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.
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Author: Jimmy Callaway
+Jimmy Callaway rules over Criminal Complex with an iron fist in a Playtex glove. He lives in San Diego, California.
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 …
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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 …
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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 …
Continue readingWhitechapel 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 …
Continue readingArrivederci, 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 …
Continue readingScam 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 …
Continue readingMy 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 …
Continue readingThe 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 …
Continue readingGet 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 …
Continue readingThe Posthumous Donald Westlake: It’s All Bullshit
Donald Westlake, ever the prolific author, has had two novels released since his death on New Year’s Eve of 2009, both brought to us by the stellar Hard Case Crime imprint. The first, in 2010, …
Continue readingSTRAIGHT 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 …
Continue readingWhat 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 …
Continue readingOdds 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 …
Continue readingSpanish Prisoners: 5 Indispensable Books of Scam Fiction
Neil Gaiman and Jim Thompson bonded by Scam Fiction? It’s all a scam, isn’t it?
Continue readingJ. EDGAR Is Leo’s Show, All The Way
It struck me as I was watching J. Edgar that as much as I enjoy James Ellroy’s work and how funny I find his depiction of Hoover in his Blood’s a Rover, it actually is a really cartoony …
Continue readingCrime Imitates Life: Danny Ocean Gets More Chicks than Terry Benedict
There are myriad reasons why people become artists—creative drive, fame/notoriety, money. Actually, that’s about it. But one reason not discussed all that often is simple boredom. The non-creative life can be a real drag, working …
Continue readingWhat Are the Odds Tom Sizemore Is Gonna Get Killed on Hawaii Five-O?
Despite his most recent snag with the law, Tom Sizemore has turned over a new leaf, one not grown from the coca plant. His guest role this season on CBS’s Hawaii Five-O as straight-laced IAB cop, Captain …
Continue readingCrime Imitates Life: CASINO’s Ace Rothstein Is an Artist of Chance
Sam “Ace” Rothstein is the number one gambler in the country. He is so good at betting on sporting events that by merely betting on a team, he increases the odds for that team on …
Continue readingRun, Micro, Run
The notion of the sidekick has been a popular one in story-telling since time out of mind, yet it has most likely been brought to its highest prominence in superhero comics. The majority of these …
Continue readingA Glorious Waste of Time: Jordan Brady’s I Am Comic
There’s an old Chinese curse that a lot of hacky writers use to set up the premises of their articles, and it is as follows: May you live in interesting times. And for stand-up comedy, …
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