FALL PREVIEW : The Calendar Critics’ Best Bets for the Rest of ’90 : MOVIES

How can you tell fall has arrived in eternally sunny Southern California? Well, one way is by the start of the autumn arts and entertainment season. This special fall preview section provides listings of events from today through the end of the year and our critics’ picks for the best bets in film, pop music, jazz, stage, music and dance and the visual arts. (Some box-office telephone numbers may not be in operation yet.) Pacific Heights (Friday). Thriller about a tenant who terrorizes his landlords. Melanie Griffith, Michael Keaton, Matthew Modine, Beverly D’Angelo. John Schlesinger, director.

Texasville (Friday). Sequel to “The Last Picture Show.” Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich.

I Come in Peace (Friday). Sci-fi about L.A. cop vs. giant killing machine. Dolph Lundgren. Directed by Craig Baxley.

Straight for the Heart (Friday). Canadian psychological drama in which a Montreal photojournalist, fresh from covering Nicaragua, is thrust into midlife crisis. West German Matthias Habich stars.

The Natural History of Parking Lots (Oct. 3). Black-and-white movie about two young brothers from wealthy family living on fringes of Los Angeles. Directed by Everett Lewis.

The Desperate Hours (Oct. 5). Remake of 1955 Bogart film about convicts who hold a family captive. Mickey Rourke, Anthony Hopkins, Kelly Lynch. Michael Cimino directs.

Grim Prairie Tales (Oct. 5). Series of bizarre tales told from the point of view of two Wild West characters sitting around a campfire. James Earl Jones, Brad Dourif. Written and directed by Wayne Coe.

Miller’s Crossing (Oct. 5). 1929 story of love triangle and ensuing gang war. Albert Finney, Gabriel Byrne. Directed by Joel Coen.

Fantasia (Oct. 5). 50th anniversary release.

Avalon (Oct. 5). Drama set in Baltimore about first- and second-generation Russian immigrants. Leo Fuchs, Lou Jacobi, Joan Plowright, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Elizabeth Perkins. Directed by Barry Levinson.

Marked for Death (Oct. 5). An ex-soldier of fortune and organized crime member (Steven Seagal) protects a small town from Jamaican drug dealers. Directed by Dwight H. Little.

Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones (Oct. 5). Story of Quincy Jones. Produced and directed by Courtney Sale Ross and Ellen Weissbrod.

The Gate II (Oct. 12). Sequel to tongue-in-cheek horror movie about boys who find gate to hell in their back yard. Directed by Tibor Takacs.

Mr. Destiny (Oct. 12). A man’s ordinary life is re-evaluated when “Mr. Destiny” shows him what his life would have been had he not struck out in a high school baseball game. Jim Belushi, Michael Caine. Directorial debut of James Orr.

Memphis Belle (Oct. 12). World War II story of a bomber crew flying its 25th mission before being sent home. Matthew Modine, Eric Stolz, Harry Connick, John Lithgow. Directed by Michael Caton-Jones.

The 5th Monkey (Oct. 12). Tale of love and adventure set in the Brazilian rain forest. Ben Kingsley. Directed by Eric Rochat.

The Hot Spot (Oct. 12). Sexy drama about drifter and his relationship with two women. Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, Jennifer Connelly. Directed by Dennis Hopper.

The Krays (Oct. 12). True story of gangster twins in England. Gary and Martin Kemp. Directed by Peter Medak.

White Palace (Oct. 19). Story of an upper-class widower who falls in love with a lower-class waitress. James Spader, Susan Sarandon, Eileen Brennan. Directed by Luis Mandoki.

To Sleep With Anger (Oct. 19). Modern black family is changed when a mysterious old friend from the South visits. Danny Glover. Directed by Charles Burnett.

Book of Love (Oct. 19). Coming-of-age film set in the 1950s. Chris Young, Keith Coogan. Directorial debut of Robert Shaye.

Night of the Living Dead (Oct. 19). Remake of 1968 George Romero film. Tom Savini directs.

Quigley Down Under (Oct. 19). American cowboy is hired to rid an Australian ranch of dingos. Tom Selleck, Laura San Giacomo, Alan Rickman. Directed by Simon Wincer.

Allegro Non Troppo (Oct. 19). 1977 animated feature after Disney’s “Fantasia.” Expanded version. Directed by Bruno Bozzetto.

Tune in Tomorrow ... (Oct. 26) Based on Mario Vargas Llosa’s “Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter” and starring Barbara Hershey, Keanu Reeves, Peter Falk. Directed by Jon Amiel.

Stephen King’s Graveyard Shift (Oct. 26). Brad Dourif. Directed by Ralph Singleton.

Sibling Rivalry (Oct. 26). Comedy about a New Jersey housewife and her affair with a handsome stranger. Kirstie Alley, Bill Pullman, Carrie Fisher. Directed by Carl Reiner.

Reversal of Fortune (Oct. 26). Based on the Claus von Bulow trial. Glenn Close, Jeremy Irons, Ron Silver. Produced by Oliver Stone. Directed by Barbet Schroeder.

Landscape in the Mist (Oct. 31). Two illegitimate children, deceived by their mother into believing their father is in Germany, embark on a modern Greek odyssey to find him, Directed by Theo Angelopoulos.

Men of Respect (Nov. 2). A small-time hood works his way up to the top of a crime family. John Turturro, Rod Steiger. Written and directed by William Reilly.

