Jim Steele Movies

Director Victor Ginzburg brings author Victor Pelevin's popular cult novel to the screen in this confrontational, occasionally hallucinogenic drama centering on a cynical Russian poet who becomes caught up in the world of high-stakes advertising shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union. Babylen Tatarsky (Vladimir Yepifantsev) was working in a drab sidewalk convenience shop when a chance run-in with an old friend reveals an exciting career opportunity. With Communism now a thing of the past, Moscow is quickly moving into the future. That means Western products will soon be flooding into stores, and in order to sell them Russian advertisers must to dream up campaigns with local flavor. When Babylen's instincts of what sells prove directly on target, he quickly begins to climb the ladder of success. But when Babylen gets a creative block, he turns to LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, cocaine, vodka and spiritual communication for creative inspiration. Summoning the spirit of Che Guevara with a Ouija board, Babylen gets an unexpected education that completely alters his perspective of the media, and he finds himself integrated with a secretive Babylonian cult that offers him a transcendent opportunity. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

An ex-mercenary (Tom Berenger) becomes a take-no-prisoners teacher in a drug-ridden, gang-infested Miami high school in this campy morality tale about restoring lost American virtues to the inner city. Berenger's character, Shale, has no first name, a shadowy past as a patriotic gun-for-hire, and is temporarily unemployed and living with an idealistic teacher, Jane Hetzko (Diane Verona). Jane has angered a school gang leader, Juan Lucas (Marc Anthony), by asking the principal to get him transferred after he has threatened her in the schoolyard. After Jane is kneecapped by a gang member, Shale fakes a resume and becomes a substitute teacher, Mr. Smith. He lectures his class on the lessons of Vietnam ("We were fighting Communism") while looking for a way to get revenge on Juan. When he challenges the school's tolerance for student misbehavior, Smith is fired by the slimy principal, Claude Rolle (Ernie Hudson), an ex-cop who is running for City Council and doesn't want to rock the boat. Shale stays because he cites a union rule requiring two weeks' notice. During that period, tensions escalate and eventually Shale intervenes in a gang war that degenerates into a school-destroying inferno of violence. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

Two young lovers go on the run from the law after a convenience store robbery goes bad in this road movie. Love and a .45 centers on philosophically inclined thief Watty Watts (Gil Bellows), who believes in a little robbery but not real violence. An ill-advised collaboration with a crazed, drugged-out biker (Rory Cochrane) ends badly, however, forcing Watty to go on the run. His girlfriend Starlene (Renee Zellweger) joins him, and the two become media darlings thanks to television coverage of their flight from the law. First-time director C.M. Talkington's combination of violence and ironic attitude recalls both 1970s crime dramas and Quentin Tarantino's violent, quirky takes on the genre. However, the film's warmed-over feel may be redeemed by its irreverent tone and appealing performances, including a self-parodying appearance by Peter Fonda. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi