Aaron Dembski-Bowden is back!
Sandman Meditations – The Wake
Matthew Cheney is reaching the end in these collected essays on Neil Gaiman’s epic Sandman run with The Wake.
Gareth Edwards Interview | Monsters
This guy directed Star Wars Rogue One!
Deadpool – Badass of the Week
Ben Thompson chronicles the crazy badass history and highlights of the Merc
The Goonies – Troy’s Bucket (and Why I Ain’t Riding Up It)
If you’re anything like me, you’re broke. Not quite selling-your-plasma-for-lunch-money broke. But definitely dodging-bill-collectors-and-praying-to-a-God-you-don’t-believe-in-that-your-car-won’t-break-down-again broke.
DC: THE NEW FRONTIER… Stripp’d
0. Looking Back in order to Move Forward One of the more interesting developments in superhero comics has been the growing popularity of comics that take familiar characters and transplant them into unfamiliar historical contexts. Though this type of postmodern speculative exercise has been around in one form or another since the Silver Age, the… Continue reading DC: THE NEW FRONTIER… Stripp’d
What is Style? – Notes From New Sodom
Big question. Hal Duncan has (long) answers.
Cut For Your Pleasure – LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL
Exploring censorship, alternate versions of crime classics and the reasons behind creative changes. This edition: LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL
12 Time-Twisted Crime Films
It’s time to spring forward, as the saying goes. What daylight savings actually saves is beyond me. Just another way of making me wake up earlier than sunrise. Twisting time has worked a whole lot better in crime cinema.
Takin’ ‘er Easy for All Us Sinners: The World According to Jeffrey Lebowski
The Big Lebowski enjoys what is probably the largest cult following of all the cult-attracting films of Joel and Ethan Coen, and has pretty much since its release over a decade ago. And “cult” has become more apropos a term since the advent of Dudeism, the official unofficial philosophy of Jeffrey “the Dude” Lebowski (dudeism.com).… Continue reading Takin’ ‘er Easy for All Us Sinners: The World According to Jeffrey Lebowski
Chew… Stripp’d
Food is the archetypal First World problem. While some parts of the world starve and other parts are turned inside out by our demand for low-cost and low-fuss supplies of exotic and increasingly refined foodstuffs, the West is growing increasingly alienated and distant from the things that it eats.
Top 10 Science Fiction Movies of the Decade 2000-2009
All the end-of-year/decade lists going up right now inspired me to hit one up of my own. And all the hype about James Cameron’s Avatar, which is being trumpeted as some sort of monumental science fiction success, gave me just the topic: the actual best science fiction movies of the aughts.
Playin’ With Ice and Fire: A Game of Thoughts | Jon Snow Chapter 19
She’s new, I’m the re-reader. She’s the newbie, I’m the spoilery vet. Together She’s g-mashin’ George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones and getting here POV on. Today she moves on to Chapter 19, a Jon Snow POV chapter. You can also read my interview with George R. R. Martin if it pleases you
Playin’ With Ice and Fire: A Game of Thoughts | Catelyn Stark Chapter 18
She’s new, I’m the re-reader. She’s the newbie, I’m the spoilery vet. Together She’s g-mashin’ George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones and getting here POV on. Today she moves on to Chapter 18, a Catelyn Stark POV chapter. You can also read my interview with George R. R. Martin if it pleases you
Songs of Hate, Part Two: The Visual Instead Of The Verbal
We left off last column with a run-down on the first of actress/singer Meiko Kaji’s Female Prisoner Scorpion series and a hint that things were about to get pretty weird. Well, the phantasmagoria goes full bore in the second film in the series, Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (Joshuu Sasori – Dai 41 Zakkyobo). Filmed, like its predecessor, in 1972,… Continue reading Songs of Hate, Part Two: The Visual Instead Of The Verbal
Forget It, Eddie, It’s Toontown – The Crime Fiction Roots Of Roger Rabbit