Run (Nov. 2). Suspense thriller about a Harvard law student who is mistakenly accused with murdering the son of a mob boss. Patrick Dempsey. Directed by Geoff Burrowes.

Jacob’s Ladder (Nov. 2). Suspense film about a Vietnam vet who begins to see strange visions because of what he believes are the results of military experiments. Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Pena. Directed by Adrian Lyne.

Ariel ( Nov. 7). Road movie across Finland. Directed by Aki Kaurismaki.

Child’s Play II (Nov. 9). Chucky the evil, living doll returns. Alex Vincent, Jenny Agutter. Directed by John Lafia.

Captain America (Nov. 9). Adaptation of the Marvel comics character. Matt Salinger, Ronny Cox, Ned Beatty, Darren McGavin. Directed by Albert Pyun.

Graffiti Bridge (Nov. 9). Sequel to “Purple Rain.” Starring, written by and directed by Prince.

The Grifters (Nov. 9). Based on Jim Thompson’s novel about con artists. John Cusack, Anjelica Huston, Annette Bening. Produced by Martin Scorsese. Directed by Stephen Frears.

Dances With Wolves (Nov. 9). 1863 story of a Union soldier assimilated into the Sioux tribe. Kevin Costner, Mary McConnell, Graham Green, Rodney Grant. Directed by Costner.

Rocky V: The Final Bell (Nov. 16). Rocky Balboa trains a new talent. Sylvester Stallone. Directed by John Avildsen.

The Rescuers Down Under (Nov. 16). Animated. Voices of Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor. Directed by Micke Gabriel and Hendel Butoy. (With “Mickey Mouse--the Prince and the Pauper.”)

Vincent & Theo (Nov. 16). Story of Vincent Van Gogh and the relationship with his brother. Tim Roth, Paul Rhys. Directed by Robert Altman.

The Nutcracker Prince (Nov. 21). Full-length animated adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s ‘The Nutcracker.’ Voices of Kiefer Sutherland, Phyllis Diller, Peter O’Toole, Megan Follows. Directed by Paul Schibli.

Three Men and a Little Lady (Nov. 21). Tom Selleck, Ted Danson, Steve Guttenberg. Directed by Emile Ardolino.

Valkenvania (Nov. 21). Comedy about a yuppie couple who travel through a small town and become victims of the hard-line law there. Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, Dan Aykroyd, John Candy. Directed and written by Aykroyd.

Home Alone (Nov. 21). Comedy. Joe Pesci, Macaulay Culkin. Written and John Hughes. Directed by Chris Columbus.

Predator II (Nov. 21). An alien comes to Los Angeles. Danny Glover, Maria Conchita Alonso, Gary Busey. Directed by Stephen Hopkins.

Misery (Nov. 30). Thriller based on Stephen King novel about a romance novelist held captive by a fan. James Caan, Kathy Bates. Directed by Rob Reiner.

The Rookie (Dec. 7). Clint Eastwood, Charlie Sheen. Directed by Eastwood.

Almost an Angel (Dec. 7). After an accident, a burglar believes he’s an angel. Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski. Directed by John Cornell.

Come See the Paradise (Dec. 12). World War II drama about an interracial relationship between American and Japanese-American. Dennis Quaid. Directed by Alan Parker.

The Sheltering Sky (Dec. 14). Based on Paul Bowles’ novel about three Americans in 1947 North Africa. Debra Winger, John Malkovich. Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.

Kindergarten Cop (Dec. 14). Arnold Schwarzenegger, Pamela Reed. Directed by Ivan Reitman.

Edward Scissorhands (Dec. 14). Children’s fantasy about a man with scissors for hands. Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest. Directed by Tim Burton.

Bonfire of the Vanities (Dec. 19). Based on Tom Wolfe’s novel about tinder box of New York business world. Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffith, Bruce Willis. Directed by Brian DePalma.

Scenes From a Mall (Dec. 25). Humorous look at a couple celebrating their 15th wedding aniversary. Bette Midler, Woody Allen. Directed by Paul Mazursky.

The Godfather, Part III (Dec. 25). The Corleone family story picks up in 1979. Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Eli Wallach, Andy Garcia. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

Watch for opening dates for:

Alice Directed by Woody Allen and starring, among others, William Hurt, Mia Farrow, Alec Baldwin, Cybill Shepard.

Awakenings True story of Dr. Oliver Sacks’ attempt to revive catatonic patients in 1969. Robert DeNiro, Robin Williams. Directed by Penny Marshall.

Havana Love triangle set against the Cuban revolution. Robert Redford, Lena Olin, Alan Arkin. Directed by Sydney Pollack.

Look Who’s Talking Too Sequel to the 1989 hit also stars John Travolta, Kirstie Alley and the voice of Bruce Willis. Their second child sounds like Roseanne Barr. Directed by Amy Heckerling.

Mermaids Early ‘60s drama about two young girls and their mother who refuses to act her age. Cher, Bob Hoskins, Winona Ryder. Directed by Richard Benjamin

Mr. and Mrs. Bridge Story of anupper-middle class Kansas City couple between the wars. Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward. Directed by James Ivory.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Playwright Tom Stoppard makes his directing debut with this film adaptation of his 1966 play.

The Russia House Espionage story involving a romance between a British publisher and a Russian editor. Sean Connery, Michelle Pfeiffer. Directed by Fred Schepisi.