Did you hear the good news? That’s right, the Complex TV era is here via Fuse Media, bringing you the best of Sneaker Shopping, GOAT Talk, and other Complex properties with series and documentaries that further explore the convergence culture at the heart of Complex. It’s the Complex experience, told through our original programming and a curated collection of content.
Part of that experience is a rotating selection of movies that capture the Complex voice. In August, there is everything from Christopher Nolan’s and Quentin Tarantino’s feature-length films to cult classics like Shottas and King of New York. These films and the rest of August’s content are all available to stream for free on Complex.TV and on your smart TV on Samsung TV+, The Roku Channel, Vizio Watch Free, Prime Video Channels, and more. As we head into the month of August, here’s a look at the best movies to watch on Complex TV.
King of New York (1990)
Director: Abel Ferrara
Starring: Christopher Walken, Laurence Fishburne, David Caruso, Victor Argo, Wesley Snipes, Janet Julian, Joey Chin, Giancarlo Esposito, Paul Calderon
Air Date(s): 8/1, 8/2, 8/9, 8/10, 8/15, 8/16, 8/20, 8/21, 8/26, 8/27, 8/31
Christopher Walken’s performance as Frank White was so epic that the late, great Notorious B.I.G. adopted the character’s name as one of his monikers. Hellbent on taking back what’s his when returning from prison, Frank White basically spends the movie’s runtime trying to live up to the movie’s title, one bloody altercation at a time.
Empire State (2013)
Director: Dito Montiel
Starring: Liam Hemsworth, Emma Roberts, Dwayne Johnson
Air Date(s): 8/1, 8/3, 8/8, 8/15, 8/22, 8/27
Ever wonder what it’s like when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is in a film but isn’t in the lead role? Empire State is what you get, with Liam Hemsworth leading a cast in film that is loosely based on the Lufthansa heist. Even if the film isn’t your cup of tea, it’s a good one to document the rise of megastar Johnson in Hollywood.
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen
Air Date(s): 8/2, 8/5, 8/8, 8/11, 8/16, 8/22, 8/25, 8/30
Tarantino’s feature-length directorial debut shook the industry something fierce. The non-linear, foul-mouthed, ultraviolent heist flick is a great look at what makes Tarantino Tarantino. Conversations that go on for a while and have nothing to do with the actual story? Check. Loads of throwback needle drops and pop culture references? Check. An ensemble cast featuring some of your favorite actors’ favorite actors? Super check. There’s a reason why Tarantino became who he is today.
Original Gangstas (1996)
Director: Larry Cohen
Starring: Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam Grier, Paul Winfield, Isabel Sanford, Ron O'Neal, Richard Roundtree
Air Date(s): 8/3, 8/4, 8/14, 8/15, 8/18, 8/19, 8/22, 8/23, 8/27, 8/28
The last film Larry Cohen directed is an homage to the blaxploitation era, starring legends like Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam Grier, Ron O’Neal, and Richard Roundtree in a movie where a bunch of the real OGs from a Gary, Indiana neighborhood—the Rebels—return to rid the city of the crime and gangs the only way they know how.
Foxy Brown (1974)
Director: Jack Hill
Starring: Pam Grier, Peter Brown, Terry Carter, Kathryn Loder, Harry Holcombe
Air Date(s): 8/5, 8/14, 8/25
Pam Grier, who you may have seen in Quentin Tarantino’s 1997 classic Jackie Brown, became one of the legends of the blaxploitation genre in the 1970s, often playing a beautiful woman seeking revenge after being wronged in some way. In Foxy Brown (which is indeed where Foxy Brown got her name), Grier’s character is taking on the drug dealers after they took out her man. Not only is Foxy Brown one of Grier’s six blaxploitation flicks for American International Pictures, but it’s also arguably one of her biggest. Why else do you think Tarantino decided to cast her in Jackie Brown?
Killing Them Softly (2012)
Director: Andrew Dominik
Starring: Brad Pitt, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, Sam Shepard
Air Date(s): 8/5, 8/6, 8/10, 8/11, 8/17, 8/18, 8/23, 8/24, 8/28, 8/29
Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, and Ray Liotta in one film?! The film, based on the 1974 novel Cogan’s Trade, follows hitman Jackie Cogan (Pitt), who is dispatched to handle the fallout from a stick-up that took place during a mob-ran private poker game. It’s a funny, violent film that delivers a violent tale about excess hanging under the 2008 financial crisis.
Blue Hill Avenue (2001)
Director: Craig Ross Jr.
Starring: Allen Payne, Andrew Divoff, Clarence Williams III, William Forsythe
Air Date(s): 8/6, 8/7, 8/11, 8/12, 8/18, 8/19, 8/24, 8/25, 8/28, 8/29,
While many films detailing what crime in cities like Los Angeles or New York is for Black people, Blue Hill Avenue takes viewers to the South End of Boston through an engaging story and dynamic acting performances. Allen Payne is one actor in particular who always delivers, and aside from Jason’s Lyric, Blue Hill Avenue is one of the films in his career where he’s truly been able to deliver as a lead. If you don’t watch anything else on Complex TV in May, be sure to watch Blue Hill Avenue.
Shottas (2002)
Director: Cess Silvera
Starring: Ky-Mani Marley, Spragga Benz, Paul Campbell, Louie Rankin
Air Date(s): 8/6, 8/7, 8/12, 8/13, 8/18, 8/19, 8/24, 8/25, 8/30, 8/31
Like Belly, Shottas is a cult classic that you may not be able to recreate. Starring one of Bob Marley’s children and legends like Spragga Benz and Louie Rankin, Shottas follows the life of two guys from Kingston and their criminal escapades across Jamaica and throughout Miami. It’s the type of film that may not have been accessible to many at the time of release, but that resonates throughout the hip-hop and dancehall scenes on both sides of the pond.
187 (1997)
Director: Kevin Reynolds
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, John Heard, Kelly Rowan, Clifton Gonzalez Gonzalez
Air Date(s): 8/7, 8/19, 8/25
Surprisingly one of the darker films on this list, 187 is also one of Samuel L. Jackson’s more slept-on performances. In the film, he plays Trevor Garfield, a teacher who finds the police code for homicide—”187”—written in a textbook by one of his students, who eventually stabs him. After relocating and taking up a substitute teaching job that presents the same issues, Trevor is driven over the edge, with a story that culminates in a violent conclusion. Worth it for Jackson’s work alone.
Memento (2000)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano
Air Date(s): 8/18
The film that got Nolan nationwide recognition, Memento is a story that’s told from two different points of view about Leonard (Pearce), a man with anterograde amnesia (aka the inability to form new long-term memories compounded with short-term memory loss), who is hellbent on finding the man who took his wife and trapped him in this nightmare. If your introduction to Nolan was his Batman trilogy or films like Inception, and you’re preparing for The Odyssey, run back this classic; it highlights how long Nolan has been working at this high level.
