scott Films

On November 22, the world saw Ridley Scott's new historical epic 'Napoleon' starring Joaquin Phoenix. And while the renowned director fends off the onslaught of critics with the techniques of the first

Open material

Almost rediscovering the circumstances of the case, Freeman finds many blank spots and realizes that someone did not want to fully understand the details of those bygone days, simply pinning the blame on Isaac. Freeman slowly begins to stir up the past and agitate those involved in the investigation. And they don't like that the retired detective starts digging where he shouldn't.

The productivity of Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe, whose films are consistently released several times a year, can be explained by the fact that the charismatic Australian, who has proven everything to everyone, now simply acts for his own pleasure, not shying away from participating in both major projects and generously giving carte blanche to novice directors, among whom is the director of 'Sleeping Dogs,' Adam Cooper.

Cooper can't be called a complete novice. His track record includes over a dozen screenplays for films, including 'The Loft,' 'The Transporter Refueled,' and the notorious but panned 'Assassin's Creed.' But 'Sleeping Dogs' is his first directorial and screenwriting effort. By the way, Crowe himself occasionally takes the helm and directs films, but this experience cannot yet be called particularly successful, and his recent 'Poker Face' (not to be confused with the TV series of the same name) was drowned in the wrath of critics accusing the film of clumsy plotlines.

Vitaly Gizatullin

Cards, Crowe, Two Tables: Review of the Film 'Poker Face'

Ridley Scott's favorite, Oscar-winning Russell Crowe, marked his next directorial work after an eight-year hiatus. About why his 'Poker Face,' conceived as a crime thriller,

Open material

'Sleeping Dogs' also doesn't reach for the stars. It's a rather old-fashioned, simple, slightly sluggish noir with the inevitable and nameless femme fatale (in this role, the beautiful Karen Gillan), stylish semi-dark bars with alcohol, a classic evidence wall, and anxiously glowing car headlights in the night. Fans of detective stories won't be annoyed by the lack of answers to the main questions—everything will be pedantically laid out on the shelves, including the childishly naive shootouts. But those who want to see something like Nolan's 'Memento' or 'L.A. Confidential' with the same Crowe in the lead role will be somewhat disappointed. If only because the solution in the style of 'the butler did it,' despite the abundance of suspects, will be revealed within about 30 minutes of screen time.

The only consolation will be the motives of the crime, which you guess until the very end, but even there there will be no big surprises. And in between, you can simply watch how the former cop, like a puzzle, puts the investigation together anew. By the way, to make everyone understand this metaphor, Crowe's character actually assembles a huge puzzle as part of his prescribed treatment. 20 years ago, such a film would have been at least memorable, but, alas, in a world where four seasons of 'True Detective' already exist, it looks rather dull.

Evgeny Belousov

No Longer True: Review of the Series 'True Detective: Night Country' (Season 4)

The fourth season of the anthology series 'True Detective' has concluded on HBO. For the first time, the show was made without the participation of its creator Nic Pizzolatto, but despite record viewership,

Open material

True, the Australian actor doesn't slack off here either, seemingly enjoying emphasizing the old-school grit. He is again, as in most of his past works, quite convincing. In the guise of the lost, embarrassed detective Freeman, who can't recognize any of his old acquaintances, he appears sometimes as a simple but attentive investigator, like Lieutenant Columbo. And in flashbacks, he appears as a tyrant husband, an aggressive alcoholic, or just a person passing by a crime scene and stopping to gawk at what's happening. All the contradictions of his character are not overplayed.

How honest was he in that investigation? Why does his partner so insistently ask not to stir up the past, literally 'let sleeping dogs lie' (a reference to the film's title)? Why did Isaac immediately confess to the crime and then recant? 'Sleeping Dogs' is a world full of official secrets, fateful choices, shadowy manipulations, love passions, and mutual responsibility. Was Freeman part of this world, or, on the contrary, did he live apart from it—a question that will torment him and the viewer until the final credits.