My friend’s dad took us to see Willow one sunny summer’s day in 1988. It was a good movie and all, but honestly I was extremely distracted throughout the whole thing. All I could think about was one of the coming attractions I’d seen for a film called Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I’d seen Bedknobs… Continue reading Forget It, Eddie, It’s Toontown – The Crime Fiction Roots Of Roger Rabbit
G.I. Joe Rawhides – 30 Years Later, the G.I. Joe Animated Movie
Back in 1987 fans of G.I. Joe got an animated film that has gone on to become a pretty divisive movie during a time which was probably the height of or toward the end of the height of the popularity for the G.I. Joe brand. Much like the Transformers animated film from the previous year… Continue reading G.I. Joe Rawhides – 30 Years Later, the G.I. Joe Animated Movie
The Ten Greatest Henchmen In Movie History
Say you’re putting together a syndicate. One of the first things that you are going to need is somebody to take care of your light work for you when words have run out. As a means of determining the appropriate skill set for this oh-so-important addition to your workforce, the Complex has assembled a ranking… Continue reading The Ten Greatest Henchmen In Movie History
The Millennium Falcon or Serenity? | Point/Counterpoint
If there’s one thing nerds like to do, it’s debate. And if there’s one thing nerds like to debate about, it’s useless trivia from TV shows and movies. Thus, we humbly submit for your reading pleasure: The Nerd Point/Counterpoint. This week’s topic: Which is the better cargo ship? The Millennium Falcon or Serenity? The Millennium… Continue reading The Millennium Falcon or Serenity? | Point/Counterpoint
7 Toughest Comebacks in Crime Film
Crime heroes and villains got it rough. They’re usually up to the gills in trouble and their genre, unlike horror, doesn’t smile on its bad-asses soaking up too many bullets. A fortunate – or unfortunate, if you’re a “the grave’s half empty” kind of person – few manage some superhuman comebacks. Whether by the power… Continue reading 7 Toughest Comebacks in Crime Film
Batman or Rorschach? – Point/Counterpoint
o, who would you rather have operating just outside the law to protect your city? Batman or Rorschach? Discuss!
Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay Review
I have a set of bright memories associated with various of Guy Gavriel Kay’s novels: Sitting, aged 13, grief-stricken and sobbing in a cold bath having finished “The Darkest Road”, the final weft in his Fionavar Tapestry; drooping in my early morning lectures five years later having welcomed in the dawn with the last page… Continue reading Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay Review
Shai-Hulud from DUNE or Falkor the Luck Dragon from THE NEVERENDING STORY? – Point/Counterpoint
The question on everyone’s lips, which we humbly seek to answer today, “Which is the better ridiculous mode of transportation, Shai-Hulud from Frank Herbert’s Dune series, or Falkor the Luck Dragon from The Neverending Story?
The 5 Worst TV Crime Show Finales
You’d think it would be easy to wrap up a crime TV series. Punish the bad guys, save the day and solve the mystery. The audience can turn off the set with their belief in an ordered universe confirmed. Easy as it may seem, plenty of crime shows flip out and faceplant when it’s time… Continue reading The 5 Worst TV Crime Show Finales
6 Most Twisted Pranks in Crime Film
A perfect crime always has a bit of a prank to it. When you’re breaking the law, you’re duping society, after all. You play a joke on old Lady Justice. The punchline just happens to be a few steamer trunks of bearer bonds or a well-buried corpse. But some crimes take the yukks to the… Continue reading 6 Most Twisted Pranks in Crime Film
The better sci-fi/fantasy pet? Spot from Star Trek: TNG, or Oy from Stephen King’s Dark Tower | Point/Counterpoint
This week we seek to answer that most pressing of questions: Which is the better sci-fi/fantasy pet? Spot from Star Trek: The Next Generation, or Oy from Stephen King’s Dark Tower series?
5 Terrifying Crime Films That Actually Happened
There are plenty of crime films that straddle some scary territory: Serial killer suspense stories, “realistic” horror and a couple gangster-style stories with eerie elements. But even though Hollywood gets accused of slathering on the ultraviolence with a spatula, that’s often just what we want to believe to protect our nerves.
