James Babchak Movies
- 1989
In this independent drama, a stockbroker loses his job in California but is promised one in New York. He is completely without financial resources, and tries the novel gambit of sneaking rides on freight trains in order to get to an appointment for his new job. Along the way he is befriended by a modern-day hobo (an illegal Mexican immigrant) and his dog, and learns some lessons about what it means to be human. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Babchak, José Zuñiga, (more)
Michael J. Fox once more makes a courageous effort to shed his nice-guy image in Bright Lights, Big City. Fox plays an impressionable Kansan who comes to the Big Apple to take a job at a major magazine. It isn't long before he falls into the twin traps of drug and alcohol abuse. His only hope for redemption is in the hands of Vicky (Tracy Pollan), the cousin of his scuzzy drinking buddy Tad (Kiefer Sutherland). Jay McInerney's bestselling novel does not translate easily to the big screen, but Fox strives hard to please, as do all of his costars. The white stuff snorted by Fox wasn't really cocaine, but powdered milk. Watch for Frasier's David Hyde Pierce in a small role and Jason Robards in a significant unbilled cameo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael J. Fox, Kiefer Sutherland, (more)
Unhappy with her job and her loser boyfriend, Melanie Griffith takes a secretarial post at a major Wall Street firm. Her boss is Sigourney Weaver, an outwardly affable yuppie whose grinning visage hides a wicked and larcenous propensity for exploiting the ideas of her employees. While Weaver is incapacitated, Griffith is compelled by circumstances to pose as her boss. Her inborn business acumen and common sense enable Griffith to rise to the top of New York's financial circles, and along the way she wins the love of executive (Harrison Ford). Things threaten to take a sorry turn when Weaver returns, but it is she who suffers from the consequences of her own past duplicity. Working Girl was Melanie Griffith's breakthrough film, proving than she was more than just the off-and-on "significant other" of Don Johnson. The film was later adapted into a brief TV series, starring a pre-Speed Sandra Bullock. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, (more)
Yes, there are commies under the bed. But are there Nazis there too? Emily Crane (Kelly McGillis) is a modestly successful Life photo editor living in 1950s New York, until she is called before the Senate Un-American Activities Committee to testify about her "communist" associations. When she refuses to divulge the names of friends in her civil liberties group, she loses her employment and her friends. In desperation, she takes a job reading books for Miss Venable, a somewhat crotchety lady (Jessica Tandy) who lives in a quiet residential neighborhood. Then, while taking a break in Miss Venable's back yard, Emily overhears something from the house behind that compels her to investigate and leads her eventually to conclude that it is the headquarters of a group smuggling in ex-Nazi scientists for some mysterious purpose. Meanwhile, she is being harassed by two FBI men, on behalf of the Senate Committee, as well as by a sinister, McCarthyite, Senate investigator named Salwen (Mandy Patinkin). One of the FBI men, Cochran (Jeff Daniels), takes a liking to Emily and humors her by agreeing to investigate her suspicions. This quiet mystery is a nostalgia piece. It's '50s backgrounds are authentic and the plot device -- an innocent becoming entangled in an unbelievable conspiracy -- is closer to one of Hitchcock's masterpieces of that period (e.g., North by Northwest) than to Reservoir Dogs or Speed. The people seem to be from a simpler time, too, when the distinction between good and evil was clearer. Emily shines with idealistic integrity and the naive Cochran is so honest that he finds it impossible to deceive the target of his investigation. There is even a terrifying, "acrophobe's nightmare" scene played out in a dome high above Grand Central Station. For those tired of endless shoot-em-ups and car chases, this is the mystery to choose. ~ Michael P. Rogers, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelly McGillis, Jeff Daniels, (more)
A man who simulates death for a living finds himself unwittingly tied into the real thing in this New York-based suspense drama. Special effects man Rollie Tyler (Bryan Brown) makes his living simulating gory mayhem and photogenic violence for movies such as "I Dismember Mama." Tyler is given a chance to expand his professional horizons when he's approached by Lipton (Cliff DeYoung), who introduces himself as an FBI agent and makes an unusual proposal. Mob kingpin Nicholas DeFranco (Jerry Orbach) is willing to testify against his fellow gangsters, but the investigators are worried about his safety. Lipton wants Tyler to help him and his staff fake DeFranco's assassination; if everyone is convinced DeFranco is dead, people will be a lot less likely to look for him. Tyler grudgingly takes the assignment, and while he's able to realistically simulate DeFranco being shot in a crowded restaurant, after the "gag," he discovers that he's been double crossed, and he's wanted for the murder of the man he just "shot." Tyler hides out with his girlfriend Ellen (Diane Venora), but he realizes that whoever set him up wants him dead after she's killed by a bullet meant for him. With the help of fellow effects artist Andy (Martha Gehman), Tyler goes underground and tries to unravel the truth behind the Lipton murder. Meanwhile, police detective Leo McCarthy (Brian Dennehy) is convinced that something is not right when he's called to the scene of DeFranco's murder and is certain that the dead body is not the gangster. F/X was followed by a sequel, and later a short-lived TV series. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, (more)
- 1986
- R
Klaus Maria Brandauer stars in this drama as Alek Neuman, a one-time boxing champion in the Soviet Union. While he was one of the top-ranked Russian fighters of his day, he was never allowed to box in the Olympics, because the Soviets would not permit Jews to compete on their national teams. Many years later, an elderly Alek is able to emigrate to the United States; he settles in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, New York, where he makes ends meet as a dishwasher. Alek is depressed and starts sinking into alcoholism until he meets Timmy Boyle (Adrian Pasdar) and Roland Jenkins (Wesley Snipes), two up-and-coming amateur boxers. Alek thinks that the two young fighters have potential, and he offers to coach them. While Timmy and Roland aren't sure at first if they trust Alek (or each other), in time they grow to respect each other, and it looks as if they may make the United States Olympic team -- where they may fight against the Russian team that wouldn't accept Alek years before. Brandauer won critical acclaim for his performance in Streets of Gold, which also featured Wesley Snipes several years before his breakthrough role in Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Klaus Maria Brandauer, Adrian Pasdar, (more)
