The Best Movies to Watch on Complex TV (September 2026)

Director: Jason Lei Howden
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Samara Weaving, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Ned Dennehy, Grant Bowler, Edwin Wright, Rhys Darby
Air Date(s): 9/1, 9/9, 9/15, 9/21

In what feels like a potentially dark not-too-distant future, Guns Akimbo takes place in a world where live-streams are IRL deathmatches, not in Grand Theft Auto. Radcliffe plays Miles, a man who hops into the chat to comment on the viewers only to become a deathmatch participant himself, complete with guns bolted into his hands. Wackiest film on this list this month.

Director: Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker, Naomie Harris, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Oona Laurence, Rachel McAdams
Air Date(s): 9/1, 9/2, 9/5, 9/6, 9/9, 9/10, 9/11, 9/12, 9/18, 9/19, 9/23, 9/24

Antoine Fuqua’s Michael hits theaters later this month, so now is the perfect time to go back through the famed director’s catalog. He’s made some of the best Black cinema of the ‘90s and the 21st century, and part of that is Fuqua’s ability to have you walk along with a conflicted character. Gyllenhaal and Whitaker put this film on their back, with the likes of 50 Cent and Rachel McAdams adding weight to the overall tale. A damn fine redemption story set in the world of boxing.

Director: Cess Silvera
Starring: Ky-Mani Marley, Spragga Benz, Paul Campbell, Louie Rankin
Air Date(s): 9/2, 9/3, 9/23, 9/24, 9/25, 9/26, 9/27, 9/28, 9/29, 9/30

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.

Director: Troy Duffy
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, David Della Rocco, Billy Connolly
Air Date(s): 9/3, 9/7, 9/15, 9/19, 9/26, 9/28

There was a time when you needed a Boondock Saints poster or DVD in your dorm room to have certain conversations. A tale of twin brothers using violence to eradicate the criminal underworld from Boston, The Boondock Saints became a cult classic after the Columbine High School massacre hindered the film’s box office dreams. Somehow, the film went from taking in under $31,000 at the box office to $50 million by the end, mostly due to word of mouth and those aforementioned DVD sales.

Director: Dito Montiel
Starring: Liam Hemsworth, Emma Roberts, Dwayne Johnson
Air Date(s): 9/3, 9/4, 9/7, 9/8, 9/12, 9/13, 9/17, 9/18, 9/22, 9/23, 9/26, 9/27

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 (which was made famous in Goodfellas). Even if the film isn’t your cup of tea, it’s a good one to document the rise of megastar Johnson in Hollywood.

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): 9/5, 9/6, 9/10, 9/11, 9/14, 9/15, 9/20, 9/21, 9/23, 9/24

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.

Director: Andrew Dominik
Starring: Brad Pitt, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, Sam Shepard
Air Date(s): 9/5, 9/6, 9/8, 9/9, 9/13, 9/14, 9/17, 9/19, 9/20, 9/22, 9/23

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-run private poker game. It’s a funny, violent film that tells a story of excess hanging over the 2008 financial crisis.

Director: Craig Ross Jr.
Starring: Allen Payne, Andrew Divoff, Clarence Williams III, William Forsythe
Air Date(s): 9/5, 9/19, 9/27

While many films detail 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, watch Blue Hill Avenue.

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen
Air Date(s): 9/6, 9/9, 9/12, 9/19, 9/26, 9/30

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.

Director: Larry Cohen
Starring: Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam Grier, Paul Winfield, Isabel Sanford, Ron O'Neal, Richard Roundtree
Air Date(s): 9/9, 9/10, 9/14, 9/15, 9/19, 9/20

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.