Songs of Hate: Meiko Kaji and Female Prisoner Scorpion (Part One)
She sold over a million albums, her films inspired much of Kill Bill, and when she didn’t want to do what she was asked of by executives, she said uh-uh and split for greener pastures. Her name is Meiko Kaji. Possessed with a confidence and an intensity that saw her type-cast as one of Japan’s toughest bad girls,… Continue reading Songs of Hate: Meiko Kaji and Female Prisoner Scorpion (Part One)
It’s Not The Quantity, It’s The Quality: Sion Sono’s COLD FISH
Back in my days teaching English in Japan, I raised the topic of murders and why they were so frequently extreme in Japan. One student actually said in reply, “It’s not the quantity, it’s the quality.” Kind of grimly funny, and a nice attempt at busting out some natural speech, but the thing is, I… Continue reading It’s Not The Quantity, It’s The Quality: Sion Sono’s COLD FISH
Top 10 Restaurants In Crime Film
Crime films often make me hungry. Often the restaurant scenes are among the best remembered in crime flicks. The coffee shops and Italian kitchens and juke joints where criminal characters go to grab a bite or do dirt serve to define them.
The Entertainers: 5 Essential Movies of Scam Cinema
Hollywood: it’s all a scam, isn’t it? For all of our lives, the movies have promised us big, big things. Action and adventure are just out there waiting for us. Good always triumphs over evil. A simple confusion of gender will result in a humorous situation. And everybody is having way more sex than you. Like… Continue reading The Entertainers: 5 Essential Movies of Scam Cinema
The Chimpanzee Complex… Stripp’d
There is consolation in conspiracy. Whenever something terrible happens, humans look for answers and they don’t stop looking even when they have found them: It wasn’t Oswald who killed Kennedy, it was the mob or the commies, or the CIA. It wasn’t a drunk driver who killed Princess Diana; it was British Intelligence and the… Continue reading The Chimpanzee Complex… Stripp’d
Memories of Wing Commander
There aren’t many things from my youth that I truly miss, but one of the members of that elite group is the space combat flight simulator game. Once quite common, they are all but unknown today, and that’s a shame. For me, personally, my regret at the genre’s passing is about much more than the… Continue reading Memories of Wing Commander
In and Out of The Big House: DOING TIME and 9 SOULS
By his own admission, noted Mangaka (pro comics creator) Kazuichi Hanawa had long been interested in themes of confinement. An early, unfinished experiment was a manga concerning a masked man locked up in a basement. It’s oddly appropriate then that Hanawa, a noted collector of replica firearms would, years later, be incarcerated in Hokkaido and serve roughly… Continue reading In and Out of The Big House: DOING TIME and 9 SOULS
More Evil, the Borg or the Aliens? | Point/Counterpoint
In our never-ending quest to reduce the absurd, we offer the following Point/Counterpoint discussion: Who is the better evil insidious race, the Borg, or the Aliens?
Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit… Stripp’d
Some would say that beautiful lives bloom only in the shadow cast by death. But while this may very well be true, how could we ever know for sure? Statements like this one and Plato’s ‘the unexamined life is not worth living’ are supposed to be useful and practical advice that help us to determine… Continue reading Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit… Stripp’d
RPGs I didn’t get to play: The 8-bit years
I had the bad timing to become a console RPG fan at the dawn of the 1990s. This was originally due to a promotional gimmick run by Nintendo Power magazine in which they gave away a free copy of the game Dragon Warrior to new subscribers. My friends were bored to tears by it, but… Continue reading RPGs I didn’t get to play: The 8-bit years
Whitechapel Squad: The Detective Comics of Warren Ellis
I’ve long believed Warren Ellis is a crime-fiction writer at heart. The first series of Wolfskin was a clear example of sword-and-sorcery comics, but had that distinct Yojimbo/Fistful of Dollars feel, a dyed-in-the-wool crook playing both sides. Comics like Aetheric Mechanics and Captain Swing are solid steampunk works, yet revolve around cops-and-robbers shenanigans. One of the driving tenets of our work here at… Continue reading Whitechapel Squad: The Detective Comics of Warren Ellis
Black Crime Fiction: An Introduction
I. Introduction II. The Holy Trinity – Chester Himes, Iceberg Slim and Donald Goines III. Gone, Forgotten and Waiting for Discovery – Robert Deane Pharr & Clarence Cooper Jr. IV. The Best of the Rest V. Lost to History – Jerome Dyson Wright & Charlie Avery Harris VI. The tip of the Iceberg (but not… Continue reading Black Crime Fiction: An Introduction
Arrivederci, Eltingville
Comic book nerds are easy targets. Fish in a barrel and on crutches, to boot. Not to put too fine a point on it, but going to down to comics conventions and making fun of grown men dressed in tights or in Klingon make-up is not unlike heckling the Special Olympics. Maybe it’s less guilt-inducing,… Continue reading Arrivederci, Eltingville
Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky Review
Empire in Black and Gold is the debut of British author Adrian Tchaikovsky and the first installment in a trilogy titled Shadows of the Apt. In his debut Tchaikovsky gives us a heroic narrative where a small group of travellers offer resistance against overwhelming odds – a narrative pattern typical of epic fantasy. Empire in… Continue reading Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky Review
Best Fantasy Movies of the Decade: 2000-2009
When I was asked to write a companion piece to my Best Science Fiction Movies of the Decade list, I thought it would be equally as easy. I was wrong. There were a lot of kind of good fantasy movies over the last 10 years, but not really a lot of great ones. I think… Continue reading Best Fantasy Movies of the Decade: 2000-2009
Charlie Adlard Interview – Portrait of the Artist as a Walking Dead Man
Back in the nineties, I had the pleasure of working with Charlie Adlard on Topp’s The X-Files comic. Ages later, the man who draws The Walking Dead was kind enough to spend some time catching up on Skype. And it all went something like this… Stefan: I leave you alone a while, and you’re surrounded… Continue reading Charlie Adlard Interview – Portrait of the Artist as a Walking Dead Man
The Scott Pilgrim Girlfriend Test
So you’ve finally met a girl who seems cool. Outlook: positive…except that you can’t figure out how to suss out her level of nerdery without offending her or seeming even geekier than you are by running through every conceivable point of geekiness she might secretly have. Well, you’re in luck, because the graphic novel series… Continue reading The Scott Pilgrim Girlfriend Test
Phonogram… Stripp’d
One could argue that the enduring popularity of genre motifs is a direct result of the death of God. Prior to the Enlightenment, the people of the ancient and medieval worlds knew their place. They knew that there were gods and demons, monsters and spirits. They knew that the good things in life could be… Continue reading Phonogram… Stripp’d
Scam Artist Hall Of Fame: M. Sgt. E.G. Bilko
Welcome, dear friends and other suckers, to a new regular feature here at the Criminal Complex. Yes, the Scam Artist Hall Of Fame, as demanded by none of you, will highlight those great men and women, fictional and non, who through their erudite shrewdness and intelligence part money from its fools. Our inaugural inductee is… Continue reading Scam Artist Hall Of Fame: M. Sgt. E.G. Bilko
Before Youtube, Ninjak Debuts with a Bloodshot Problem in VALIANT Comics
… ahhh classic VALIANT.
Back to Amberle & Brooks’ The Elfstones – MTV’s Shannara Chronicles Trailer
I will admit that I’m pretty easy to please but this thing looks better than I could have imagined. I’d consider myself very well entrenched in the world(s) of Terry Brooks, including and perhaps mostly his Shannara output, even though I’m not a mega fan in that way being a The Lord of the Rings… Continue reading Back to Amberle & Brooks’ The Elfstones – MTV’s Shannara Chronicles Trailer
Judging Jorah Mormont as Daenerys Targaryen’s Champion
A lot things happened in last week’s episode that people want to talk about a lot more — and oddly I think that particular one was one of the better shot, edited, and acted scenes in a episode that was otherwise kind of a disaster — but I wanted to go into some other directions, namely that of a… Continue reading Judging Jorah Mormont as Daenerys Targaryen’s Champion
Ten Things About House Targaryen for Game of Thrones Fans
Back to Game of Thrones as a lot of people read my Ten Things about Dorne and House Martell and a similar post about House Stark so I thought it might be worthwhile to go back to Westeros and do something similar around for the HBO watchers. I’ve been reading George R.R. Martin’s A Song… Continue reading Ten Things About House Targaryen for Game of Thrones Fans
The Order of the Blue Flower by Hal Duncan – Notes from New Sodom
Science Fiction and Fantasy broken down and put back together by Hal Duncan on the quest forthe Blue Flower.
The Evolution of the Serial Killer
America has always been crazy about serial killers. They’re our homegrown werewolves. They click with the fast-food car culture that roars in the country’s busy, busy heart. They fit neatly with our cult-of-celebrity-style national mythology. These beasts that seem like men, mowing through victims like McDonald’s cheeseburgers, speeding for the televised takedown by John Q.… Continue reading The Evolution of the Serial Killer
Real = Angst – The Grim ‘N’ Gritty Trend Of The Non-Powered Superhero
Arrow, the WB action television series, starring Stephen Amell’s abs, based on the DC comic book series, Green Arrow, recently debuted and has now been picked up for a full season. Honestly, I haven’t seen the show yet, and had little intention to do so after what I felt looked like a lacklustre trailer. However,… Continue reading Real = Angst – The Grim ‘N’ Gritty Trend Of The Non-Powered Superhero
Cult Film Cult Crimes – Rob Zombie and THE LORDS OF SALEM
Somewhere on the fringe of mainstream film, there’s a frenzied community of artists who illustrate an elemental aspect of crime. They don’t bother with the ticky-tack trivia of the procedural. They don’t focus on the grand fables of revenge and wrongs righted.
Strong Bonds – 007 from DR. NO to SKYFALL
British singer Adele has yet again proven herself to be a family friendly version of Amy Winehouse by recording a theme to a James Bond film, by (unlike the late Ms. Winehouse) actually getting the song recorded. And yeah, the song Skyfall (from the new James Bond film, the name of which I’m drawing a… Continue reading Strong Bonds – 007 from DR. NO to SKYFALL
Mae Catt – She Likes To Watch Monsters And Men
On the occasion of the Emmys’ passing, let’s take a step outside the spotlight. I want to lead you to the fringes for a moment. You need to meet an artist who has yet to hold a gold statue aloft on a high-profile red carpet, but who is brilliant enough to be seen in the… Continue reading Mae Catt – She Likes To Watch Monsters And Men
Boozed Up And Beaten Down: Noir, Realism, And Alcohol
Booze and crime goes hand in hand like booze and being hugely attractive and winning in life. I am drinking while writing this, because something something simpatico and shit. After speaking with my editor about the topic of this week’s column, I was told “Liam, you’re a pathetic drunk, either clean up your act, or… Continue reading Boozed Up And Beaten Down: Noir, Realism, And Alcohol
The Innocence Of Morons – Sam Bacile & Cranked-Out Propaganda
If you find yourself with fifteen minutes to kill this evening, you can go to YouTube and pull up the video that is currently causing murder and mayhem and destruction in the Middle East this evening. No, it isn’t Gangnam Style. It’s that strange new cinematic sensation, Innocence of Muslims.
To Ride Or Not To Ride – SAMCRO & Formulas For The Perfect Crime Story
Much like most of the civilized world, I knew what yesterday meant: The premiere of Sons of Anarchy, Season 5. I was pretty jazzed. I would DVR that bad bastard and catch it when convenience struck. Or, if I was too lazy or forgetful to do that, I could snag it On Demand. I wasn’t… Continue reading To Ride Or Not To Ride – SAMCRO & Formulas For The Perfect Crime Story
The Pigs That Are Their Food – THE KING OF PIGS And BLEAK NIGHT
The Korean Film Festival in Australia (or KOFFIA, the acronym they’ve mercifully given me so that I don’t have to type out “The Korean Film Festival in Australia” too many times. I am not paid by the word, which is clearly why I’m so concise with any tangents and diversions within my pieces, and only… Continue reading The Pigs That Are Their Food – THE KING OF PIGS And BLEAK NIGHT
My Name Is Markham – The TV Sensibilities of NEAR DEATH
Near Death is one of the spate of high-quality comic books Image has been cranking out over the past couple of years, and I finally did myself the favor of reading it. Of course, now it appears the series has gone on hiatus just as I am getting on board (sad trombone). Fingers crossed that… Continue reading My Name Is Markham – The TV Sensibilities of NEAR DEATH
Up Jumped The New World Order – The New Rules of Satanism In Pop Music
Before we get too far into this, I want everybody to remember that there was a time when the members of Mötley Crüe were presumed to be dangerous servants of the Devil. I should also say that I’m relatively new to the notion of Illuminati Satanism, and that anything you read herein has been out… Continue reading Up Jumped The New World Order – The New Rules of Satanism In Pop Music
The City Of I Will – Why BOSS Is Kelsey Grammer’s Greatest Work
It’s strange when you consider that Boss is Kelsey Grammer’s first major dramatic role. He has always been known for playing upright, no-nonsense roles, but for laughs. Boss season 2, which premiered this past Friday on Starz, is definitely no laughing matter, and regardless of how lauded Grammer has been for his comedy work, the… Continue reading The City Of I Will – Why BOSS Is Kelsey Grammer’s Greatest Work
Thawing Mr. Freeze – The Life And Death And Life Of Schwarzenegger’s Career
The implications of resurrecting Arnold Schwarzenegger. For the record, I voted for Gallagher. In the Second Great American Mindfuck of the early 21st Century, also known as the 2003 California Gubernatorial Recall Election, I was one of 5,466 watermelon-hating voters who chose to throw away their vote on comedian Gallagher rather than the action star… Continue reading Thawing Mr. Freeze – The Life And Death And Life Of Schwarzenegger’s Career
“Ya Wouldn’t Bloody Like Me When I’m Angry, Mate” – Eric Bana’s Weird Career Progression
Australian of many hats (and presumably berets, gloves, scarves and other assorted fineries) Eric Bana, is close to signing on to star in Lone Survivor. The Peter Berg-directed flick based on the events of SEAL Team 10’s “Operation Red Wing,” where the Navy SEALs were ambushed while on a covert assassination mission in Afghanistan in 2005.… Continue reading “Ya Wouldn’t Bloody Like Me When I’m Angry, Mate” – Eric Bana’s Weird Career Progression
Get A Haircut Robert Pattinson – COSMOPOLIS
Well, kids, it’s almost here. The wide release on August 17th of Robert Pattinson’s latest vehicle, the David Cronenberg film Cosmopolis, is only days away, and if you listen closely, you can hear the eager squeals of anticipation from Bobby’s legions of fans. And now there have been brand-new stills released from the film, which… Continue reading Get A Haircut Robert Pattinson – COSMOPOLIS
Books Punch Your Face – The Crime Midsummer Reading List
Eight noir novels to help fill your endless summer with a sense of overwhelming dread and paranoia. Okay, so I’m the professor who wakes up three weeks before the end of the semester and hits everybody over the head with a pile of mandatory reading assignments that everybody has to crowbar in between midnight finals… Continue reading Books Punch Your Face – The Crime Midsummer Reading List
What Are The Odds These Crime Film Remakes Will Happen?
Well, it’s a day ending in “y,” which means it’s time for Criminal Complex’s resident “typical internet fucktard” to vigorously blow his horn every which way over your face about film remakes. Film announcements are a lot like possums – cute to look at, but likely to disappear up your arse before anything more comes… Continue reading What Are The Odds These Crime Film Remakes Will Happen?
Badass Moments in Sci-Fi History
A guest blog by Ben Thompson, who kicks ass.
