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Movies

“The Brat Pack Goes West” might have made a nice subtitle for “Young Guns” (Vestron, $89.95, R). Starring Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen and Lou Diamond Phillips (as well as old guns Jack Palance and Terence Stamp), this Western about six desperadoes led by Billy the Kid fared poorly with most critics but scooped up $42 million at the box office.

A rare and pretty-much-bungled attempt to deal with metaphysics in a major motion picture, “Vibes” (RCA/Columbia, $89.95, PG) starred irrepressible pop singer Cyndi Lauper and Jeff Goldblum as psychics who stumble upon treasure, villains and Peter Falk (as a con man-guide) in Ecuador.

Despite its star power (Anthony Edwards, Robert Mitchum, Harry Dean Stanton, Anjelica Huston and Lauren Bacall) and a Huston in the director’s chair (the late John’s son, Danny), “Mr. North” (Virgin, $89.95, PG) seemed to have more people in its cast than in the theaters. Based on a Thornton Wilder novel, the mild-mannered comedy of manners follows the foibles and triumphs of a unique tutor (Edwards) among the upper set in 1920s’ Newport, R.I.

“The Blob” (RCA/Columbia, $89.95, R) is the 1988 remake of the so-so ‘50s original, less Steve McQueen and plus a whole lot more gore. Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith and Donovan Leitch (son of singer Donovan) star.

“Eat the Rich” (RCA/Columbia, $89.95, R) would have been a good title for a sequel to “The Blob”; instead, it’s a wild black comedy from the British comedy ensemble The Comic Strip, but not as good as most of that group’s TV efforts (seen on MTV Sunday nights).

Other Videos

Since the six top-selling non-movie videocassettes of 1988 were all exercise/fitness tapes (according to Video Insider), the flood of workouts isn’t likely to be stemmed in ’89. Leading off the year’s new releases in the field is “Raquel: Lose 10 Lbs. in 3 Weeks” (HBO, $19.99). Divided into two 40-minute segments, actress Raquel Welch and her trainer David White emphasize cardiovascular conditioning, light aerobics and proper nutrition.

“Barney and the Backyard Gang” (Lyons, $19.95) is the first in a musical series of tapes for children starring Sandy Duncan and dinosaur Barney. Information: (800) 527-4747.