12 Messed-Up Memorial Day HATFIELDS & MCCOYS Premiere Facts
No other folk do blood feuds like Mason-Dixon Line Americans. Wedged between the Smoky Mountains and the Mississippi is enough pure meanness to power New York City from now until the Mayan Doomsday. They may pronounce themselves zealots for the religion of “turn the other cheek,” but hillbillies make Sicilian mobsters look laid back.
The Who, What, When, Where, And Why Of AWAKE’s Cancellation
Or, why I’ll never be fooled by NBC again. So, this is the last time that I will speak or write about Awake. In fact, this might be the last time anybody issues any type of missive in regards to NBC’s most recent series cancellation.
A Very Noticeable Young Lady: Lucie Blackman, High Touch Town History & PEOPLE WHO EAT DARKNESS – The Nail That Sticks Out
In part 9 of THE NAIL THAT STICKS OUT, we delve into the case of Lucie Blackman, the gaijin hostess who never left Roppongi alive.
The Ten Most Dangerous Broads In Film
It’s Ladies’ Night at the Complex. We’ve covered a pretty broad spectrum of shady characters over the past few months around here, but with Mother’s Day coming up in a few weeks, we felt it entirely appropriate to tip our collective hats to all the wonderful women that keep us under a thin layer of… Continue reading The Ten Most Dangerous Broads In Film
Apocalypse Whores: Seijun Suzuki’s GATE OF FLESH
Welcome to post-World War II Tokyo. The Occupied City. It’s a crime-fest. Aside from yakuza-run markets, gang wars, gambling, and seemingly everybody on the grift, prostitution is so utterly widespread, there’s even a governmental department named The RAA (Recreation and Amusement Association) specifically established to relieve the occupying troops of pent-up libidinal urges that could… Continue reading Apocalypse Whores: Seijun Suzuki’s GATE OF FLESH
STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON: My 8th Grade Dream Comes True
Yeah, feast your eyes on that little piece of hipster cred. That is my official membership card in the N.W.A fan club, acquired in the halcyon days of 1991, when I was even more suburban and whitebread than I am now. And finally my other favorite group of junior high (tied with Public Enemy) will… Continue reading STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON: My 8th Grade Dream Comes True
What Are The Odds That INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS Will Turn Out To Be A Crime Movie?
Though largely regarded as humorists, directors Joel and Ethan Coen have produced some of the finest crime movies ever committed to film. Blood Simple, Miller’s Crossing, and their adaptation of No Country for Old Men are straight-ahead crime movies enriched with the Coens’ visual style and lip-smacking dialogue. Even Fargo, though the thick Minnesota dialect… Continue reading What Are The Odds That INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS Will Turn Out To Be A Crime Movie?
Odds That Oliver Stone’s SAVAGES Will Be Any Good?
Director Oliver Stone is bringing Don Winslow’s SAVAGES to the big screen. But will it be any good? “Bet.” Don Winslow’s 2010 novel Savages is one of those books you chide yourself for not reading sooner, even if you were able to get your hands on an ARC in ’09. The drug-dealing anti-hero(es) and the… Continue reading Odds That Oliver Stone’s SAVAGES Will Be Any Good?
5 Raunchiest Crimes on AMERICAN HORROR STORY
They call it American Horror Story. FX Network named it wrong. It’s not particularly American—California is only technically in America. Above all, it’s not really a “horror story” either. Horror generally requires characters you care about. But one thing’s sure about American Horror Story: It is loaded to the gills with nastiness, most of it criminal.
In The Mick Of Time: 7 Best Irish-American Crime Flicks
There’s always something that’s just a little dirtier about Irish crime movies. Irish movie mobsters don’t wear silk suits and don’t tip off an impending whacking with a kiss on the cheek. In fact, in most cases, it would appear that they don’t even shower. That would require foresight and diligent planning, which are qualities… Continue reading In The Mick Of Time: 7 Best Irish-American Crime Flicks
Setting the mood: Mass Effect 3 Take Earth Back trailer
Bioware recently put out a new trailer for Mass Effect 3, entitled “Take Earth Back.” I quite liked it, and it’s a nice example of how a trailer like this can be effective that’s worth taking a closer look at.
Why AWAKE Is About To Become The Best Show On Television*
*For those who are still jonesing for something to fill the void in their life left by Lost. Just to get past the nagging qualifiers, I’ve been hyping this show since the moment I heard the premise and saw the trailer for it (I won’t post it again here as I have been spamming the Complex… Continue reading Why AWAKE Is About To Become The Best Show On Television*
My Valentine’s Date With BUTCH FATALE
A few months back, I ploughed through Jungle Street by Don Elliott. Elliott (the pseudonym of SF master Robert Silverberg) wrote numerous smutty novels (such as Escape To Sindom, Sex Gang and Party Girl), the kind which once flooded the market with their lurid pulp covers of half-naked buxotics either frolicking with strapping young men or running from them.
The 10 Perviest Crime Films
Crime films give every genre a run for its money when it comes to getting hardcore. Murder, torture, kidnapping—they have it all and in many cases, they show it all. Even the lion’s share of the horror genre doesn’t hold a candle to scenes like Mr. Blonde getting down with a duct-taped cop and a… Continue reading The 10 Perviest Crime Films
Silent House – Elizabeth Olsen Screams With Talent
Silent House holds a lot of dark splendor for such a lean feature. This trim 88-minute thriller is rendered in a single shot. That artistic effort alone makes it worth the price of admission. It braids in a lot of other captivating elements: Subtle unfolding of the plot. An eerie, understated atmosphere. Mounting tension that wrenches… Continue reading Silent House – Elizabeth Olsen Screams With Talent
Mass Effect 3: Multiplayer that actually interests me
I’m not typically a fan of online multiplayer modes in games. I’m not suited for it; I’m generally not very competitive, not very social, and I just find a well-designed single player scenario much more enjoyable than the frantic chaos of the typical online deathmatch. I’m also, at least where he genres that dominate that… Continue reading Mass Effect 3: Multiplayer that actually interests me
LILYHAMMER Drops On Netflix
I’ve been keeping an eye open for Lilyhammer since word of its over in Norway. The complete first season of Steven Van Zandt’s sleeps-with-the-fishes-out-of-water comedy series was released onto Netflix this evening, in its eight-episode entirety. Always here to service our faithful followers, I dove into the first episode and brought back my observations.
RAMPART Shows Brilliance, But Tells Too Much
Date Rape Dave Brown is a sweetheart. Don’t just take it from me. Rampart makes a strong case. Halfway through this Oren Moverman art-house film and you’ll be primed to buy Officer Dave Brown, Woody Harrelson, a World’s Best Dad mug. It’ll be something to admire while serving his life sentence in solitary.
Through The Lovecraft Looking Glass of Love: FATALE #1 by Brubaker & Phillips
It all depends on how you choose to view it: Fatale is a crime comic. It features square-jawed tough guys making goo-goo eyes at beautiful dames with curling, jet-black tresses and fine suits and shotguns and embittered, trench-coat wearing cops and broad-shouldered goons.
5 Reasons BLADE RUNNER Should Be Left The Hell Alone
Ridley Scott is reportedly “moving forward aggresively in development” of a new Blade Runner project, and there should be announcement as to the specifics of the project in the opening months of the New Year, including who the screenwriter will be.
The Art of Going Too Far – Johnny Shaw Guest blog
I think that I found my voice—or at least my confidence—when I was a graduate screenwriting student at UCLA. Although I had been writing for a number of years, it was at UCLA that I pushed myself and understood and accepted failure as a positive possibility. Good writing is ambitious. Which means that good writers… Continue reading The Art of Going Too Far – Johnny Shaw Guest blog
Thoughts on Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2
Final Fantasy XIII -2 from Square Enix is coming out at the end of this month, continuing the story of Lightning and the other characters from Final Fantasy XIII and the world they inhabit. And I’m genuinely saddened to realize that I don’t really care. It’s a strange feeling.